Film

No Mercy (1986)

Director: Richard Pearce

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

His partner murdered by hoodlums, tough Chicago cop Eddie Jillette (Gere) takes a trip to New Orleans on a mission of vengeance against gangster Losado (Krabbé). Trouble is, the sole witness to the crime - a sultry, pouting blonde named Michel (Basinger) - is also Losado's slave-cum-mistress. To complicate matters, they do things different down South, and pretty soon Eddie's at loggerheads not only with Losado's lot but with the New Orleans cops. What matter, though, when a sweaty stint fleeing through the Bayou swamps with Michel brings at long last love into Eddie's life? Richard Pearce's thriller suffers from near-total predictability, with a script that careers headlong through clichéd situations, calculatedly coarse dialogue, and cardboard characters. That said, Pearce reveals a strong feel for lurid locations and spectacular set pieces, and makes the film look stylish, too much so in the case of the three leads. Indeed, taken straight it's all a little risible; but as fast-paced hokum pitted with plot-holes, it's polished fun - no more, no less.

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