Tony Scott Retrospective: “Revenge” (1990)

Tony Scott was a hot commodity in Hollywood after his one-two punch of “Top Gun” and “Beverly Hills Cop II” and “Revenge” was an interesting follow-up film for him. He must have been delighted at being able to flex his directing muscles in a single film that transcends so many genres.

“Revenge” opens up as almost an epilogue to “Top Gun” with an F-14 stunt flying over the desert. Instead of a regular action picture, after that, the film turns into a light drama, then a bit of a gangster flick, romance, erotic thriller, western, film noir, addiction struggle, tragedy, and, of course, vengeance. The amazing thing is all of these elements not only work, but blend together seamlessly without coming across as a film with an identity crisis.

A great deal of the film's success comes from the performances of the supporting characters. They come in and out of the picture as needed and adjust the atmosphere accordingly. We start off with Jesse Corti as the protagonist's best friend, who offers him sound advice at a time he needs it and is literally hung up on. Replacing him in the story is Joaquin Martinez, who literally saves J's life and brings him back from the dead. When they part ways, instead of giving our hero advice, he gives him a knife. Literally in the same scene, we meet the cowboy played by James Gammon, who serves mostly as a chauffeur for the leading man, but even more effectively as an enabler and, eventually and unknowingly, a benefactor.

Conveniently, this is when Miguel Ferrer shows up, probably in the movie's biggest standout role. Assisted by John Leguizamo (in a nearly mute, but nevertheless, strong performance), the three of them effectively try to keep order in the chaos of a spree of vengeance along the Mexican border. Ferrer's character treats this mission as an amusing game rather than matters of life and death. He's great fun to watch. All the while, Madeleine Stowe languishes away in a brothel, doped up on forced heroin doses given, almost sympathetically, by an androgynous guardian angel played by Luis de Icaza. Peppered throughout the film are the villain's henchmen, at varying degrees of sliminess, many of whom Kevin Costner kills off one by one with increasing indifference.

Anthony Quinn embraces his role as the main bad guy with his usual zeal. He imperceptibly flips between charming and lovable to cold and frightening moment by moment. All throughout the film, his character remains strangely sympathetic and almost justified. By the end of the story, we're not sure we want him to lose. This is punctuated by what he says to Costner when they finally face off at the end: “Perhaps we both deserve to die.”

This may be Tony Scott's most picturesque film in that he really chews up the scenery of Mexico, digging into the dark and dirty underbelly of that country's subculture. Dirt sticks to sweat, rooms are lit by an excessive amount of candles, a feeling of distrust and uncertainty permeates the film, and anyone could die at any time (and many do). It's easy to see why Quentin Tarantino called this Tony Scott's “masterpiece.” I wouldn't say it's Tony Scott's best film, but it's definitely his most passionate.

Tony Scott Retrospective: “Beverly Hills Cop II” (1987)

The first “Beverly Hills Cop” was originally conceived as an action piece for Sylvester Stallone. A renegade cop from Detroit teaches a bunch of cushy California cops hung up on rules how to be tough. It's the perfect formula for an action picture, really. However, Stallone's outrageous demands and constant rewrites eventually had him drop out. Paramount decided to take a chance on their exponentially rising star Eddie Murphy in what would be his first leading role in a motion picture. When Murphy signed on (turning down a supporting role in “Ghostbusters” for this opportunity), the film immediately pivoted to more of a comedy. The crucial action aspects remained and there were dramatic moments, but for all intents and purposes, “Beverly Hills Cop” was a comedy. It was also a huge hit, so a sequel was inevitable. Critics assumed it would be even more of a comedy than the first.

Eddie Murphy was at the height of his popularity in 1987 (his concert film “Raw” came out the same year) and “Beverly Hills Cop II” was the first film he had a hand in writing. Maybe it was his idea to up the action or maybe it was the studio's. Paramount just enjoyed the success from “Top Gun” the year before, so it's reasonable to assume producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer felt they were onto something and thus brought their “Top Gun” director on to helm “Beverly Hills Cop II” and go with the vision of it being more of an action flick.

To be fair, “Beverly Hills Cop II” is probably the closest thing to a comedy Tony Scott ever made, but it's definitely heavier on the action and lighter on the comedy than its predecessor. Critics didn't generally care for it, but audiences sure did. It not only had the biggest opening weekend of the year, but it was also the top-grossing film in 1987. Impressive for an R-rated film at that time. Every top-grossing film in the 80's before that was rated PG (including “Top Gun” the year before). Tony Scott demonstrated he was no mere one-hit wonder.

The brilliance of “Cop II” is it repeats a number of elements that worked well in the first one without coming across as a retread. Both films begin with Axel Foley undercover as a fast-talking huckster. When a close friend of his is shot, he invites himself into the Beverly Hills investigation where he is not wanted, but sorely needed. He cons his way in and out of sticky situations by creating (hysterically funny) characters on the fly and flashing his badge so people can't get a good look at it, but conveniently accept him as an authority figure. Rosewood and Taggart sit in a parked car and pass the time with pithy conversation akin to an old married couple. Our heroes gratuitously visit a strip club, there's a car chase with a big rig destroying cars while a toe-tapping Pointer Sisters song plays in the background, and there's a big shoot out at the end where the protagonists are out-manned and out-gunned but nevertheless prevail. Yet somehow, all these reoccurrences feel fresh rather than recycled. I put the credit almost solely with Tony Scott's direction. This is the only sequel he directed, but I often wonder what other franchises he might have improved upon if given the chance.

It's a great tragedy that “Beverly Hills Cop III” failed to even come close, but let's not get into that. The first two are great companion pieces and that's good enough for me. Incidentally, Stallone took his ideas for the original “Beverly Hills Cop” and made the schlocky action pic “Cobra.” Midway through “Beverly Hills Cop II,” Axel Foley ogles a “Cobra” poster with slightly bemused contempt. I often wonder if this was a personal dig at Stallone from Tony Scott. It's entirely possible, given that Stallone's wife at the time, Brigitte Nielsen, not only starred in “Beverly Hills Cop II,” but allegedly had an affair with Tony Scott during filming. Man, if Tony Scott wasn't a bad ass before, he certainly was by then.