"CITY OF INDUSTRY"
(1997) (Harvey Keitel, Stephen Dorff) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Heavy	Heavy	Mild	Extreme

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	Minor	Mild	None	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Moderate	Heavy	Minor	Mild	Extreme

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: A man hunts down a partner in crime who killed his brother and another partner after a jewelry heist.

PLOT:: Lee Egan (TIMOTHY HUTTON) is a L.A. thief who's plotting to rob a Palm Springs jewelry store. He's accompanied by his older brother Roy (HARVEY KEITEL), friend Jorge Montana (WADE DOMINGUEZ), and an unpredictable newcomer, Skip Kovich (STEPHEN DORFF). The robbery is successful, but Skip shoots and kills Lee and Jorge and nearly gets Roy who just manages to escape. Skip takes the loot and heads off to pay his debts, not knowing that Roy is hot on his trail and looking for revenge. As Roy seeks the help of Jorge's widow Rachel (FAMKE JANSSEN), Skip gets his crime associates to put a price tag on Roy's head. As Roy gets closer to finding Skip, tensions rise and many people are killed.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Those who are fans of violent, gritty crime dramas, or of any of the cast might, but most kids will probably stay away from this one.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For strong language, violence and some sexuality.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: FAMKE JANSSEN plays the only character who's close to being a decent role model, but she stood by her criminal husband, and after his death agrees to help Roy but only if she profits from it.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

OUR TAKE: 3 out of 10: After setting up what appeared would be an exciting crime drama, this movie kills off half the cast and then turns into a simple, but bloody game of cat and mouse. While such a plot can sometimes be exciting, we've seen that before and here it doesn't particulary work because we don't really care about either the hunter or the hunted. This is spectator sport only, where we're supposed to root for Roy simply because he's not the worst of the criminals and appears to be above the scum and villainy that rotate around Skip. As in other vigilante movies, Roy goes around beating up and occasionally killing the bad guys who eventually lead him to his target, but here it doesn't work because we don't feel that Roy was unjustly hurt. Sure his brother was killed and Skip ran off with the loot, but that doesn't draw us into the story. Instead we simply sit back and observe Roy knowing full well that many people will die before Skip does. Keitel's performance is as solid as ever, but he doesn't lend anything new or exciting to his one note character. Dorff, on the other hand, goes way over the top playing his two-dimensional villain. Since he seems to have a promising career in Hollywood as a "leading man," he'll hopefully find more deserving roles than what's here. Fans of the crime revenge genre might enjoy this production, but most other moviegoers will probably stay away from this violent flick. We give it just a 3 out of 10.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:: This is a rather violent and often ugly film that you probably won't want your kids (or perhaps yourself) watching. While it may be acceptable to older teens, there aren't many redeeming qualities here. Violence and profanity are extreme, and many people are killed during Roy and Skip's game of cat and mouse. Nearly 60 "f" words are heard, and female full frontal nudity is briefly seen in a strip joint. Nearly everyone is a criminal and has both bad and disrespectful attitudes, thus leaving the film without any decent role models. Since some kids may want to see this film, we strongly suggest that you first read the scene listings to determine if this is appropriate or not.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: The guys drink beer on several occasions and Lee drinks whiskey in another.
Other people are seen drinking in the backgrounds of various scenes.

BLOOD/GORE: Lee and Jorge have big blood stains on their shirts after they've been shot.
A bartender is rather bloody after Roy beats him up.
Roy's head is somewhat bloody after he's been beaten up by two thugs.
Roy's shoulder is a little bloody from where a bullet grazed him.
A guy's head explodes in a bloody mess when he's shot with a shotgun (at night, and only briefly seen).
Skip's face gets bloodier as Roy repeatedly punches him.
A dead woman is rather bloody.
Roy is bloody after the final violent encounter with Skip and his men.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Obviously, all of the bad guys (which is most of the cast) have both.
Lee breaks into and then steals a car.
Skip buys stolen handguns from some local hoods.
Roy steals several cars.
Roy takes a lawyer's laptop computer after threatening the man's life.
Skip kidnaps Rachel to try to draw Roy to him.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: The robbery of the jewelry store is somewhat suspenseful.
Some viewers may find scenes listed under "Violence" as being tense/suspenseful.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Skip buys stolen handguns from some local hoods.
Handguns/Shotgun: Used during the jewelry store heist, but never fired.
Handguns/Knife: Used to threaten, injure or kill people. See "Violence" for details.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Balls" (testicles), "Pissed," and "Getting laid by your old lady" (said in response to "Where have you been?").
Robbing a jewelry store.
Rachel gives someone "the finger."

JUMP SCENES: Skip bursts into Rachel's house, scaring her.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): There is a mild amount of suspenseful, ominous music.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: 58 "f" words (7 with the prefix "mother"), 12 "s" words, 3 slang terms for male genitals (the "p" and "d" words), 7 hells, 4 "ass" words, 1 S.O.B., and 1 use each of "Oh my God" and "God damn" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: Skip is behind a woman who's bent over a bed. She feels his crotch with her foot and he then pulls off her underwear, briefly revealing part of her bare butt. He unzips his pants, but the scene ends there.
Female full frontal nudity is seen in a strip joint (one woman), and another woman's bare breasts are seen while she suggestively (but briefly) feels her crotch.
An associate of Skip's is seen with a bare-breasted woman.

SMOKING: Nearly all of the characters smoke during the movie, with Roy doing the most.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Roy's brother is killed, but Roy doesn't show very much grief. Instead, he seeks revenge.
Rachel isn't happy with Jorge's lifestyle and says that she and the kids miss having him around.
There's a brief scene where Rachel and her kids visit Jorge's grave site.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The fact that crime doesn't pay.

VIOLENCE: During the jewelry heist, a man is zapped with a stun gun, and Lee, Roy, and Jorge hit many people while they hold handguns and shotguns on them. Lee hits a person in the face, Jorge kicks a man's head, Roy hits a man on the head, and Lee hits another man on the head with a gun.
Skip shoots Lee and Jorge dead in a trailer and then repeatedly fires at Roy who just manages to escape.
Skip then pours gasoline onto the trailer and sets it on fire.
Roy, in a fit of rage over the murders, throws a hotel table across the room.
Roy kicks in an apartment door to talk to someone.
Roy beats up a bartender who won't answer his questions. He hits him with a beer bottle on the face and then repeatedly punches and kicks the man. Later we hear that he has three broken ribs.
Roy physically threatens a lawyer and holds a gun to the man's head.
Roy threatens one of Skip's girlfriends with a gun.
Roy is knocked unconscious by two men who plan on killing him. He later kills them, however, with a small knife that he uses to slit their throats.
Roy gets into a fight with a man who's holding money for Skip. Punches are exchanged, but Roy finally gets the upper hand.
Roy shoots and kills a man who's come to kill him. An errant shot also hits a propane tank outside of Roy's motel, blowing up his room and the two other assailants who were inside.
Other men beat up a woman as they try to find Skip.
Skip shoots a man dead. Seeing another man holding a gun to his girlfriend's head, Skip then fires one shot that kills them both.
Roy shoots two men dead with a shotgun.
Skip shoots one of his own associates dead who was trying to steal money from him.
Roy is shot.
Roy hits Skip on the head and then repeatedly punches him. He then takes Skip's head and beats it onto the road.

Reviewed March 6, 1997

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