If you are a Denzel fan, you'll be able to get thru this one, otherwise, you'll probably turn it off.A young Denzel gets to strip naked and talk all kinds of talk in this role as a high profile cop who hits it big after a key arrest of John Lithgow who plays the bad guy. He's not your average bad guy though - he's a complete psycho who obsesses about getting revenge on Denzel by destroying every bit of his life.The movie starts out OK, and Denzel seizes the ops to get ahead. But the escape scene by Lithgow is just outright stupid. The things he then does are just outright stupid. The cops look like bungling idiots. the only good guys who can do squat are the bad guys, led by ice T. It's just a mess of a story with overblown performances by both Denzel and Lithgow.The ending is absolutely stupid and unbelievable. the only good part is it's slight homage to Jimmy Cagney in White Heat. But other than that, I don't recommend Ricochet because it's not a good movie at all. It's also pretty bloody, but the acting also leaves you in great pain as well. I suggest you skip Ricochet unless you are trying to watch all the films Denzel ever made, both bad and good.

A rookie cop becomes a media sensation after a video camera captures him shooting and capturing a psycho killer. The handsome, smooth talking cop becomes a celebrated district attorney and even potential political candidate. He now has a beautiful wife and two great kids.Meanwhile the psycho killer follows his career from prison, seething with hatred, eventually to make a bloody break from prison, fake his own death, then begin a systematic attempt to ruin the D.A.'s life by a series of incidents in which people, including his own wife, will question his sanity. The D.A. will soon be on the run from the law, having to team with old street gang members in order to clear himself.Denzel Washington is the cop/D.A. and John Lithgow, incredibly, the psycho killer who seemingly can't be stopped. Lithgow even has a mortal combat sequence with Jesse "The Body" Ventura in which he is the quite easy victor. Really? Lithgow besting Ventura mano a mano? Ice T plays the chief gang member.This film starts well enough but becomes increasingly over the top as it proceeds and then, well, just plain dumb. Action fans who just want to go on a free wheeling ride and don't care about logic may enjoy it while others may be turned off by a film that becomes pretty hysterical in its presentation, particularly the climax with television cameras there to record all the action.In the prison Lithgow has a cell wall covered with photos of Washington, a reflection of his clear obsession with him. But prison authorities don't seem to care. What kind of prison is this? His combat scene with Ventura, with all inmates cheering them on, continues for three or four minutes. No prison guards around to stop them? What kind of prison is this? When a prison break is made power tools are used as weapons, including a power saw for one spectacular way for a uniformed guard to die. What kind of prison is this? Washington's power as an actor comes through sporadically but he can't make the material seem any better. There are a couple of scenes in which he is stripped down to show how semi beef cakey he was at the time. There is also a moment, to show what kind of film Ricochet is, in which one character has a spectacular fall, landing on a spike which rips through his body.Washington's deadpan response, "You get the point now, don't you?" It's a cheap jokey cringe worthy moment, reminiscent of Sean Connery's 007.

The Problem Here is Tone. It Wanders and Waivers at the Drop of a Profanity. The Movie is Vile and Then Cute and Cuddly. There are Individual Set Pieces that are Effective and Brutal and There are Scenes that are Cringe Inducing, Like a Switch of Allegiance with a Backstory that is Barely Hinted and Does Not Ring True.Denzel Washington and John Lithgow are the Right Actors in the Right Roles but are Betrayed by the Lame Script, Inept Storytelling, and a Style that is Pedestrian. It can be a Guilty Pleasure for Sure, but that Only Reinforces the Mishandling of the Material and a Result of Rubbernecking at Powerful Actors being Prostituted for Cheap Thrills. Kevin Pollak is Wasted in a Sleepwalking Role.The Movie Works at Times but Unravels So Often it is a Frustrating Film that Never Finds its Legs and is Herky-Jerky the Way it Fluctuates its Presentation. The Third-Act is the Worst of the Three as Characters Betray Their Previous Personas and Become Cattle Herded Into the Slaughterhouse for a Cheesy Conclusion.Yes, the Whole Movie is Cheesy but Not as Smelly as the Completely Clunky Ending.

In "Ricochet" a dangerous man escapes from prison with the sole purpose of getting revenge on the man who put him behind bars many years ago. John Lithgow plays Earl and he goes on a limitless hunt trying to destroy the reputation of the former cop, now a respected district attorney played by Denzel Washington. Let's say that the formula of "Cape Fear" gets really twisted, really messy, at times outrageously funny trying to be very serious in here. What makes this movie worth viewing is the way the villain executes his plan of destroying the hero bit by bit without killing him, he makes better: he makes the honorable man looks like a crazy fool who'll lost respect of the society he helped to improve by condemning guys like Earl, and will try hard to get the love and respect of his family and friends. The plan was interestingly performed, things are quite surprising in this department and the film succeeds in this. It also succeeds with Lithgow playing an scary antagonist stealing the show from everybody, and Denzel does his routine acting, very good.However, this film cannot be viewed just for those things. The main problem of the film was some absurds put on the screen to make us impressed by the plot. And it's strange that director Russell Mulcahy and writer Steven E. De Souza (the future director of "Street Fighter") wants us to make not only shocked, entertained and all but also wants the audience to take this story seriously, but it's really hard to do that. Here's some moments and things that puts this film on a lower level: the violent jailbreak scene almost got right with the excess of violence (very unbelievable that prisoners would have access to such dangerous tools like a saw and would be fast enough to use right away on the guards); a sex tape being broadcasted on live TV in the morning (one of Lithgow's tricks against the hero), very laughable. But the one who is really absurd but was interesting to watch was the fight between Lithgow and another prisoner, both wearing an armor made of books glued with duct tape, where director Mulcahy recreates his famous fight in "Highlander". That would never happen in real life but it's sure funny to see that happening. It's hard not to laugh at some of those things and some even might find this a silly movie because of that; it loses all of its seriousness just to appeal to audiences.It certainly produces memorable moments, it's quite entertaining and it is very exciting. Don't expect much and don't even pay attention to the nonsense talk about the racial issues brought up by some mongoloids viewers who watched this film way over of what was proposed. Take a look at some of the amazing extravagances of 1990's cinema and enjoy it. 8/10