Shakedown

Directed by James Glickenhaus, Shakedown follows a burned-out public defender (Peter Weller’s Roland Dalton) as he teams up with a grizzled narcotics agent (Sam Elliott’s Richie Marks) to solve a case concerning a drug dealer (Richard Brooks’ Michael Jones) and a dead undercover cop (Jude Ciccolella’s Patrick O’Leary). There’s little doubt that Shakedown improves considerably once it passes a particular point, as the movie does, in its sluggish first half, suffer from a distressing absence of wholeheartedly compelling elements that prevents the viewer from connecting to the material or characters – with the arms-length atmosphere exacerbated by an overly familiar narrative and dialogue that is, for the most part, unconvincing and far too clever for its own good. It’s clear, then, that the picture benefits substantially from a growing emphasis on exciting, larger-than-life action sequences, including an electrifying fight aboard a moving roller coaster and a car chase involving a city bus, and although Glickenhaus’ decision to stress Roland’s romantic exploits contributes heavily to the hit-and-miss vibe, Shakedown, which closes with an astonishingly, hilariously over-the-top climax that simply has to be seen to be believed, is ultimately able to cement its place as a satisfying thriller that admittedly could (and should) have been so much better.

*** out of ****