KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

wkozak221 I like Burt Reynolds. I like Deliverance, Switching Channels,Stick, etc. . I find he can do comedy or drama. He is very good at playing a friend out for revenge or a cop. I like all the actors in here. They do a very good job in their roles. Maybe a little less yelling. The action is well paced. It does drag in spots. The scenes where you hear but don't see Domino drag. I wish they re-thought those scenes. I keep watching to cheer when the bad guys go down. I wish Reynolds did more cop films. He was very good as Dan August. I also like that he was a stunt man before becoming big. Its nice to see the star do most of his stunts in a movie.

videorama-759-859391 Sharky's Machine is one of Burt's most exciting films, and one of his best, not only that, when you consider he directed this. This glamorized piece has an exciting story, and some fantastic performances, notably from Vittorio Gassman, as a high class pimp, his psychopathic hit man brother (evil faced Henry Silva) unforgettable as is his demise in an explosive, and unforgettable finale. Burt plays Ray Sharky, who's sting operation is botched by another colleague, who provides a surprise twist of character, later on. He's demoted to vice, making friends fast with the other boys. What I really liked here was the mateship among this squad, this film one of the best examples, some deeply written characters, you really get to know, where you want to be part of it. Burt assigns them in the wake of a mob hit, involving government ties, and a high class prostitute/wannabe dancer (Ward) involved with a senator, who must be silenced. Burt bugs her place, and of course, is smitten by her. When mistaken for another pro, who buys the farm, bloodily, Burt takes Ward under his guard, and a romance blossoms, Burt first losing it with her at earlier, which was amusing. Ward's pro character, is surprisingly someone we really get to know, and is painted as a much more down to earth character, something rarely seen in pro characters, to this extent. There is some nasty 80's gore in this R rated pic, one torture scene with Burt, minus some fingers, is more implicit. SM I like for many reasons, most of all, it's the excitement factor, with a exciting story at play, where so much is going on, you kind of do feel it does lose itself. It doesn't bog itself down, with a less than more thing going on, which to it's advantage, makes this exciting film more intriguing. Durning is great as the cranky chief of the vice squad, the bleachers scene on the baseball grounds, a cool one, as is the one with Burt hatefully confronting Gassman and his stable of girls at that restaurant, where Burt's admittance of something, causing his nemesis to see red. Though the most memorable moment, is that second to last scene with Reynolds unleashing vengeance on Silva, a wonderfully shot moment, etched in your memory of this classic, where Burt really scores.

Scott LeBrun Burt Reynolds gets to create his own "Dirty Harry" type of role in this Atlanta-set picture. Based on the William Diehl novel, it stars Burt as Tom Sharky, a narcotics detective who switches to the vice department after a bust goes bad. He soon develops an interest in taking down underworld kingpin Victor Scorelli (Vittorio Gassman), although his *real* interest is in Dominoe (Rachel Ward), one of Scorellis' $1000 a night hookers.Although burdened by some bad dialogue and a script that's not always that compelling, "Sharky's Machine" makes for a decent viewing. The storytelling isn't that tight; although the film runs just over two hours, it feels longer. But all things considered, "Sharky's Machine" does have its pleasures. Burt does a passable job as both director and actor; he dials down his charisma to play his part with a grim seriousness. Ward has some appeal, and certainly is desirable. One does understand how Sharky could develop an obsession with this woman.Two things really stand out here. One is the jazz score (more "Dirty Harry" influence) with a number of genre greats playing on the soundtrack. Another is Burts' truly excellent supporting cast. Brian Keith, Charles Durning, Earl Holliman, Bernie Casey (whose predilection for Zen philosophy is amusing), Richard Libertini, Darryl Hickman, Joseph Mascolo, Carol Locatell, Hari Rhodes, John Fiedler, and James O'Connell co-star, but it's Henry Silva who tends to steal the show as Scorellis' unhinged, drug abusing brother Billy. Diehl himself plays the role of Percy.It must be said that the opening tracking shot is extremely impressive, as it starts out as an aerial shot of the city that eventually finds Reynolds as he is walking his way towards an undercover operation.Although slowly paced, the narrative eventually culminates in an effective little bloodbath, as one character proves incredibly difficult to take down.If you're anything like this viewer, the overall sleazy tone shouldn't bother you.Six out of 10.

Spikeopath Sharky's Machine is directed by Burt Reynolds and written by William Diehl and Gerald Di Pego. It stars Reynolds, Vittorio Gassman, Rachel Ward, Henry Silva, Carol Locatell, Brian Keith, Bernie Casey, Earl Holliman and Charles Durning. Music is by Snuff Garrett and cinematography by William A. Fraker. Plot finds Reynolds as Atlanta narcotics cop Tom Sharky, who finds himself busted down to vice squad after a drug bust goes badly wrong. If he thought it was going to be dull and routine he is very much mistaken, for soon enough Sharky finds himself in deep with a high class prostitution ring, political corruption and cold blooded murder.The Sharky's Machine of the title is the group of cops that Tom Sharky gathers for the case he is working on. What starts out as standard surveillance at the home of beautiful hooker Domino (Ward), turns into a bloody trip into the workings of the seedy kingpins pulling the strings. But the kicker here is that as Sharky becomes an unwilling voyeur to Dominoe's life, he finds himself falling for her. He's fascinated by her, he feels from a distance her sadness of a life that she knows no better of. Tom Sharky is a tough dude, a manly man, a perfect role for Reynolds in fact, but he also needs to be loved, he likes roses and wood carving, he looks back to a childhood lost, it's this compelling characterisation that lifts Sharky's Machine above many other cop thrillers in a similar vein.The film is, however, still violent and unflinching in its observations of this seedy part of Atlanta. Scum, violence and abuse is never far away, and Reynolds the director shows a deft hand at balancing the rough with the smooth motions of the narrative. He also shows admirable restraint for sex scenes, choosing mostly to suggest rather than titillate, while his acting performance is top notch as he neatly layers the strands of Sharky's emotional psyche. Around Reynolds is an array of engaging professional performances, notably Casey, Keith, a wonderfully maniacal Silva and Ward, the latter of which blends smouldering sexuality with an innocence that tugs the old heart strings. Some of the outcome is telegraphed early, and the ending, having been a frantic and bloody last quarter, is crowned too abruptly (a shame since it contains an awesome stunt), but much like Reynolds' 1975 film Hustle, this too is badly undervalued in the neo-noir universe. 8/10