Hey folks, Valkor here with another Cuba Gooding Jr
Exclusive. First I had the good fortune to check out “Hero Wanted”, which was a
damn good piece of film. For those who haven’t seen it, definitely give it a
rental (Review to the right). Now Cuba is back with a film that doesn’t
pack the same punch as HW, but still entertaining called “Linewatch”
The Story
Cuba
plays a Border Patrol Agent Mike Dixon. While out on a mission to track down
some guys who left a truck full of Mexicans dead, he finally makes it to a
house where him and his partner are shot at, Mike’s partner is shot. Mike takes
out two of the guys but the third he recognizes, the thug recognizes him and
escapes. Turns out this guy belong to a gang Mike used to roll with and they
called him “Mad Dog”. The thugs are able to track down where Mike lives; they
tell Mike that he messed up a major drug shipment and that he must use his
influence as Border Patrol to help get that shipment across the Border or else
his wife and kid gets it. It’s a fairly straight forward story with no real
twists in the plot, save but one. But it’s such an obvious twist that you
wouldn’t be surprised when it’s revealed.
The Good
I have to say I enjoyed watching Linewatch, from start to
finish I was glued to my seat. It’s not the greatest story ever told, but those
simply looking for something entertaining, Linewatch does not fail. As law
enforcement, I buy into Cuba’s
role simply because he’s done it before (Outbreak, A Few Good Men). But as an
ex-gangbanger… ehhhhh. I guess I can’t complain because he excels in the role
of Mike Dixon more so than he did with the role of Liam Case in “Hero Wanted”. Dean
Norris as “Warren”
also does some great work in the film by not being the “scary thug”. He’s not
blingin all over, no heavy use of gangsta slang, he’s the smoothest gangbanger
I’ve ever seen on screen and I’m with that. But the funniest actor who
definitely deserved a bit more screen time goes out to A.M.G. as “Stokes”. He has
some really funny lines here; it’s just too bad his character meets an early
demise. This appears to be Kevin Bray’s first feature film as he’s done a lot
of television directing. For this type of film, his experience comes in handy
because it looks like a made for TV film (Going Direct to DVD hmmm… about the
same). And again it’s entertaining, so Bray has done his job.
The Bad
The pacing is a bit off, as some scenes go on longer than
they should. For instance the opening scene where Mike is tracking down the
coyote, events play out too slow before we get to the first shoot out. Speaking
of shooting, there’s not enough of it and the ending was a bit anti-climatic.
Mike goes to where his ex-gang members are holding up, takes em out and BAM
movies over. More action!!
The Ugly
N/A
I’m not crazy about Linewatch, but I certainly don’t have
regrets watching the film because the big question is: was I entertained? And
the answer is a resounding yes. Though the ending was a bit dry and some choppy
pacing does slow the film down a bit, the film is balanced by a decent story,
fair amount of action, and some great acting that certainly warrants at least a
rental at best, though you might not be disappointed with a purchase. Look for
Linewatch to be released on DVD on Oct 21 and out of 5 stars I give the film
3.5 stars. And it’s been Valkor tested, TOV approved.
