Director Abel Ferrara’s offering echoes Rocky’s paid muscle enforcer, this part mobster, martial arts murder flick is a seedy time capsule of 1984. The shake down scenes work well and it benefits from an on location city night feel. It reflects in bite size the underbelly of the New York city of the early 80s including drugs, strip joints, sexism and organised crime to name a few.
Fears City despite some lapses in logic holds together entertaining well as an 80’s drama thriller, however, some outlandish fight moments especially boxer versus Martial Arts (popular at the time) showdown robs Fear City of longevity and previous good acting especially from bitty ex-vice turned homicide cop Billy Dee Williams. It shoe horns popular themes of the time, gangsters, slashers, boxing, Martial arts, and thrillers, a little too many for Ferrara to juggle successfully.
Young Tom Berenger, a boxer with a troubled past is good but actor Jack Scalia shines. Berenger’s on off love interest Melanie Griffith has plenty of flesh on display and plays the high class exotic dancer, drug addict convincingly. Familiar faces including Godfather Part II Michael V. Gazzo, Rae Dawn Chong and María Conchita Alonso appear.
If exotic dancers, martial arts, knife attacks and punches is your thing this quick pacing and hard-edged setting is one to watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment