20140221: Action Review--S I S

S. I. S.

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. American live action feature length film, 2008, NR, 79 minutes, action, crime, drama.
2. IMDB: 4.2/10.0 from 186 audience ratings.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 'No reviews yet,' 33% liked it from 8 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 3.4/5.0 from 81,925 audience ratings.
5. Written and directed by: John Herzfeld.
6. Starring: Keith David as Joseph Armstrong, Matt Nable as Melville Atkinson, Christina Cox as Roz, Peter Stebbings as Billy Beckett, Omari Hardwick as Donovan, John Billingsly as Ira (Veterinarian, friend of Melville), Alex Cuervo as Garcia, Amanda Melby as Dorri, Domenick Lombardozzi as Vic, Scott Reitz as Detective Gabriel.


2. Setup and Plot
1. S. I. S. means Special Investigations Section, Los Angeles PD.


2. Joesph is the veteran boss, Melville the the hotheaded field leader; Donovan, Dorri, Garcia are other members of the team.  SIS has a low profile.


3. In the early going, Garcia gets killed when a shootout with a jewel theft gang ends badly.  Finishing the mutual vengeance is what the rest of the film is about.  The thieves, led by Vic, want to kill everyone in SIS; SIS wants to kill all of them.  Great stuff.  Billy replaces Garcia.


4. Roz and her boss work with part of LAPD that is after SIS.  Joseph is on touchy ground with the chief.


5. Will SIS get Vic in a reasonable manner?  Will SIS keep its charter within LAPD?


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Competent police procedural, but nothing outstanding to report.
2. Three stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 6/10 Shaky cam, fuzzy focus, VHS-level contrast problems.  Some of the full-daylight footage is good.


2. Sound: 6/10 The dialog is audible, but incidental music is not really used to good effect.


3. Acting: 6/10 Almost up to the script.  Keith David was fine.  Most of the other actors were competent, plus or minus a little.


4. Screenplay: 7/10 Usual sort of police procedural.