Edison Force (2005)

edison "effort"

edison force was ok. with a bigger budget and maybe a better director this movie could have been a lot better. Acting wasn't too bad but looking at the cast you almost expected something ten times better. the violence was pretty high as was the action, for this reason i gave it the 3 star rating. November 1, 2008

Warning: May Cause Short-Term Memory Loss

According to Aristotle, the elements of drama are limited, and so you're bound to get some overlap, some story lines that are, to use an ugly word, derivative.

EDISON FORCE (released in Korea as simply EDISON) is about as derivative as it gets. Promptly after establishing its "corrupt police force" story, it refuses to do anything other than row its boat down the same predictable plotlines that have been established in hundreds of other movies with the same intentions and goals. It's question -- "When you live in a police state, who will police the police?" -- is old, old news, and it doesn't bother trying to come up with any spice to add to the formula.

The producers, it seems, tried to boost the bland backbone of their film with some big names -- Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and Justin Timberlake in one of his first big-screen roles -- but all of these guys seem to be aware that they're dawdling their fingers in a movie that, while not a dud, is also no big deal. Kevin Spacey, especially, floats through each scene with a nonchalance that makes it seem like his role is just a favor being repayed without enthusiasm.

LL Cool J is asked by the script to bear the emotional brunt of the film, and as the reluctant Inside Man (I use the term loosely), his performance only seconds the aggressively pushy job done by Dylan McDermott, who plays LL's gleefully dirty partner. They represent the yin and the yang of the F.R.A.T. force, a group of elite, "above-the-law" officers who are the knuckles and the bankroll of the city they live in, a sprawling metropolis named Edison. One tries to contain his morals, and the other his bulldog allegiance to the behind-the-scenes brutality that keeps the corrupt city fathers afloat. Insert the plucky reporter (the waifish Timberlake, in as femmy a role as you're ever bound to see him in) who ruffles feathers by poking his nose where it doesn't belong. Whoops! There goes the status quo.

There's honestly nothing that bad about the film, but it is so watered down by its adherence to cliche and commonness that it is good for very little other than wasting an hour and a half. It's one of those rare movies that will neither entertain nor bore. For die-hard film-fiends like myself, you could do a lot worse. Although, if you did do worse, you'd probably have more to remember than what this milky flick has to offer. June 1, 2008

Edison Force, don't shoot the movie, just the writer

Okay for the 100th time we see a movie about a corrupt police force. In this particular case you couldn't get much closer to "Magnum Force" or "Serpico" if you tried. I suppose the younger crowd may see a little "Assault on Precinct 13", the remake, in this movie. Now given the acting talent and not to bad a presentation I still say this is worth at least a rental. I understand them reworking material for the kids who haven't watched all the previous versions of police corruption, that will make kids think, hey Justin Timberlake investigating corruption, cool, or whatever the word for that is these days. Great performances by Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey. This however is not to say law enforcement officers will wonder is it really necessary to beat this nag (old horse) to death again. If you enjoyed this be sure to catch "Minority Report" and "Mind Hunters". Decent quality DVD with some replayability. April 23, 2008

LOVED LOVED IT

I thought this movie was amazing. Yeah, so the story's been told before, so what. The acting in this movie is what did it for me. Everyone from Timberlake to Cool J to Freeman were amazing. And there were a lot of big names in this one. I'm actually surprised I'd never really heard of it before I was browsing Netflix. Probably one of the best acting movies I've ever seen. February 5, 2008

Edison Farce!

Wow this has to be one of the most badly made cop movies I have ever seen. I mean getting 2 of Hollywood's best in Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey in this mess is nothing but a waste of their talent. And Justin Timberlake in this movie? Stick to recording annoying songs Justin! This is just another example of why recording artists should not be acting unless you're Treach, Sting, Ice Cube, Mos Def, Andre 3000, Big Boi or LL Cool J. And speaking of LL Cool, he happens to be in this movie. After being in an enjoyable movie such as The Hard Way or box office hits such as Any Given Sunday and S.W.A.T., LL's talents are wasted here as well. While it's cool that he's the only good cop in his unit, LL couldn't save this disaster of a movie. And Dylan McDermott's performance was just comical. This movie was so bad that it could be easily mistaken for a dark comedy. Avoid this Exit Wounds rip-off at all costs. This movie is not worth wasting 100 minutes of your life for! August 31, 2007

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