Review of Code of Silence (1985) by Mike K — 22 Sep 2009

Every action star has at least one vehicle that isn't just a fun brainless romp, but a legitimately GOOD movie, and "Code of Silence" definitely qualifies as the peak of quality in Chuck Norris' career.

This is no doubt due in large part to the talents of renowned action director Andrew Davis (who, not coincidentally, would be responsible for the best movies of Steven Seagal's career), who actually decides to go to the effort of surrounding his star with a real movie; the film contains a great use of Chicago locations, colorful supporting characters, a cast of solid Chicago character actors (many of whom have been used by Davis multiple times), and a couple of surprisingly intelligent, thought-provoking subplots.

While Chuck Norris' performance would never be considered Oscar-worthy, he does do a pretty solid job here, and there's no shortage of great action set pieces for him, the highlight being a spectacular unfaked chase scene on top of an elevated train.

The film does get a little silly at the climax when Chuck uses a giant remote-controlled police robot to help him defeat the bad guys, but otherwise, this shows how well action films can turn out when the filmmakers decide to throw a little intelligence into the mix.