This was a very interesting movie. I have a few questions as an amateur movie critic but all in all this movie was definitely not boring. Kurt Russell (Michael Carr) and his wife Gwendolyn (Madaline Stowe, who is extremely sexy in a steamy nude sex scene) live in a nice upper middle class LA house that gets broken into by a lowdown thug. Michael, which may or may not have been a bad move, trips him and then runs up to him threatening to whack him with a golf club which may or may not be the reason the sonofabitch (as Michael called him) put a knife up to Gwen's throat. That issue goes back to the law that once an intruder has broken into your home, whatever you do to him is nice and legal. There has been debate on that though, that only certain circumstances when they're broken in your home, is it legal to do something to them. I believe it would have to be an immediate kind of self defense or wife or kid defense situation, or else you could still be changed with assault or manslaughter. I'm not 100% sure on that, and since when Michael tripped the intruder it wasn't an immediate defense situation like it was a minute later when he had the knife to Gwen's throat. He could've been attempting a citizen's arrest, so he probably didn't do anything wrong.
Next scene enter the police officers Ray Laotta (Pete) and his assistant who, after scolding Michael and Gwen's not very good watch cat (lol), begin to take very good care of the couple in light of their bad experience. Pete goes out and beyond. He not only gets the forensics crew over there the next day to dust for prints, etc. He personally helps the alarm system company install a system in the house. Michael, Gwen, and Pete really hit it off. He joins them for dinner and invites Michael for a ride along the following night.
Pete crossed over some lines as the film progressed. In my opinion though, I didn't think Pete did anything wrong as soon as Michael thought he did. Later on in the movie, I definitely found Pete to be psychotic. I did notice little hints even early on of Michael feeling a little overwhelmed from by him attaching himself on a little too much a little too soon even when generally Michael was still being happy and friendly back towards Pete. For instance, when Pete asked Michael about the ride along, Michael was pleased at the idea, but when Pete said "how about Tomorrow?", I noticed how Michael then hesitated for a second as if thinking it was maybe it was a little too much too soon. The end of the ride along was when the plot thickened. It was when Pete caught the knife wielding intruder, it looked like Michael was totally on Pete's side saying "yes! That's him!". And Pete said to the thug "Ya hear that!? You've just been made!" The second after Pete said that was when the fault came in; for some reason I just can't understand, Michael suddenly switched over to taking the thug's side. Pete was rough on him, but Michael automatically started feeling sorry for him. If you saw someone beating up someone who broke into your house and assaulted and threatened your wife, would you feel sorry for him for getting beaten up? Neither would I. Michael's wife pinpointed it, "I just don't share your newfound sympathy for the man who broke into our home and put a goddam knife to my throat!" No kidding! Then Michael, during the opening night of his new nightclub, yells at Pete to get out of his life. That was just so unnecessary. If Michael was really wanting Pete to give him and Gwen some space, there were definitely better ways to handle it, especially since Pete was a cop. Michael was a freakin moron for talking to Pete that way, especially with the circumstances. That was the big fault of the movie.
As much as Michael was the one at fault up to that point, there was still no excuse for the things Pete did next. Of course if Michael didn't act so stupid, Pete wouldn't have done them. But still, Pete became the one in the wrong in the scenes following the nightclub scene. Pete started getting obsessed with getting some sweet revenge on Michael. He rigged the system to make it where he owed $600 in parking tickets, put a boot on his car, and walked in on Michael and his wife having sex after the cat tripped the alarm. Pete then crosses over into psychotic territory. He knocked Michael to the ground and put a gun to his face, frames him for being a major drug dealer with Michael looking at a few years of hard time, made a lot of noise about taking Michael's wife (and tried to when Michael was locked up), and murdered two people. Michael's lawyer friend bails him out of jail by putting up his house and his savings, now that's a good friend. You'll very rarely ever find someone who'll do that for you. Michael tells him about how it's all about him wanting his wife. I think it's a combination of that and revenge from the nightclub scene, Michael filing a formal complaint to Pete's superior, and Michael crying about Pete to Pete's partner Roy. Roy takes Michael's side which sure doesn't help matters, actually it results into Pete fatally shooting Roy. He also kills a friend of Michael's wife in Michael and Gwen's house and stuffs her body into the closest. What a deranged psychopath. Pete is played by Ray Liotta who has been very good at playing psychopaths. He plays similar type roles in "Goodfellas" and in "Something wild" with Jeff Daniels.
Next scene enter the police officers Ray Laotta (Pete) and his assistant who, after scolding Michael and Gwen's not very good watch cat (lol), begin to take very good care of the couple in light of their bad experience. Pete goes out and beyond. He not only gets the forensics crew over there the next day to dust for prints, etc. He personally helps the alarm system company install a system in the house. Michael, Gwen, and Pete really hit it off. He joins them for dinner and invites Michael for a ride along the following night.
Pete crossed over some lines as the film progressed. In my opinion though, I didn't think Pete did anything wrong as soon as Michael thought he did. Later on in the movie, I definitely found Pete to be psychotic. I did notice little hints even early on of Michael feeling a little overwhelmed from by him attaching himself on a little too much a little too soon even when generally Michael was still being happy and friendly back towards Pete. For instance, when Pete asked Michael about the ride along, Michael was pleased at the idea, but when Pete said "how about Tomorrow?", I noticed how Michael then hesitated for a second as if thinking it was maybe it was a little too much too soon. The end of the ride along was when the plot thickened. It was when Pete caught the knife wielding intruder, it looked like Michael was totally on Pete's side saying "yes! That's him!". And Pete said to the thug "Ya hear that!? You've just been made!" The second after Pete said that was when the fault came in; for some reason I just can't understand, Michael suddenly switched over to taking the thug's side. Pete was rough on him, but Michael automatically started feeling sorry for him. If you saw someone beating up someone who broke into your house and assaulted and threatened your wife, would you feel sorry for him for getting beaten up? Neither would I. Michael's wife pinpointed it, "I just don't share your newfound sympathy for the man who broke into our home and put a goddam knife to my throat!" No kidding! Then Michael, during the opening night of his new nightclub, yells at Pete to get out of his life. That was just so unnecessary. If Michael was really wanting Pete to give him and Gwen some space, there were definitely better ways to handle it, especially since Pete was a cop. Michael was a freakin moron for talking to Pete that way, especially with the circumstances. That was the big fault of the movie.
As much as Michael was the one at fault up to that point, there was still no excuse for the things Pete did next. Of course if Michael didn't act so stupid, Pete wouldn't have done them. But still, Pete became the one in the wrong in the scenes following the nightclub scene. Pete started getting obsessed with getting some sweet revenge on Michael. He rigged the system to make it where he owed $600 in parking tickets, put a boot on his car, and walked in on Michael and his wife having sex after the cat tripped the alarm. Pete then crosses over into psychotic territory. He knocked Michael to the ground and put a gun to his face, frames him for being a major drug dealer with Michael looking at a few years of hard time, made a lot of noise about taking Michael's wife (and tried to when Michael was locked up), and murdered two people. Michael's lawyer friend bails him out of jail by putting up his house and his savings, now that's a good friend. You'll very rarely ever find someone who'll do that for you. Michael tells him about how it's all about him wanting his wife. I think it's a combination of that and revenge from the nightclub scene, Michael filing a formal complaint to Pete's superior, and Michael crying about Pete to Pete's partner Roy. Roy takes Michael's side which sure doesn't help matters, actually it results into Pete fatally shooting Roy. He also kills a friend of Michael's wife in Michael and Gwen's house and stuffs her body into the closest. What a deranged psychopath. Pete is played by Ray Liotta who has been very good at playing psychopaths. He plays similar type roles in "Goodfellas" and in "Something wild" with Jeff Daniels.