U. S. Marshals

Spoilers below

 There is a common thought that U.S. Marshals is a disappointing sequel to The Fugitive, which I feel is misplaced.  Glass Onion is not really a sequel to Knives Out nor is Death on the Nile really a sequel to Murder on the Orient Express.  One major character carries over but the protagonists of these films are different so I think it is more fitting to say these second installments are set in the same universe.

Warner Brothers realized that The Fugitive, which I will review soon, did not lend itself to a sequel but since Tommy Lee Jones created such a memorable character in Sam Gerard (based on Barry Norse's Phillip Gerard from the original series who in turn was inspired by the obsessed detective Javert in Les Miserable) that the studio recognized the potential for further adventures for him.  As Richard Kimble had been a solo and thus quieter character in The Fugitive the filmmakers gave Gerard (who also usually worked alone in the series) a team that he could boss around but also banter with, especially Joe Pantoliano's Cosmo.  In The Fugitive Gerard and his team were as compelling as Kimble.

The entire team of Biggs (Daniel Roebuck), Newman (Thomas Mills Wood), Cosmo, and Cooper (LaTanya Richardson Jackson) returns here and have the same dynamic.  Stuart Baird, who before and afterwards was an acclaimed editor (Lethal Weapon, Die Hard 2, Casino Royale) had made his directorial debut a couple years earlier with Executive Decision, which I thought had a good premise but was far too long directs and the score is by Jerry Goldsmith.  Wesley Snipes plays Marc Sheridan, the new fugitive.  Irene Jacob plays Marie, Marc's French girlfriend.  

Baird puts together a terrific team, none of whom worked on The Fugitive which wisely ensures this film has its own look and feel.  The cinematography is by veteran Andrej Bartkowiak who continually establishes the geography of a place we are about to enter and makes the action easy to follow.  The editing is by Terry Rawlings, who distinguished himself on many fine films including Alien and GoldenEye.  Goldsmith turns in a propulsive score that uses his signature brass.   

On the theory that U.S. Marshals holds up well on its own I showed it to my kids without showing them the Fugitive first to get their impressions.  They had seen Tommy Lee Jones in the first Captain America film and in Lincoln so they quickly recognized and latched onto him.  When Gerard quietly says the line "We have a fugitive" they immediately asked me was the connection was since they had heard of the story.  I explained that it was the same character and asked to give me their thoughts when the film ended.

Stuart's introduction of the Marshals, taking down a family of drug dealers in a tense sequence with handheld cameras to capture the violence.  Although Gerard is first seen wearing a chicken outfit and Jones has so much presence that it is funny but not silly.  Goldsmith's score kicks in when he takes the head off and Biggs immediately enters the frame.  We never doubt the marshals will take down this crew but their work is very dangerous.  One of the best details is when Newman shoots the drug dealer with the shotgun and Gerard goes racing over to instinctively protect him.  A human touch is when Biggs mentions that he will need a tetanus shot in after he gets bitten in a well edited beat that closes out the scene. 

Where the film falls a little short is we see little of the characters' lives outside of their job.  Gerard is clearly dating a reporter but we only see them together once briefly and she isn't with him when he gets hurt.  Gerard looks uncomfortable with her and snaps back into his usual sharpness when his boss (played by Kate Nelligan) starts talking about work.  I love the way Jones quickly spits out the line "Did I do something?" and the way his boss gives it right back to him.  Jones gives Gerard some additional touches such as he knows some of the other people who are working on the transport plane and stubs his foot when walking into a store without shoes which would be drying after the airplane crash.  As expected, Pantoliano, has several funny exchanges with Jones but the other members of the team are not developed much.  I think this is a missed opportunity as they are the titular characters.

I expect part of the reason is the film spends a lot of time introducing Robert Downey Jr as Agent Royce who spends a lot of the film forming an uneasy alliance with Gerard but is revealed in a surprise moment to be the actual villain when he shoots Newman in cold blood.  Downey gives Royce a cold pale look and an insincere smile that hint at his true nature.  

Wesley Snipes is a good choice as this film's fugitive.  Snipes is an excellent dramatic actor but at the time he was making a lot of action films that displayed his martial arts expertise like Passenger 57 and Murder at 1600 and also occasionally played villains like in New Jack City and Demolition Man.  Snipes could have taken any number of approaches but Sheridan is actually pretty personable.  Sheridan fights well but does not use martial arts probably so it would be believable that Gerard and Royce could hold their own in separate fights with him.  For the most part we neither route for or against Sheridan.  We want Gerard and his team to get his man but doubt once again that this fellow is guilty of anything.  Since Sheridan is a trained agent we just enjoy watching the chase and seeing how he gets out of it but until the scene in the hospital we never fear for him.  Jacob, a superb actress who was excellent in Red and Othello has little to do other than occasionally turn up to help Sheridan.

Sheridan does actually kill two innocent men but in self defense as a result of a case of mistaken identity, due to being framed by Royce.  The MacGuffin, some classified documents, is uninteresting but it is just the setup for the chase.  

Stuart stages a few memorable sequences that are all very well edited.  The airplane crash feels authentic  and Gerard unsurprisingly takes charge of rescuing the prisoners before the plane sinks.  The chase through the swamp is atmospheric and shot tightly.  Gerard's approach on Sheridan when he has the drop on Royce and Sheridan's unexpected shooting of Gerard both occur very quickly.  The cemetery chase which leads to the retirement home sequence is a new setting for this type of film.  Royce, who is about 20 years younger than Gerard believably gets ahead of him when chasing Sheridan.  Gerard is sweaty and breathing heavily when he gets to the retirement home.  The efficiency with which the team searches the retirement home is impressive though I certainly felt for the residents who must have been terrified.  The only false note is the big stunt which Sheridan uses to escape, which though impressive is a moment of fun at a time when the audience is absorbing Newman's shooting.

Newman's death is a shock (although we notice Royce tries to shoot Sheridan earlier in the stairwell without trying to take him into custody) and Baird uses it well, particularly when Newman has to helplessly allow the man who shot him to help him.  Gerard's utter devastation in the ambulance that then turns to focused revenge, encouraged by Royce is a good dramatic hook.  From this point Baird is baiting us like Hitchcock did in Vertigo and Rope, making us wait to see when Gerard will put the pieces together.

The last sequence is the hunt and fight on the ship which is the culmination of Gerard's drive to avenge Newman.  The men being picked up and dropped in the grain container is a stretch but the fight has the requisite intensity and although it is predictable that Gerard does not actually shoot Sheridan, Jones' face conveys his mixed emotions and his growing suspicions when Royce shoots Sheridan unnecessarily (but fails to kills him).

The finale in the hospital has more understated suspense in the hospital finale as Downey gets to play Royce 's true colors and wisely does not take him over the top.  When Gerard enters having baited Royce he gives Gerard a sadness when he says "Why did you shoot that boy?" Downey gives Royce no sympathy, just a cold disinterested reaction.  At no point did I think Gerard was in any real danger as I figured he could outdraw Royce.  The moment where Royce tries to kill Gerard with his backup weapon is weakly staged but it is interesting to see the two men finish their relationship in this way.  

My kids determined that U.S. Marshals was a fun action thriller.  I definitely feel they enjoyed it more having seen it first.  ***