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Four hitmen from different backgrounds - the Foreigner (Michael
Blain-Rozgay), the Indian (Jose Andrews), Blacky (Ernest Anthony) and
redneck Whitey (Shane Woodson) - are hired by a top secret gouvernment
agency (led by David Carradine and Michael Madsen) to take down the top
drug suppliers of their state. But of course, as diverse as they are, they
get into each other's hair even before the first hit - and when Whitey's
mom (Sandy Kanan) shows up at their "top secret" hideout, that
doesn't exactly calm things either. Things get worse when after their
first hit they are left with two little girls, Katie (Carlie Westerman)
and Becky (Michelle Capra), who were to be sold into prostitution. And
while the others want to get rid of them as soon as possible, the
Foreigner insists on keeping them to give them a good chance at least, and
he's getting support from Whitey's mother, who hasn't got the least idea
what's going on but who's got a big heart all the same. And it's when at
another hit two children are blown up that the Foreigner's guilty
conscience starts to take over. Meanwhile, back at headquarters, the
bosses of our four heroes get increasingly dissatisfied with how things
develop and ultimately decide to take them out once they've finished their
job - so one night while the Foreigner and Blacky are out, gunman storm
their place and shoot dead everyone in sight, with only Katie surviving
the deal, rather by accident. Upon being faced with this, the Foreigner
decides to take away and adopt Katie - but he and Blacky also quickly come
to the conclusion they've been sold out by their bosses, and they know if
they ever want to move on, they have to take care of their superiors
first, even if they're likely to be outgunned ... What could
have been your routine low budget shoot-em-up sold solely on the combined
star power of David Carradine and Michael Madsen ... is actually a pretty
original piece of film - sure, made on a moderate budget still, and both
Carradine and Madsen only play supporting roles that do not make or break
the movie. But what makes the movie is clever writing really, writing that
plays against genre conventions, skillfully combines comedy with drama,
and switches between the two pretty much at the drop of a hat if
necessary. And a slick directorial effort really gets the most out of the
script, only supported by a strong ensemble cast. A film that left little
impression when first released, yet well worth a look.
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