Stakeout

Quinn is surprisingly thrilling in the role of a crazed murderer, and the bone-crushing brutality of the opening sequence (he pummels a prison doctor's head to pulp with a truncheon) gives this bad guy an unpredictable edge. It's a deceptive ploy on Badham's part, as the film soon pitches into familiar car chase territory, where a couple of cops are establishing a prickly love/hate relationship. Dreyfuss is cuddly, cheeky and caring (when is he not?) as Chris Lecce, an experienced detective who should know better than to fall in love with the girlfriend of an escaped convict while staking out her apartment. Young Bill Reimers (Estevez, poor) is keen and conscientious, and resents covering for his partner's philandering. Between Lecce's illicit courtship and Reimers' consternation, there are some hearty laughs of a juvenile nature. Meanwhile, the raging Quinn approaches... It's all tied up in a slick, empty package by Badham's direction.