Burt Reynolds's really made an impression with his smartly catered cop thriller "Sharky's Machine" and four years later he churn out another directorial crime outing. Maybe not as effective and complete, but still acceptable time filler. The story is penned by the reliable Elmore Leonard, who has a knack for building crime and character interactions within a busy framework. That's were I found it to peter out at times, as there seems too be so much going on and from that it can get a little distracted. It starts off strong, but then it goes wayward and stalls too often. Reynolds' sober direction seemed rather uneven in trying to balance out the explosively grimy moments with the uneasy comic relief. The film was more character driven (likeable relationships are struck or quick fuses erupt) and held together by its plot developments, but the script just didn't bite hard enough and its ending is quite lousy. Gladly the performances stand-up; namely that of the support cast. Where the bad guys are truly vile. Dar Robinson (who's mainly a stuntman) is magnificently threatening as the albino hired killer. A true scene stealer. While he hands out some nasty punishment and the gravel voice strikes fear. Alone just looking at him is frightening enough. Charles Durning playing a scummy low-life crook sticks out with his loud, bright Hawaiian shirts, feathered hair and wild bushy eyebrows. It's hard to take your eyes off either one. Leading the way in the bad guys is a dashing Castulo Guerra. You know the man with the power… the one you don't want to get on the wrong side of. To go with that, he's quite spiritual, but with a mean-streak. Burt Reynolds' character finds himself stuck in the middle of this trio when after getting out of prison he joins a buddy on job involving some of Miami's lowlife criminals. However it's a set-up, where his friend is killed and he is soon targeted. So he seeks payback, but on the other side of the coin he wants to go straight so he can catch up with daughter. Reynolds plays it with that laconically tough shade and knowing attitude, letting his charm carry him along. His weapon of choice seems to be his smartarse lines… physical wise gasoline or matches… that you only get disappointed when he can't get a hold of one of these objects. The next best thing was death by scorpion. Another scene stealer would be George Segal as a cheerfully naïve millionaire that loves the company of criminals. Some sequences with him were priceless. Also showing up is Candice Bergen (the love interest), Jose Perez and Alex Rocco. Clunky, but amusing.

Having read some of the comments from other users and some of the reviews, this film has come in for some criticism. Whilst some of the comments are fair, I think it's important to take into context the life of this film. Another user has already pointed out that Reynolds was suffering with TMJ at the time of the release and had a few flops before hand, so his star was on the wane. However, this movie was supposed to have been released in 1984 and initial filming (judging by many scenes) indicate Reynolds was in good health. Somehow the studio didn't like the first cut of the film,not enough action,too slow,not good for box office. However, the film as a character piece may well have been quite interesting and judging by the first 15 minutes which were excellent,less studio meddling would have more beneficial in this case. Reynolds did not want to make an all out action film but the studios panicked and asked for re-shoots. By this time though, Reynolds had lost a lot of weight due to the TMJ problems and was clearly neither in the physical or mental state to shoot these extra scenes. As a result, we have a number of scenes where Reynolds is markedly thinner than in other scenes. This creates a very disjointed look and obviously doesn't help the film at all. It would be very interesting to see the original cut as Reynolds intended - i'm certain it would have ended up being a far better movie than the result we got. As it stands, I think Stick has some very good moments and some very sub-standard moments. The good are the first 15 minutes,especially the scene with Mokey,Rainy and Stick in the van - nice tense atmosphere in the van, well directed. Other good scenes are when Stick has to remove the ex-driver from the party ('now say goodnight' as he poured gasoline over his face and flicks out a lighter), the mo-key death scene (a superb stunt and not bettered for many years),the scenes with Candice Bergen and Burt (i thought they quite effective). The sub-standard are the poor editing, healthy Burt, v.ill Burt..it's very obvious.Some of the action scenes,especially where sticks stops and waits for mo-key to catch up? the training sequences - why show that, is this Rocky..bit of vanity for Mr Reynolds there i think. The ending was a bit weak..i don't think it was originally intended to be like that - i haven't read the book, so i could be wrong but again we had ill Burt in this scene. In conclusion, this movie could have been a lot better that it was but due to a number of circumstances it turned out to be an fairly average Burt Reynolds thriller. Could have been another Sharkeys but not meant to be. A shame really, now where is that original cut?

Step aside Darth Vader. Meet the new best movie villain ever, Moke. Villain Moke is right up there with Vader, the Kurgin, and other great movie villains. For Dar Robinson's performance as Moke, alone, this movie is a must-see. Burt plays Stick, a fresh-out-of-prison con trying to make over his life. He gets unwillingly sucked back into the underworld and has to fight to survive. Dar Robinson, stuntman extraordinaire, puts in a fantastic performance as Moke- an albino hit-man who has it in for Stick. There are some amazing scenes in this movie, and I think it may be one of Burt's best performances- if not the best.

The Good Stuff:Candice Bergen looks gorgeous. Small role by David Reynoso. The late Dar Robinson as the "Albino Hitman". The Albino Hitman falling to his death while emptying his six shooter looks real cool.The Bad Stuff:Charles Durning in a blond wig is really hard to take (those crazy looking eyebrows!).The Verdict:Typical 80's flick with lots of flashy cars, drug dealers, one colorful hitman, directed by Mr. Reynolds, that even if looking dated manages to entertain.