I was never a Patrick Swayze fan, not because of his ability as an actor, but the movies he made. After watching the complete series of North And South, which he made before he became famous, i thought we would be in for some fine films. Next Of Kin in my view was an exception. The usual revenge story line, a member of a family is murdered by the mob and his family want revenge. What i found interesting about Next Of Kin, was the way Bill Paxtons family were portrayed. Not the usual cliché of being eliterite, stupid and being moonshiners. They were portrayed as intelligent human beings not to fool around with. I thought the entire cast played their parts well. Some reviewers criticise Ben Stiller for being miscast as a mobsters son. Well members of the Cosa Nostra do not walk around looking like people with blood dripping fangs and frothing at the mouth, they look like everyone else. Remember what Martin Scosece said in an interview about making Goofellas. A good film to watch on a quiet evening.

The film is directed by Englishman John Irvin who has made a rather unsung career out of bringing a stronger-than-usual sense of characterization to genre films. Although Irvin's filming of the action scenes are a little pedestrian, he still has a strong visual sense and manages to vividly contrast the conflicting worlds of the country and the city. The film's supporting cast is well chosen and both the heroes and the villains all come to life with a surprising amount of dignity. At no point do any of the actors demean their roles by playing... typical hillbillies or, for that matter, typical mobsters and that shows an unusual and admirable amount of integrity for a film of this sort. Paxton isn't on screen long but remains, as always, a likable presence and Adam Baldwin makes a compellingly understandable and hissable villain. Michael J. Pollard shows up as a hillbilly and brings his trademark quirkiness to the proceedings while the role of the nerdy mob scion is played by Ben Stiller, of all people. It's a little jarring to see Stiller show up on screen (especially playing an essentially villainous role) yet he gives a strong performance without resorting to do any standard Stiller bits. Helen Hunt's role is... typical but she's probably far warmer in this role than she's been in any of her prestige pictures. Certainly, the best performance in the film is given by Liam Neeson who dominates the proceedings with the grim sincerity he brings to his quest for revenge. This Irish actor also manages to perfectly capture the unique accent of the Appalacian region. As an actor, Patrick Swayze has always been limited and he's always been better at projecting sincerity than complexity. Luckily, his role in Next of Kin has been designed to require little more of him than sincerity and, if Next of Kin doesn't represent his best performance, its certainly his most likable.The music was great in this movie, a little culture and a lot of country. Swayze again wrote a song especially for this movie "Brothers" sung by Swayze and Larry Gatlin. All in all, Great acting from Liam Neeson and Patrick Swayze.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

NEXT OF KIN (1989) Back in the 80's action movies where all the rage, remember when everybody was seeing/talking about Die Hard, Predator, Lethal Weapon or the latest Rambo entry. Reenter those wonderful unforgettable days of ole for this piece of underrated southern fried vengeance and mayhem action flick starring mullet hero Patrick Swayze and a then largely unknown Liam Neeson, who sets the groundwork for his future metamorphosis from Oscar nominated actor to 21st century Charles Bronson, here.Directed by John Irvin, a maverick of the underrated action movie with credits like the Dogs of War and the superior Schwarzenegger vehicle Raw Deal, Swayze stars as Truman Gates, a reformed hillbilly turned windy city cop. When mobsters kill his little brother (Bill Paxton), he finds himself torn between "what he should have done and what has to be done." So enter his estranged older brother, Briar (Neeson), the kind of Appalachian who keeps a severed deer's head in his fridge next to his beer. Briar comes to the big city looking for the men responsible and more than willing to stomp a few creeps to get some answers. Truman, unsuccessfully attempts to keep him on a leash, but soon finds himself drawn into the dark side of vengeance too.Not nearly as giddy silly as the much loved Swayze starrer cult classic Road House. Still, Next of Kin offers plenty to recommend like an awesome showdown in a cemetery, amiable characters, funny cheesy duologue, and a great role for cult character actor Michael J. Pollard as the proprietor of a flophouse who gets the film's single funniest line ("Hell, no. I'd shoot somebody").Having never looked better than on the new Blu-ray release with it's 1:85:1 high definition transfer, it easily replaces the poor quality budget pan & scan DVD from years ago. Featuring a stunning cast of actors who would continue to various levels of stardom, not just Neeson and Paxton, but also a never lovelier future Oscar Winner Helen Hunt, Adam Baldwin (Serenity) as the chief heavy, a young Ben Stiller as a mobster flunky and Ted Levine ("Monk") .Next of Kin is not as well known as many of the other actioners of it's day, but it is one of the best. As expected there are plot holes, inconsistencies and plenty of good old clichés, but it's also a lot of fun and an agreeable time waster. A perfect lazy Sunday afternoon movie.

Amazingly, I'd never seen this movie, though I'd seen its cover on the rental shelf countless times. It was the passing of Swayze that provided the motivation to see some of his other, lesser known movies.Swayze was as good as always but he didn't really have much to work with here. The plot certainly didn't provide anything we haven't seen a hundred times already. It had a gritty, dirty feel to it so if the director was trying to get that across then he succeeded in this point.The script was rather corny at times, perhaps because that was the way movies were made in this period but perhaps also because it was trying to show "mountain" people. If I was a member of that community I would have been embarrassed to have been portrayed this way but perhaps that is just my ignorance as a foreigner.One of the worthwhile reasons for seeing this movie is to catch a glimpse of some very well known actors before they hit mainstream popularity. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton play rather wooden characters which sadly doesn't allow a hint of their talents to shine through. Neeson is excellent and quite believable as a scruffy looking mountain guy. The most out of place actor would be Ben Stiller. Knowing him as we do today it is just hard to take him seriously so in retrospect he is very miscast.The action is pretty dull by today's standards which might have been okay if the plot was complex and the characters well developed. Unfortunately, it makes for a somewhat boring experience. I found the tiny hints of life in the Appalachian Mountains very interesting. If this movie was remade with more emphasis on their culture and the problems they face then it could be an extremely interesting movie, perhaps showing the community in a way similar to how Witness gave a glimpse at Amish life.As it stands, though, it is really just a late night TV movie or for fans of Swayze.