The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 80

Mfl' a 'V mumi1 vv vwv vnr-v1 pmmriiT vp F6 FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26 1993 LOS ANGELES TIMES P'W i A masterpiece of family entertainmentan A An instant classic by -Chuck Henry KABC-TV THUMBS -SISKEL A EBERT CntinM from FI more than anything else a greedy picture Charles Bronson's iWi8h" with a bogus social con-? science it is eager to have things both ways to spinelessly pander to a mass audience on the one hand while piously calling attention to pressing urban problems on the 1 other The first person D-Fens meets for instance is a surly grocer who not only have the decency 1 to give him change to make a phone call but also has shamelessly overpriced everything in his convenience store and is a pain in the neck in the bargain But never i fear D-Fens is about to teach him a lesson he is never going to forget The same holds true for every one else who crosses the man's path from turf-proud gang mem-! bers pushy panhandlers and a bigoted neo-Nazi (Frederic For-s rest) to we street repair crews who could care less 'about the inconvenience they cause and intractable fast-food i employees who serve break fast to customers who Just miss the cutoff you ashamed of D-Fens tells these folks i an armed and dangerous Miss Man-ners intent on restoring civility to the world even if he has to frighten people half to death to do it Moat galling of all (rated for violence and strong language) seems eager to get credit for the way it uses serious social problems as shallow window dressing in an urban fantasy Throwing in shots of home less people of a man holding i "Dying of sign and another protesting at a failed savings loan is supposed to convince us this film is serious about nuking difference when all it is serious about is putting money in its own pockets "Falling script and direction are slick and commercial (Smith is aq actor turned screenwriter credits include ami Lost and the film is certainly adept at pointing out the areas of stress and irritation in modern city life But appears to be totally oblivious to the ways it is -at best capitalizing on a difficult situation and at worst making it even more intractable Rather than admit that the very real probems D-Fens encounters are not capable of simplistic solutions the film wants to safely pin every trace of trouble on those nameless others who always seem to do so much damage Happy to have found a way to cash in on miseries "Falling encourages a gloating sense that we the long-suffering victims are finally getting our splendid revenge The ultimate hollowness of that kind of triumph reflects the shallowness of a film all too eager to serve it up i Tailing rrm Yet "Falling content with having audiences' laugh at its simplistic Jokes and mindlessly cheer D-Fens on it also wants us to cluck disapprovingly at what a loose cannon he is to sympathise with the terrorised ex-wife (Barbara Hershey) he wants to visit and the quietly heroic cop (Robert Duvall) who has to first figure out what D-Fens is up to and then track him down while dealing with his own high-strung and whiny spouse (Tuesday Weld) And all this you know it on his very last day on the Job Sntai ihibl mi fvnoKi nmbi proouroon Moam on by Wai I Arnold i-- u- Mpnon imni wwnpom imr My Harris Ewcudwi pwduca AmoH MScbav Scran- ploy Etb Boo 8mhClniinlWphdfAndIB1li6 oMl Editor tad Mock CooUjoim Mataa Stawt Baa mr jmvim mbmpi mm noouGuon ompi ir baa Ung Art dtodorlaiy niton Sal dMHtorCrtcfc-' RmnUtRia I hour 82 nilnuni adlAMMadotraag PrsSstliss prnislt inmniaMiiiEvr Mmjkwm 1 HI BBOCE sHiiumr Producod 'ThslacraSIhliJiiiMf ail iiiraiiiiB GlGHHALAUMBKES IHIrlbtlH by ISESb VISTA PICTURES IIITSISVTISR IK HERA VISTA PICTSSES IIITRIHTISR IRC til jsss (MUSLIM 7hwW7tNi mUNHItll i no ms i MEM -tKi min i2 Mnl '-art ilfeMMR MBIMolWfei 6B MnrfW IMm iwwhi wwcn mm ammmrt gas sf wr Mi MeUGemmi MMMiCMh CM WHW MIMNWMM (7MJIMMN IS MM 7pM) ly inappropriate When the drug king lights his stogie on the sandpapery skin of one of his henchman you can hear the amplified scratch as the match bursts into flame Just as you hour the amplified blows whenever anyone is hit Rodrigues sets up this sleepy deranged border town with every bussing fly intact good on atmosphere If all we wanted from the movies was derring-do we need to go to the movies TV commercials would do Just fine Rodriguez has the technique to make first-class-looking movies on grade A budgets but with his skills and his humor he should aim fin: more than a career of fancy pyrotechnics 'EHMariachT MUCV mmtm mmmhmm MMCMM 4MCMHM7 MIEHft PMMAJm EiHBMK 6MEIIW IRRBiNOTSSSm HMSSaMIM H)E(M-MH MM Ml CM? 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