I really love William Friedkin movies, i have enjoyed Sorcerer and The French Connection, and especially Cruising which is not so popular among the critics (how are they wrong). So after these three movies i wanted to watch more from Friedkin and have choosed To Live and Die in L.A as next. I suppose i choosed these one because of the title, and because it is from the 80's which is one of my favorite decades. I have expected some good thriller/crime in the vein of magnificent The French Connection but i was totally wrong, these movie is totally cheesy from start to finish. The plot is nothing special, the movie just goes but nothing happens at all till the end. Than we go to the main reason i didn't like these one, it is the acting. Except phenomenal Williem Defoe other cast is just disastrous. Williem Petersen and John Pankow are the pair of your dreams ha-ha i am kidding, they are so out of charisma, unoticable, boring and cheesy, especially the acting of Williem Petersen it is on the level of B-movies actors. Other supportive cast is also not worth mentioning. And on all of that just add the soundtrack of British band Wang Chung, i really like 80s music and soundtracks, but these soundtrack is not going well with the movie and even gives more b-movie atmosphere. I just give this movie 5 from 10 because of great charismatic acting by Williem Defoe, and phenomenal car chase near the end of the movie, but my advice is to skip this one, you will not regret, and you will save your precious time.

Secret service agents Jimmy Hart and Richard Chance (William Petersen) thwart an Islamic terrorist during a Presidential visit. Hart has a few days left before retirement. He tries to investigate and gets killed by counterfeiter Eric Masters (Willem Dafoe). Chance vows to take him down. He gets John Vukovich (John Pankow) as his new partner. They catch Masters' delivery boy Carl Cody (John Turturro). Masters' lawyer Bob Grimes (Dean Stockwell) says Cody has to do 3 years. Chance's C.I. Ruth Lanier (Darlanne Fluegel) directs them to lawyer Max Waxman. Waxman was Cody's last stop and Masters suspects he set them up. Masters and his girlfriend Bianca Torres (Debra Feuer) go to demand repayment and ends up killing him. Chance steals Waxman's black book as he becomes more morally corrupt in order to take down Masters.William Friedkin delivers a slick thriller of amoral cops and immoral everyone else. I love Dafoe's montage of counterfeiting. Friedkin delivers so many great action scenes. The wrong way car chase is the highlight and probably the height of his action work. It is so slick and so stylized that I accept the avant-garde artsy stuff. It fits into the movie. It also has an early bungee jump on film. This is one of the most fun 80s action thriller filled with relatively unknown actors at the time. I can't help but think of Michael Mann who was showrunning Miami Vice TV show at the time.

What is everyone smoking? I went in with high hopes and was let down by this awful film. Is it just nostalgia talking? I don't see why this is so beloved by film fans.I see labels like "groundbreaking", "cliche free", "gritty", "a different take on ___". It's NONE of those things! It's full of some of the biggest cop clichés of all time - and I know for a fact they didn't stem from this film. For example, 10 minutes in, one of the cops says "I'm too old for this s**t" - then he gets shot TWO DAYS FROM RETIREMENT! I almost fell out of my chair laughing at how ludicrous it was. It was like a parody of a cop film.Then there's the whole "the brooding cop doesn't want a new partner, but is forced to get along with him anyway". The lead isn't an anti-hero cop, he's just incompetent. He and his partner fall asleep at a stake out! He lets the guy he has in custody go see a "daughter" in hospital, not even checking with the hospital if she's related and knows the guy. Then he lets the criminal get away by taking his cuffs off in a hospital lift, and then getting the crap kicked out of him. RIDICULOUS!I know this film is from the '80s, but this is beyond your average '80s campy cheese factor. Numerous posing with one leg on a chair, with crotch in full view - tight jeans begging for mercy. Naked/half naked guys everywhere. It's not a big deal, it was just kind of laughable when all these guys are being macho with each other... then they're naked in a dressing room together, going about their business. The terrible soundtrack doesn't help. The main guy tries to act tough, but just comes off looking like a tool. Who wears a leather jacket without a shirt underneath? Plus, the main character is called Dick Chance. Yeah.The directing is hit and miss. Sometimes there's interesting shots, or techniques - I particularly liked the POV shot when the main guy is chasing after a criminal. The majority of the time though, the film has abrupt cuts which are jarring, but it not in an artistic, or meaningful way. It's just annoying, and feels like an amateur is behind the camera.It took three days for me to watch all of it. It was painfully bad. The only saving grace was the great acting from Dafoe and Turturro, but even they couldn't save this mess. Sorry for the long-winded post, but I felt passionate about this and want to make sure if anyone is on the fence about this - please, AVOID! If you want to watch a decent anti-hero cop film, I'd suggest watching Bad Lieutenant [1992], which is what I watched after this to cleanse myself after watching the prior trash. Bad Lieutenant does everything that this film wanted to do, but did it right - and went balls to the wall with it.

On the surface it's just an ordinary action crime thriller . However director William Friedkin ("French connection") takes a cliché story and creates one of the most dark , realistic and surprising movies I have ever seen. This is ART. It was obviously way ahead of it's time in the 80's and sadly even today it doesn't gets the recognition it deserves. I guess it's too intelligent for some critics and viewers. It's much more complex than the surface description of the plot suggests.The screenplay is loosely based on Gerald Petievich (a former Secret Service agent) book under the same title. The line between good and evil is very thin in this movie. Every character makes mistakes . It's hard to identify with the characters , because nobody is completely good or evil. The characters are well written, three dimensional and you forget that this is only a movie. I loved it . The story is very thrilling and unpredictable. The film has a very amoral feel to it , it's like a journey to Hell.The two main characters are mirrors of each other because both are obsessive with what they want to do. Both are living on the edge . Both are antiheroes. One is a cop who is breaking law , while other is a criminal that works within the law. One isn't loyal to his friends , the other respects loyalty. The main theme of the movie is counterfeit – in the money , but also in the people too with the characters motivations , emotions and relationships. It's a realistic and bitter movie that breaks standard Hollywood clichés . There's no hope for justice, good will and redemption . Every character is selfish and even self destructive.The movie is quite unique and important part of the movie , giving it a definite 80s feel. 1980s band Wang Chung provided much of the soundtrack for this movie . Their sound perfectly melts with the cinematography. Great and unforgettable songs – " To live and die in LA" , "Wait" and "Dance hall days ".The electronic score provides a thumping beat that matches the intensity and energy of the film's pace and style. Fantastic photography by Robby Muller. Los Angeles looks both beautiful and dirty . The movie has a very 80's feel to it (clothes , haircuts , Reagan etc) and wonderfully captures the feel of that decade , "The decade of greed". The action scenes are great , raw and brutal . Who could forget the AWESOME car chase or the shocking finale ?! Solid performances from all the people in the cast . There is no Oscar worthy performances here , but the overall quality of acting is high. William Petersen ("Manhunter") , Willem Defoe ("Platoon") , John Pankow (" The secret of my success , Darlene Fluogel ("Running scared") , John Tuturro ("Barton Fink") Dean Stockwell ("Blue velvet") and Steve James ("Delta force") make one of the best acting teams I have ever seen.This is a proof that if you have a vision and talent you don't need big budget (it cost only 6 million dollars !) to make a great movie. I really recommend this movie. It's very "anti-Miami vice" and "anti-Lethal weapon" type of movie. Not everybody will appreciate the nihilistic mood of the movie. It's a movie for adults . I give it 9/10.