It seems that beleaguered cops that take on criminals who are armed more like terrorists than criminals and then shoot those same criminals are held up to more scrutiny than the bad guys in films these days. A bad guy opens up with a machine gun and a rocket launcher on the police. After a chase, the policeman shoots the bad guy with a .45 and yet the public outcry is for the officer. I know, this is oversimplification but then again we're talking about a movie that may run anywhere from 80 to 120 minutes. The fact is in movies these days the police are often portrayed as more flawed than those they are trying to stop.
Such is the case with SINNERS AND SAINTS. Johnny Strong portrays Det. Sean Riley, a New Orleans police officer who is facing major inquiries into his abilities for shooting criminals that shoot first and answer questions later. The movie opens with his partner being killed and another officer shot by a group they came to question. When they return fire and take out the bad guys, guess who might be brought up on charges and taken off the streets? Yep, the police.
But there is more going on with Riley than just his partner's death. As the film proceeds we discover he's dealing with the death of his child and a divorce. His long time friend Colin (Sean Patrick Flannery) is completely unaware of this when he shows up out of the blue. They may have grown up together but they took separate paths. Colin always seems to end up in trouble. Before he leaves this time, he presents Riley with a gift that goes unopened.
To keep Riley on the force his commander places him with a new partner, a homicide detective named Will Ganz (Kevin Phillips). Ganz is more the usual police detective, wears a suit and tie and digs for clues more often than interrogating suspects. The two would seem a perfect fit and actually do compliment one another. As they begin working together they start investigating a series of murders where the victims are tied to chairs and lit on fire only to have the flames extinguished and started over and over again. It's a particularly cruel form of torture but leads them to realize this isn't about serial killing; this is someone searching for something.
As they track down clues and informants Colin's name comes up which puts Riley in a particularly bad situation. True to his duty, he seeks out his old friend with the hope of helping him before those responsible for these torture murders find him first. The clues lead to a group of mercenaries rather than street thugs. And the local street gang that suffered the loss of their leader's brother wants vengeance as well. What secret does Colin have that would cause these mercenaries to search for him?
There is a spate of films being released straight to DVD these days from various companies, never making it to the local theater that uses several screens for their one hit film. Some are terrible and others like this one worth seeing. It may not feature a mega-star in the lead role but Strong is a credible actor who is quite believable here. Not only can he act, he handles the action portions of the role fine as well.
The story is more believable than most as well. When the reason for the mercenaries search comes out and Colin's ties to it, it seems plausible.
The weakest part of the movie is Phillips. He honestly seems to be trying his best but at the same time seems like he is acting rather than just being the role. Perhaps with time he will get past this. Let's hope.
On the whole this movie isn't one that will result in repeated viewings but will offer a decent night's entertainment for fans of police stories, mysteries and action films. And with the performance he offers one hopes that Strong will find the perfect vehicle to take him to star status.
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