Very poor and unimaginative action pic which finds detective Buster McHenry (Kiefer Sutherland) teaming reluctantly with American-Indian Hank Storm (Lou Diamond Phillips) in order to catch some crooks who stole a priceless Indian spear.The story, from David Rich, is little more than an excuse to get these two former brat-packers back together for one last fling. As a pairing they are pretty good, but neither of the two really put out in this flat, predictable cops and robbers garb. Jami Gertz (from "The Lost Boys") pops in as the heavy's girl.Over all this was an all too forgettable way for these two young, potential laden actors to close out the eighties.Tuesday, November 3, 1998 - Video

The only reason I give Renegades as high a rating as I do is because I'm a great big fan of the leads Lou Diamond Phillips and Kiefer Sutherland. Rarely have I seen a major theatrical motion picture resting on a supposition as outrageous as this one.Kiefer Sutherland is a Philadelphia detective gone undercover on his own to find a corrupt cop. He's infiltrated a mob headed by a very cold blooded hood played by Robert Knepper who's planning a jewel heist.The heist goes off, but with some unforeseen complications. Such as the fact that Knepper while fleeing from the cops in hot pursuit, goes through the Philadelphia American Indian Museum and on impulse steals a sacred lance of the Lakota Sioux tribe. He also shoots Gary Farmer who tries to stop him and cold conks Sutherland who tries the same.Phillips is Farmer's brother and he and Sutherland form an alliance of convenience to accomplish their separate goals. But I have to say that the whole idea here is just plain preposterous.Phillips is a stoic Indian figure, he's carrying over his performance from Young Guns where he and Sutherland met and became lifetime friends. Sutherland's performance is a combination of Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry and Steve McQueen from Bullitt.For action fans there are enough gun battles and one great car chase as in Bullitt through the streets of Philadelphia/Toronto as some of Renegades was filmed there. As Sutherland and Phillips are good friends in real life as well the spirit of camaraderie does come through. Jami Gertz as Knepper's girl friend has a very nice role as basically an old time gangster moll.Yet the whole idea behind Renegades is just plain preposterous and unless you're a fan of either one or both the leads you're going to laugh yourself silly.

RENEGADES is a great formula film from Jack Sholder. The films format is action adventure with a heavy native american theme. The film tells the tale of police corruption, mafia dirty dealings and the theft of a sacred lance from a native american tribe. The film has predictable elements yet is worthwhile. Of note is the directing style of sholder which is kinetic enough to keep the audience interested. RENEGADES is formula but succeds at being good formula; good formula never fails. I recommend this film as a popcorn and coke film.

in that dying minute of the action part of the movie, that seems to last an hour, the conflicts between the aspiration of the scriptwriter and the inspiration of the filming crew is revieled. from an A to a F in just 1 mínute, huh?however what is more worrying, is that this recipe has been used to cook up that world famous jack 24 hour bauer story, that makes you wanna move to the country or beyond!