This is not your typical action flick from the eighties. I came across this one due a friend remembering this one and knowing i like Burt Reynolds. This is made after Deliverance (1972) and even his funny part in Smokey and The Bandit (1977). For many this is the best flick with Burt and it was even directed by him. It's a more psychological flick then action because there's a lot going on in the mind of Sharky (Burt Reynolds). It's a slow moving flick but even clocking in just over 2 hours it never bored me. It's only in the beginning you will see some action and towards the last part. But it's so typical end seventies, early eighties. The sound, the score, the way of using the camera. Burt isn't the macho here as we used to see him, for some this will be outdated but it's still worth picking up just to see all those thespians from those day.Gore 0,5/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5

Released in 1981, "Sharky's Machine" stars Burt Reynolds as Sgt. Tom Sharky, an Atlanta cop who's demoted to the lowly vice division. Assigned to check out a high society prostitution ring, Sharky stumbles across a mob murder with governmental ties. He corrals his underdog vice team – the so-called Sharky's machine – to investigate and take down the guilty, whether mobsters or politicians. Rachel Ward plays the high-priced prostitute who fascinates Sharky, while Brian Keith and Bernie Casey play Sharky's partners, amongst others. Vittorio Gassman is on hand as the 'Godfather'-type heavy. The story, as reported, is that Burt Reynolds was friends with Clint Eastwood in the late 70s and Burt suggested that he would do a Dirty Harry-type movie if Clint did a comedy, like Burt's numerous good ol' boy flicks. So Clint did the two "Every/Any Which Way" movies (1978 and 1980) and Burt eventually did "Sharky's Machine," which he described as "Dirty Harry in Atlanta." While Burt certainly rivaled Clint as the best masculine actor of the mid-60s through the 80s (although I give Clint the edge), all five of the Dirty Harry pictures are better than "Sharky's Machine," even the heavily maligned "The Dead Pool" (1988), not to mention other Eastwood cop thrillers, like the excellent "The Gauntlet" (1977) and arguably "Tightrope" (1984). So what's wrong with "Sharky's Machine" (SM)? The first two times I tried to view it years ago I couldn't get past the 50-minute mark. How come? While SM has a decent action-filled start it doesn't outdo the beginnings of all or most of the Dirty Harry flicks (DH). Worse, soon after the first act, SM bogs down in a seemingly never-ending stakeout, which is mostly dull, although there are a couple of good dialogue sequences, like the old guy (Charles Durning) recounting killing a teen German during WWII. While SM gets better it never fully recovers from this long drag. All the DH films by comparison are entertaining from beginning to end, even their 'downtime' sequences. Furthermore, the way one of the two SM villains (Henry Silva) is scripted is sometimes eye-rolling, like the way he's always skulking nearby (e.g. the run-over-the-cop scene and the black criminal episode). If he's as addicted to drugs as the story suggests, how's he always at the proverbial right place at the right time? Then there are the cartoonish Asian martial artists that seem to come from an entirely different set. I'm not saying the DH flicks or "Gauntlet" didn't have cartoony elements, but they always pulled 'em off in an entertaining way. In SM they're just dumb. Still, the cast of SM is great, particularly Sharky's has-been partners, and it's great seeing Burt in a serious flick. He's always entertaining. I would've liked to have seen a SM series (like DH) because I think the sequels would've improved upon the solid foundation with a better story. The film runs 122 minutes and was shot entirely in Atlanta. GRADE: C+

On the surface SHARKY'S MACHINE is just another crime thriller come star vehicle with the slight gimmick that its star also directs the film . Truth be told Burt Reynolds isn't the greatest actor of his generation but he does have a certain manliness that served him well throughout his career . Likewise as a director there's nothing outstanding here but by the same token it's certainly more than competent . The film is certainly helped by its setting and 1970s cinema is a highpoint of American film making and everything about the film screams 1970s , an era of great cynicism but one that Reynolds has successfully translated well to screen It wasn't well in to the running time that I realised I was watching a film set in Atlanta because I thought the story was taking place in New York . In those days New York had a terrible reputation as a sleazy place where crime and vice was running out of control . Regardless as to the truth of all this even if you'd never visited the city you'd have images of dirty streets falling in to a state of disrepair and police stations full of hard bitten sarcastic cops interrogating hookers all day every day , a reputation that was probably reinforced by American film makers . Truth to be told Reynolds certainly plays up to this reputation The film works best in the first third as Reynolds goes undercover to trap a drugs dealer only to see his hard and dangerous work ruined by a colleague and then finds himself being assigned to the vice squad where every enjoyable and amusing cliché is served up to the audience . Once the story starts where Reynolds cop investigates a beautiful call girl called Dominoe things start to fall apart slightly . As several people have mentioned already the film would have worked much better if several scenes had been trimmed or left out completely and the film would have been much better if it was a 90 minute film than a two hour one . As it stands it's an okay crime thriller but you'll probably enjoy it more if you can remember the 1970s

Superb, brutal, hard-boiled crime drama starring Burt Reynolds as a burned-out Atlanta cop transferred to the absolute slime hole of Atlanta's vice department after a drug deal turns sour. He's assigned to watch a high-class prostitute (Rachel Ward) and eventually gets caught up in some political double-dealing. Superb action and a serious performance by Reynolds make this one a winner. It's also a complete change from the silly, lighter stuff that Reynolds had been doing for years prior to this. His performance was waning somewhat and this was a great way for him to prove he still had it. One of the things I love about this movie is the texture of grit and sleaze. It really feels like a brutal, hellhole world that these guys live in. At the same time, the film finds ways to interject humor at the coolest moments. Henry Silva's villain is another strong point. There is a moment near the end where you see his gasping and wheezing silhouetted form, rasping out Sharky's name. It's a hard image to shake from your mind.