A BETTER WAY TO DIE
(director/writer: Scott Wiper;cinematographer: Lawrence Sher; editor: James Tooley; music: John M. Keane; cast: Scott Wiper (Boomer), Wayne Duvall (Rifkin), Andre Braugher (Cleveland), Lou Diamond Phillips (William Dexter), Joe Pantoliano (Flash), Natasha Henstridge (Kelly), B’nard Lewis (Sweet Lou), Bernard Canepari (Sheriff); Runtime: 101; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Bradley Fuller, Russell Gray, Graham Taylor; Tooley Films; 2000)
“Low-budget stinker.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
A “Direct to Video” low-budget stinker starring writer/director Scott Wiper (“The Condemned”/ “The Marine 3: Homefront”). It’s a senseless crime drama filled with one half-assed shootout after another until thankfully all the bad guys are killed that have to die. Wiper’s strength is obviously not in writing screenplays.
The young Chicago undercover cop Boomer (Scott Wiper) in disgust quits over a botched drug arrest and goes on the road to his hometown to marry his sweetheart Kelly (Natasha Henstridge). But he’s mistaken for a missing undercover rogue agent by an ass-hole P.I., and is hunted down because the agent he’s mistaken for has a valued computer chip that both the mafia and the bad FBI agents want.
Boomer’s attacked and escapes, but his girlfriend (Natasha Henstridge) is killed. He goes on the run through small country towns chased by a nitwit country bumpkin sheriff (Bernard Canepari).
Joe Pantoliano plays a one-armed bad guy private investigator, who does the dirty work for the rogue FBI agents. Lou Diamond Phillips plays the sneering, ruthless FBI chief of the investigation tracking down Boomer, who is willing to kill anyone to get the chip. Andre Braugher plays the Black gay mafia hitman who works for the private dick, and is most concerned that things be done in a professional way.
During the manhunt, we witness torture and vics either burned to death or gunned down.
The mindless climax results in a film with a low-bar in value for entertainment.
REVIEWED ON 4/2/2025 GRADE: D
dennisschwartzreviews.com