This movie is Chuck Norris at his best. He plays the part of Eddie Cusack a Chicago cop who only wants to get the job done. He is up against two mob family's in the middle of a war, caused by drugs and family blood. While trying to save the life of one mob family's daughter he must also bring both familys to justice. Between car chases that will have you on the edge of your seat and trademark Norris fight scenes it is easy to see why i gave this film 5 stars.
I agree with other reviewers that this film perhaps showcases Norris' finest acting. Yet he is very well cast as the lone, honest, resolute and uncompromising "good cop," Cusack, who confronts Columbian drug lords, the Mob and a dirty cop in his unit, all with equal aplomb--and comes out the winner in the end, even in the face of mounting, and nearly overwhelming, odds.
The fight scenes are well choreographed, too, with Norris delivering compact, effective and believable punches and kicks. He even takes a few himself, portraying a character capable of taking it as well as dishing it out.
For all the no-nonsense heroics, Norris manages to keep his tacit characterization very human and believable. In brief, Chuck Norris plays the quintessential Hero: committed to doing the right thing, and transcending himself in the process. I found the absence of token, gratuitous sexual content, or even sexual innuendo, refreshing indeed, and serving well to further signify and solidify the true heroicism of Cusack.
In addition to the excellent on-location filming, there are also well-placed touches of humor and tenderness that make this gem of an action-drama shine with exceptional luster.
Even if you are not an avid Chuck Norris fan, Code of Silence may make you sit up and take appreciative notice of him. File under "Top Shelf Police Action" on your DVD rack. This film is one of the best in the genre.
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He's mean, he's lean, and he's not about to do things by the book! Welcome to the world of the action star, that social loner who won't sit idly by when the scum of the earth prey on the human race. While the rest of us live our little lives playing by the rules like the dupes we are, these guys go out and make a difference. They actually like us despite our weaknesses, amazingly enough, and take care of us out of a sense of responsibility similar to what a lord used to feel for his peons. No matter what they do or whom they kill in the process their instincts never fail them. Even when their partner, significant other, child, or anyone else close to them dies horribly as a result of the threat the action star poses to the villains, they never swerve from their core principles. Their superiors recognize the action star's godlike powers and, while complaining publicly about their reckless behavior, put them right back out on the street to kill the bad guys. No investigative committee will stop these right-wing heroes from mopping up the riffraff. Who needs lawyers or a judicial system when we've got Charles Bronson, Sylvester Stallone, or Chuck Norris? Not me.I used the above description for another of Chuck Norris's films, but it applies to virtually every American action film made in the last thirty years. It definitely applies to every Norris film, especially "Code of Silence," a movie widely considered to be this actor's best big screen role. Norris plays Chicago cop Eddie Cusack, the archetypical loner with a chip on his shoulder. He exasperates his superiors, banters endlessly with his partner Dorato (Dennis Farina), and will move heaven and earth to bring down the bad guys. His sense of right and wrong is infallible. Whereas other police officers agonize over making the right decisions, Cusack never falters. After Dorato goes on the injured list due to a botched bust, Eddie's new partner Nick Kopalas (Joe Guzaldo) seeks Cusack's advice on a particularly difficult problem involving the code of silence that unites police officers. Kopalas's original partner, the aging alcoholic Cragie (Ralph Foody), accidentally shot a kid during the aforementioned bust. Kopalas saw his partner plant a gun in the deceased victim's hand. What's a young cop with no time on the force to do? If he turns in Cragie everyone will hate him. If he doesn't, he's no better than the street scum he encounters every day. Ah, such moral conundrums!
"Code of Silence" slathers this subplot in lots of action centering on an emerging gang war between Colombian drug kingpin Luis Comancho (Henry Silva) and a mafia don named Felix Scalese (Nathan Davis). Scalese's underling Tony Luna (Mike Genovese) touched off the crime wave when he interfered in the drug bust mentioned above. Luna wisely leaves town for a quick vacation, but his daughter Diana (Molly Hagan) remains in harm's way. As Comancho launches a series of revenge assaults against the Chicago mafia, it's up to Eddie Cusack to kill a bunch of people and sort through the bodies. He also acts as a protector for Diana after she narrowly escapes execution at the hands of Comancho's thugs. Eventually these two threads, the code of silence issue and the mob war, come together in an action packed ending loaded with explosions and a high body count. Cusack's fellow cops learn a thing or two about the antiquated notion of sticking together no matter what in the process. "Code of Silence" contains a little bit of everything, including action, a message, romance, and humor. Especially amusing is a scene where two street thugs attempt to rob the bar where Cusack and his fellow cops hang out. Ooops!
The best thing "Code of Silence" has going for it is its authentic set pieces. Director Andrew Davis filmed the movie in Chicago and cast a lot of people that look and sound like native Chicagoans. I saw several actors playing cops here that I've seen playing Chicago police officers in other films set in that city. When we see Norris fighting a punk on top of a train, not only do we realize that it's actually him up there doing the stunt but also that it's the famous Chicago loop. Filming in Chicago works, giving the movie a hard-edged realism missing in most other action films. Thankfully the performances elevate the film as well. Norris actually shows a bit of range in the Cusack role, something he seems largely incapable of in many of his other movies, and having Farina and Silva onboard certainly gives the picture more oomph. I've always maintained that casting Henry Silva as the primary villain in any movie adds at least a star to the overall rating of that picture, and I can say the same thing here. Watching Silva dissolve into one of his trademark rages is always worth the price of admission. It's unfortunate in the extreme that his advanced age prohibits him from making films nowadays.
MGM is spending a bunch of bucks releasing many of these old 1980s actioners to DVD. "Code of Silence" receives a widescreen anamorphic picture transfer but only a trailer as an extra. I've said it before and I'll say it again: why can't MGM contact Norris or the director in order to record a commentary track? For that matter, why not dig up some promotional materials for the film and throw it on the disc? Because the studio is cheap, apparently. Oh well, at least we can revisit these old movies without having to resort to ragged VHS copies. Give "Code of Silence" a watch soon.
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Code of Silence is by far Chuck Norris' best film. Not only is it great by the standards of his martial arts action films, but is actually a cut above many action pictures.Norris plays a Chicago cop who finds himself caught between a turf war between the Mafia and a Colombian drug cartel. His standing on the force suffers at the same time because he testifies against two cops who are involved in a bad shooting. The Code of Silence ends up being double-pronged one side being the Mafia's Code of Silence, and the other being the police force's Code of Silence against bad behavior by their own.
Directed by Andrew Davis, who also directed Above The Law, Under Siege and The Fugitive, Code of Silence has great action sequences and a great villain in Henry Silva. This is Norris' finest film. Nothing he has done before or since has been anywhere near as good.
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Chuck Norris Rocks! Good Fight Sequences, Cool beat up firebird,nice garbage truck, silly police robot, although with Chuck Norris the police doesn't need a robot or even other police. Chuck Norris is a one MAN mean machine.Remember,Chuck Norris is not afraid of the Dark, the Dark Keeps it's lights on because it's afraid of him!
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