Review of The Park Is Mine (1986) by Ola G — 23 Jul 2015

Vietnam War veteran Mitch (Tommy Lee Jones) is aimlessly roaming around in New York. He can´t keep any simple job, his wife divorced him and he doesn't get the respect from anybody he think he deserves. When his terminally ill war buddy commits suicide, Mitch finds out he was planning an attention- grabbing initiative in Central Park. Mitch executes the plans and takes control of Central Park, in what some would call an act of domestic terrorism and what others might call anti-establishment, to honor those who died and served in the Vietnam War and draw attention to veterans' issues. His peaceful but nevertheless explosive attempt to make people more aware of his life as a vet receives a lot of interest from the media and support from the populace, but it's quite an embarrassment for the authorities - and particularly for the deputy mayor - so they try to eliminate Mitch in any possible way they can...

"The Park Is Mine", is a made-for-TV movie and that shows both in production value, acting and the general vibe of the film. The plot is quite ridiculous as it would´ve been quite impossible to take control of Central Park with just one man, meaning the logic is already out the door when the plot line is revealed. The actions from the city and police department doesn´t either help to maintain some sort of realism in this film. The acting is truly wobbly, but Tommy Lee Jones and Yaphet Kotto tries to keep some sort of quality in their performances. Jones had already back then a charismatic and strong acting ability, even if this is hardly his finest hour. "The Park Is Mine" is a footnote and nothing to strive to see.