"Code of Silence" is a lacklustre Chuck Norris vehicle that goes nowhere interesting. It's also confusingly plotted, with half hour gaps in between sequential events so that you forget what led to what you are currently seeing.The employment of action movie clichés is at least a source of unintentional comedy. Norris is the typical lone wolf cop whose actions serve as an indication to why police are supposed to have partners. Norris leaves his own partner behind constantly, and then gets involved in situations that wouldn't have occurred if he hadn't been so selfish, like a girl being taken hostage by a thug while he has to quickly use his martial arts skills to incapacitate a bunch of others, unrealistically, before giving chase. If his partner had been with him the girl probably wouldn't have been taken. The fact that she was taken means she could have easily been killed or otherwise injured. Nice going, Chuck.The movie also doesn't let Chuck play to his strengths, or, er, strength. Apart from the scene mentioned above, he only really breaks out his martial arts skills once in the whole movie, in a fight that is admittedly impressive, but ends with Chuck getting his butt kicked. This will be unbelievable to anyone who remembers those jokes floating around about him back in the mid 2000s.Chuck without martial arts isn't much of a Chuck at all. He doesn't have the personality to come off as anything other than a weirdo as he wanders around leaving his partner behind and pulling guns on a police robot. The superb character actor, Henry Silva, barely does anything as a villain we hardly get to see. Two wastes in one movie.

Eddie Cusack (Chuck) is a Chicago cop under attack on all fronts. The Italian mob hates him because he and his partner Det. Dorato (Farina) got involved in a drug deal they were doing with the Colombian cartel, led by the evil Comacho (Silva). Now the Colombians are after his blood as well. And even members of his own department are after him because his honesty and integrity forces him to break the "code of silence" when a fellow cop Cragie (Foody) shoots an unarmed teenager and plants a gun on him. And his young, new partner that he didn't initially want, Kopalas (Guzaldo) is cracking under the strain. But Cusack does have a dependable ally in all this mess: a prototype police robot named Prowler. Will Cusack and Prowler win the day? Find out today! Code Of Silence is a classic 80's adult cop drama. It's also one of Chuck's best. The makers of this movie were smart: they crafted a vehicle for Chuck that plays to all of his strengths. (Though this seems to be somewhat accidental, as Chuck wasn't the first choice for the role of Cusack). Here, Chuck is the strong, silent type: a rock of relative calm in the sea of chaos around him. He's not "wooden", he's quiet, reserved, even contemplative. Someone finally decided that Chuck could be in a serious-minded, non-goofy movie, and not only does it completely work, but it's a highlight in his career.Stallone perhaps could have played the Eddie Cusack role, and truly this is Chuck's Nighthawks (1981). They both grew beards and wore sweaters to prove they could make gritty, realistic fare for grown-ups. Smartly, the makers of Code Of Silence saved all the action for the final third, which makes total sense. Now, in today's ADD-afflicted culture, someone somewhere decided movies have to have Vin Diesel or The Rock doing some sort of cartoonish, silly CGI car stunt in front of a green screen in the first seconds of a movie (or trailer) in order to satisfy an audience of dummies. By contrast, Code Of Silence's pace is slow and deliberate, and thank goodness for that. It hearkens back to a time when action movies were MOVIES, not glorified video games. With the passing of time, Code Of Silence looks better than ever.Some of our most-loved clichés are on board as well, such as the WYC (White Yelling Chief), the copious sax on the soundtrack, and, in a 2-for-1, the abandoned warehouse in an abandoned shipyard. And, proving definitively it was the glorious 80's, Chuck has a Rubik's cube. The great Henry Silva makes a worthy enemy for The Chuckster, and Dennis Farina is a great buddy for him to have. And Ralph Foody is the original foodie. Director Davis went on to work with Seagal on his vehicles Above the Law (1988) and Under Siege (1992), but don't hold that against. him. Code Of Silence is a winner all around.Sadly, they don't make 'em like this anymore, but at least we have gems like Code Of Silence to remember that quality used to come to the movie theater.

Code of Silence is basically Andrew Davis' training ground for Above the Law with Steven Seagal. Chuck plays a cop who's so righteous, that he has to do it alone, cause his buddies wouldn't bother helping him, fearing for the safety of their public image. The whole movie rushed in front of my eyes like it wasn't even there. The plot, although interesting, is handled in the same clunky way as Above the Law, where the story's also a little hard to follow and could also be presented much clearer, but at least it had a supercool main man Nico throwing around people left and right. What stops CoS in its tracks is that Chuck's so minimalistic, that it feels like there's no protagonist, as for Henry Silva - not much time spent to show him off either. Code of Silence really is a mixed bag. The style that the story is told is mangled by the style the action is presented (lookout for the robot). Although whenever Denis Farina pops up on the screen the movie sucks you back in, because you expect something interesting to happen. Well, nothing ever did.

One of Chuck Norris' best movies, this is. It's a role that is absolutely perfect for him. He's a rock solid, super tough, good to the bone police detective who isn't afraid to resolve the situations all on his own if nobody will help him. I tell you, the last scene is so hardcore Chuck Norris action that you'll love it if you like action. There's just something great about one guy annihilating lots of scumbags on his own. Especially when it's either Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone doing it. It's Chicago in the 80's, a great backdrop for this kind of movie. Superb action and the man himself make this a must watch for action afficionados.