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A Show of Force (1990)

Rate: 3
Viewed: 5/22

ShowF
5/22: A movie is bound to stink if either happens: (1) Amy Irving is in the leading role; or (2) It's focused on a third world country that most Americans don't care about.

Unfortunately, A Show of Force hits both counts and therefore heads for disaster of epic proportions. My attention was never sustained during the first hour, and I didn't know what was going on because honestly...who gives a fuck about Puerto Rico?

I'm sure whatever happened back then has no impact today. At the end, the film informs me many characters including Frank Curtin were fictional. Well, that's nice...why didn't they say so from the beginning? As a matter of fact, director Bruno Barreto pulled the same exact crap in One Tough Cop by making up everything about Bo Dietl.

Funnily enough, A Show of Force opens with some info about 1978 which is this: Puerto Rico has been either trying to be the 51st state or be excised from the United States. To date, neither has happened because of two reasons: it's an acquired colony as a result of the Spanish-American War in 1898, and it's always been deeply rooted in corruption. It doesn't help matters any when Puerto Rico declared national bankruptcy in 2017.

While I was wondering where Andy Garcia was, he finally showed up with thirty minutes to go, saving the film a bit. That's why he's a good actor while Amy Irving is bland. I doubt Robert Duvall was ever in Puerto Rico during the time, preferring to stay in the office on a sound stage with a fake background of the coastline. Lou Diamond Phillips gives a weird performance, trying to be tough when he looks like a transgender. Kevin Spacey's character turns out to be the bad guy...so, what else is new?

All in all, A Show of Force may have a strong cast and score well in the diversity department, but the story isn't interesting for the slightest minute.