Given the middle of the road IMDb ratings I didn't expect much from this movie, but after viewing the trailer decided to give it a shot. Was I pleasantly surprised! The story about a cop with issues who joins the corrupt, homicidal, vigilante police unit, then sees the light and fights them is certainly not new, but this movie delivered on what it purports to be--an enjoyable, fast-paced action film. The three main actors were somewhat deadpan in their delivery, but that made their characters seem all the more...well, scarred. The movie contained all the ingredients for an engaging film: It had action, characters you care about, and even some romance. Hey, it's not "Ben-Hur" but it's a terrific little B film that worth checking out.

Scar City is the inspirational story of New York City's first fully functional retarded police officer, John Trace (Stephen Baldwin), who is recruited to work in the special S.C.A.R. unit run by Lieutenant Laine Devon (Chaz Palmenteri). Trace goes through the usual rookie hazing, but has a harder time with it than most, because of his inability to understand what is happening. Tia Carerre plays a titty bar vixen who spends half the movie uninvolved with the plot but finds her way in at Trace's first raid with his new unit. From there on the helpless Carerre relies on Trace to keep her safe from the baddies. There are some amazing moments where the retarded Trace walks on top of cars instead of going around them and shoots his pistol over and around his head. The line, "Don't think once," sums up the movie pretty well. I won't spoil it for you but Trace's journey through the crooked NYPD as the first fully functional retarded officer is as hard to watch as it is inspirational. I'm not sure if this was inspired by a true story or not, but if it was I'm sure that whoever the trailblazer was who is the real John Trace would be thrilled with the accurate portrayal of the mentally retarded by Stephen Baldwin.

This is a strictly B movie that manages to successfully disguise its true identity up until the last 1/3rd of the story. The story is nothing new - Clint Easywood, amongst others, charted the same territory of vigilante cops pulling the wrong newbie into their group in 1973's MAGNUM FORCE - but it has been spiced up with some bullet ballet that is actually more realistic than most big budget affairs produce. Overall, the photography and lighting are very professional in a gritty way, and so is the editing, which gives the movie a very polished, well-budgeted look. Still, police dramas with mediocre plots need to be carried by their characters, and while Stephen Baldwin does make an interesting hero, his shooting does more for character development than his dialogue. Tia Carrere is nice, but she comes across way too smart, and definitely way too composed, for a call-girl, and she shows virtually zero skin - an especially big disappointment in a genre film of this kind...:) If anything, the supporting characters, the 'baddies' who make up the police team, are the ones that carry you through several scenes: their action is fairly nicely choreographed, and it is a pleasure to see them die....but, ultimately, Scar City really fails. The first third is somewhat engaging, because the director wisely spends his time to establish the protagonists' and the antagonists' strengths and weaknesses. The second third rolls well because of all the action suddenly exploding onto the screen. In the third, though, where action and characters could be nicely pulled together into a tight, plot-driven finale, the film crumbles into a dozen silly clichés and inconsistencies instead. Why would you ask someone whether they can shoot, a few hours after they showed you their gun, telling you how they used to shoot squirrels with it? The mess is hardly mopped up by an incomplete and nonsensical ending that makes it look like the director was too tired to tie up a dozen characters and plot lines.Still, for a slow weekday evening it is good gunplay.

I have to say I did enjoy the film I liked the story of a team of cops who have no regard of the law they kill whoever they like. For me it was very enjoyable but as the person from another post says that some parts of the film seem to be rushed and I do feel that. I think the ending could have been a lot better and it didnt really tie up the characters very well. I would recommend this to anyone who has a free night on their hands to watch it you will enjoy it I did very much.