Dead Bang

Based on the career of a real-life homicide cop, this is a vehicle for the still-pending big screen launch of Johnson, the casual fashion-plate from Miami Vice. To show his range, this time he looks like shit, with specs held together by tape, and Hoke Moseley-style personal problems. He vomits on a suspect, too, but don't think the camera doesn't love him, right down to the freeze-frame finish. Popeye Doyle he ain't. Having Johnson aboard entails a certain amount of tailored scenario that doesn't drive the story. The brief affair with cop's widow Miller is unconvincing, and the scene with the psychiatrist seems to be there to show the star getting the giggles. The plot begins with race murders, leads to a cross-country pursuit, and ends daftly with neo-Nazis in underground caverns. Routine stuff.