Murphy’s Law

Directed by J. Lee Thompson, Murphy’s Law follows grizzled detective Jack Murphy (Charles Bronson) as he reluctantly teams up with a foul-mouthed thief (Kathleen Wilhoite’s Arabella) to track down and capture a vicious killer (Carrie Snodgress’ Joan). It’s reasonable-enough subject matter that’s employed to periodically compelling yet mostly dull effect by Thompson, as the filmmaker, armed with Gail Morgan Hickman’s screenplay, delivers a sluggish thriller that’s rarely as engrossing or exciting as its premise might’ve indicated – with the arms-length atmosphere perpetuated by a lull-ridden narrative and Wilhoite’s predominantly grating turn as the irritating Arabella. And while the picture admittedly does contain a small handful of ingratiating, agreeable attributes, with this particularly true of Bronson’s predictably commanding and thoroughly enjoyable performance, Murphy’s Law builds towards a prolonged, dimly-lit finale that ensures it concludes on a decidedly (and disappointingly) unsatisfying note – which does, in the end, cement the film’s place as an underwhelming Bronson vehicle that generally feels like it should be so much better.

** out of ****