Ernest 'Stick' Stickley returns home from prison, and very soon he gets involved with his old friend in a drug deal that goes sour.
Hired by a rich investor, he tries to go straight, but trouble follows him as he tries to collect a debt and make up for lost time with his daughter.
Stick also finds a new flame with a financial wiz and gets set to enjoy a new life, but Chucky and Nestor, the two hoods who owe him the debt, have other plans to stick it to Stick.
Stick, say the word a few times over, and it doesn't sound like a word anymore, and it's uttered so many times in this film, that it becomes chucklesome after a while.
Reynolds is great as the titular character, and you know he's tough because he jumps off a train and his hat stays on, and he also sets a mans bottom on fire.......and this in the first ten minutes.
The film is a pretty serious affair, and could have done with some of the humour that the studio demanded to be cut, but Reynolds throws a few one-liners in the mix.
As a director, Reynolds keeps the narrative tight, and the characters are very fleshed out, and Stick has a wonderful relationship with his daughter.
The action and the score feels a lot like Friedkin's 'To Live And Die In L. A.' but that isn't a criticism, as that film is one of the finest films ever to be made.
It has a real eightie's feel to it, and it has been locked in that decade, everything from the clothing, to the houses, it douses us with the eightie's and it's all the more watchable for it.
It also features one of the finest stunts ever filmed, and special equipment was made for the film, and it's worth every penny.
It's not going to be for everyone, but if you like the decade, and the synth score, and of course, Reynolds, you have a tailor made movie for you..
Hired by a rich investor, he tries to go straight, but trouble follows him as he tries to collect a debt and make up for lost time with his daughter.
Stick also finds a new flame with a financial wiz and gets set to enjoy a new life, but Chucky and Nestor, the two hoods who owe him the debt, have other plans to stick it to Stick.
Stick, say the word a few times over, and it doesn't sound like a word anymore, and it's uttered so many times in this film, that it becomes chucklesome after a while.
Reynolds is great as the titular character, and you know he's tough because he jumps off a train and his hat stays on, and he also sets a mans bottom on fire.......and this in the first ten minutes.
The film is a pretty serious affair, and could have done with some of the humour that the studio demanded to be cut, but Reynolds throws a few one-liners in the mix.
As a director, Reynolds keeps the narrative tight, and the characters are very fleshed out, and Stick has a wonderful relationship with his daughter.
The action and the score feels a lot like Friedkin's 'To Live And Die In L. A.' but that isn't a criticism, as that film is one of the finest films ever to be made.
It has a real eightie's feel to it, and it has been locked in that decade, everything from the clothing, to the houses, it douses us with the eightie's and it's all the more watchable for it.
It also features one of the finest stunts ever filmed, and special equipment was made for the film, and it's worth every penny.
It's not going to be for everyone, but if you like the decade, and the synth score, and of course, Reynolds, you have a tailor made movie for you..