Sharky's Machine

Demoted to the vice squad after a bungled drugs bust, Reynolds puts together a team of 'loser' cops to investigate links between high class hookers and possible political corruption. Unfortunately, Reynolds the director is as uncertain about the tone of the picture as Reynolds the star is about his screen persona. So while the action veers from lightweight action to extreme violence, Reynolds' character vacillates between macho tough guy and sensitive, vulnerable leading man. One minute he's busting heads and uttering expletives, the next he's talking to emotionally scarred tart-with-a-heart Ward about his passion for wood-carving. Still, William A Fraker's first-rate location photography invests the seedy locations with an authentic feel, while the relish with which the unhinged assassin (Silva) and Oriental torturers go about their business enliven the routine plot about a mysterious Mr Big.