Review of To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) by Chad A — 16 Oct 2012
What could've been a true crackerjack action-crime hybrid on steroids (the car chase certainly ranks in the top-10 of all-time), descends into pure sleaze and exploitation with inexplicably unnecessary full-frontal male and female nudity and without a doubt some of the most over-the-top extreme graphic bloody violence and gore for this type of film especially in the 80's and it's only even more explicit now, which is an achievement in of itself.
While the angle of the film focusing more on the lost morals and ethics of Petersen instead of the loose cannon who will do anything for the right of the law truly a stroke of genius, it however makes the film unpleasnt and hard to cheer for anyone as Pankow is just as lost in the underbell of the City Of Angels. And what could've had tough guy macho posturing and street savy dialogue just comes across as forced.
It shows Friedkin doin' what he does at his best AND WORST, and if any film proved a filmmaker to be definition of erratic, this is it.
Still, the car chase sequence is hard to beat.
This review of To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) was written by Chad A on 16 Oct 2012.
To Live and Die in L.A. has generally received very positive reviews.
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