Malevolent (2002)

Touches You

Best movie ever!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Jack Lucas (LDP) is an LAPD cop on the edge. Putting him even closer to the edge of the edge is the fact that a psychotic criminal mastermind is trying to frame him for a series of murders. The obnoxious and annoying Oliver "Ollie" Chadwicke (Ballerini) has it in for Lucas and is going to slyly and shrewdly send him up the river. Fighting for his life against the bogus charges actually perpetrated by Chadwicke, Lucas must use his wits to defeat him at his own game. Teaming up with a stripper with a heart of gold, Jessica (Wuhrer), as well as his father, Warren (Argenziano), Lucas must not only defend himself against Chadwicke, but from the mistrust growing amongst his co-workers. Especially with Captain Pruitt (Bauer) breathing down his neck. Will Lucas get justice? Malevolent is a surprisingly solid and entertaining cop drama/thriller. It was smart putting LDP in the lead role, because he can easily carry a movie like this with his charm, charisma and acting ability. You could even say this is the continuing story of Jeff Powers from Extreme Justice. This isn't really an action movie, in fact all of the action was edited in from The Corrupter (1999) and Marked For Death (1990). Anyone who has seen those movies will surely recognize the footage. But at least Malevolent is open and honest about it, in its own way: both footage sources get large, easy-to-read screen credits at the end of the movie. Other DTV items don't do that. They try to hide their patchwork nature. So we give the movie credit for its openness.You have to take this movie for what it is, it's not going to change the world but it's really not bad either. In its quest to be gritty, or perhaps different, there are some horribly (intentionally horribly) edited sequences that are trying to be "cool". If the movie was just edited normally, that would have helped. Plus there are some highly clichéd, even stereotypical characters, such as Lucas' partner Carla, played by Gwen McGee. But Ballerini did a great job as the baddie, he really makes you hate him. It's always nice to see Kari Wuhrer, we were happy she was on board. It was also cool to see Jack McGee, of The Quest (1996) fame as the bartender. Steven Bauer should have had more screen time as the captain. Also, Simon Rhee is credited as one of the stunt players.LDP even wrote the lyrics for the movie's most memorable song, "Pray For Dawn", a bluesy-type number. He should get more credit for being multi-talented. Fans of any of the cast members involved, DTV cop dramas, or fans of stock footage (we know you're out there), or anyone with some spare time on their hands might want to check out Malevolent.For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.net

Although Lou Diamond Phillips is the star the Malevolent one in Malevolent is Edoardo Ballerini, a most diabolical serial killer who not only is good at his work, but pretty good at making cop Lou Diamond Phillips look like the guilty party.It's a rather far-fetched yarn that Malevolent is spinning. Some of the premises of the story and the motivations of Ballerini are quite illogical as Mr. Spock would put it, even from the evil mind of a serial killer who doesn't think like the rest of us.Kari Wuhrer who has done a couple of other films with Lou plays a topless dancer and someone that Ballerini is fixated on. She could provide the clues necessary to Lou to stop the freak.While all this is going on, Phillips is under suspicion due to a shooting incident where his former partner was found to be dirty. His new partner, Gwen McGee isn't quite sure she can trust him and she's cutting him quite a bit of slack to get the job done.Too many illogicalities keep Malevolent from being a top rate police drama thriller though the cast does its best.

It always amuses me when bad editing results in cars magically having regrown hubcaps that clearly flew off in an earlier scene - just seconds earlier.It struck me that the final car chase scene was very familiar, from the way the blue BMW zigzagged across the park and jumped the wall, followed closely by a beige Dodge Ram. I thought it was remarkably similar to a scene I remembered from a Steven Seagal movie, probably "Marked for Death" which I saw in the early Nineties. Then I noticed that the mag wheels had miraculously changed from alloy spokes to gold BBS honeycomb style wheels... and the shade of blue wasn't right, either. If you're observant, you can clearly see both Seagal and his co-star companion in the truck (supposedly now driven by Phillips, who elsewhere is shown to be alone in the vehicle) at various times, but most noticeably when it spins round and enters the sidewalk, and again as it gets back on the street.If you watch closely, you can even see those nasty Jamaican drug dealers from the 1990 movie in the BMW... in one scene there is a black hand hanging out of the passenger side window (when there's supposed to be no passenger at all in either car)You sort of feel cheated when they pull this kind of stunt on the audience. Did they manage to save so much money after paying royalties to the owners of the Seagal movie? Or did budget constraints prevent them from staging their own car chase and doing their own stunts..? I'm told that the opening car chase was similarly taken from another movie which I haven't yet seen.Recycling in general may be sensible and politically correct - but this is taking the concept too far. Moviegoers should be entitled to a partial refund - or free copies of the movies from which these scenes were lifted.Lou Diamond Phillips has done better work for decades. It does him no favors to be associated with a production which relies so heavily on disingeniously regurgitated material.

I do not understand why more people have not seen this movie and/or have voted on it. It's a very good way to spend an hour and a half,some evening with some popcorn,a coke and your lady or gentleman. I really don't believe this film will win any awards. It has action,sex,crime and a lot of surprises. In this elderly mans opinion it was a heck of a lot better than some of the highly rated garbage they have turned out lately. Lou Diamond Phillips, Edoardo Ballerini and the rest of the supporting cast did a fine job, with an average movie. Yes, I do know what opinions are just like. No, I do not know anyone connected to this film. I'm just not sophisticated enough to tear it up, like some seem to do with many movies.I give it a 7.