Code of Silence

I like 16:9. I like the action and violence.I like the shooting. There is plenty for me.I like the punching and kicking.This 38 year old movie does it for this 73 year old.I'm confident now in what the recommendations of what Prime thinks I would like.

Any time an Action Star can showcase their acting abilities, it’s worth noting. Although this movie has plenty of Action, it’s also got a decent plot to go with it.The only real complaint is that various plot elements aren’t exactly connected well and the plot can therefore seem somewhat clunky.

If you like simple action movies with a decent little bit of plot, this is a good film. If you want a rom-com, this isn't a good film.

I'm not a big fan of Chuck Norris, but as a devotee of director Andrew Davis, I approached "Code of Silence" and was pleased to find that the same methods that would later benefit fellow action stars Harrison Ford (in  The Fugitive ) and Steven Seagal in ( Under Siege ) made for a very approachable and enjoyable Norris-headed action/thriller. Some other reviewers here claim that this is Chuck's outright best movie, and while I don't have the viewing experience to verify this, it certainly is a very good film that transcends the B-movie standards of the time, making for a surprisingly classy addition to a genre generally identified by its abundant amounts of cheesiness.The story: when his stance on a case in which an aging cop has covered up the accidental shooting of a teenager leaves him a loner on the force, tough Chicago cop Eddie Cusack (Norris) must fly solo as he undertakes a kidnapping case in the midst of a mob war.The first thing that I noticed about the movie is its striking similarity with the director's subsequent project, the Steven Seagal vehicle  Above the Law . From its production style to its soundtrack, Chicago setting, and the five cast members playing similar roles in both movies (the most prominent of which is the villainous Henry Silva,  The Manchurian Candidate ), "Code of Silence" seems to have been the ground-layer to a style that director Davis felt comfortable sticking with for a while. However, neither film truly copies the other when it comes to spirit: while the Seagal picture was a martial arts film with political overtones, "Code of Silence" is a stricter cop movie with Norris playing an Eastwood/Bronson-esque character. He doesn't do a whole lot of talking, and that's fine since he pulls off the tough-guy act more convincingly than most men in action. It's not a look-at-me vehicle like, say  Invasion U.S.A.  would be, but Norris' gravitating presence is so strong that it doesn't need to be backed up by a lot of chatter or karate kicks.Speaking of karate kicks, I was a bit disappointed that there aren't a lot of them in here. Norris has a single neat martial arts fight in a bar, but with the exception of a couple quick fisticuffs, it's all about the infrequent shootouts and chases (including one where he dives off a train into a river to pursue a perp)...save for the end of the movie, where Chuck commands a lethal, remote-controlled police robot to help attack the mob hideout. It's an incredibly bombastic scene for a movie that has thus far played it straight and down-to-earth, but it's a nice payoff for having to deal with a relative inabundance of action for the first 90 minutes. Again, it's a cop movie that doesn't rely on action, but it's infused with enough of Andrew Davis' know-how and enthusiasm to make both the told-before story and its relatively unknown performers like Mike Genovese ("Port Charles"), Molly Hagan ( Election ), and Bert Remsen ( Thieves Like Us ) life-like and memorable.Again, I can't say for sure, but I can imagine that this film's overall finesse and restrained pace ought to make it a better entry point for aspiring Norris fans of all film disciplines than one of his straight-forward action flicks. Definitely worth the price with good replay potential. Get it!

BOTTOM LINE: This is a pretty damn good little movie, with just enough traditional Norris kick-punchery to satisfy his hardcore fans while also offering crime drama enthusiasts an intelligent and engrossing story. 4 solid STARS for the gritty urban police saga CODE OF SILENCE.THE STORY (contains spoilers): Straight arrow police sergeant Eddie Cusack (Chuck Norris) finds himself caught between a rock & a hard place when an aging member of his police taskforce fatally shoots an innocent teenager during a raid, then plants a pistol on the boy's body in order to claim self defense. When Cusack learns the truth and insists the older cop needs to be taken off the street and held accountable for his wrongdoing he finds himself shunned by his fellow police officers, who believe the old cop is innocent. At the same time as this is happening, the Mob and a rival Colombian organized crime faction start a bloody territorial drug war; one which places the innocent daughter of one of the mafia bosses directly in the crosshairs of the Colombians. When the other cops refuse to back him up, Cusack is forced to single-handedly take on a horde of bloodthirsty hitmen to rescue the mobster's daughter.THOUGHTS: This is Chuck Norris' finest hour. This isn't Norris wrapped in the Flag, going gonzo and wiping out everyone in sight with an M-60 and a thousand deadly spin kicks. Instead, CODE OF SILENCE is a gritty, realistic (for the most part) crime story about honor, sacrifice, truth & personal integrity, and the sometimes high cost of doing what's right, instead of what's easy or convenient. Norris turns in a solid, low-key, believable performance here. The rest of the ensemble cast is also quite good, with the exception of the Colombian goons, a bunch of one-note gorillas who are there purely for Chuck to beat the living snot out of. One such encounter results in Chuck giving one of the best tough guy lines in screen history "If I want your opinion, I'll beat it out of you." Hell yeah! LOL The great Henry Silva played villainous parts throughout his long career, and he's just as cold and brutally lethal this time around as the Colombian cartel's mercilessly sadistic crime boss. Dennis Farina has a small but amusing role playing Cusack's sidelined partner, who's always coming up with odd money-making schemes that he & Eddie can embark on together once they retire.THE BLU-RAY: This Blu-ray release for CODE OF SILENCE is another minimalist MGM effort. Nothing in the way of bonus extras except the theatrical trailer. The good news is that the picture & sound are quite strong; not much in the way of artifacting or pixelation. Soundmix is level & solid. Norris fans will regret the lack of extras but we can at least be thankful that this, one of the better entries in Chuck's career, is finally on Blu-ray.

Like? The movie itself, like most Chuck Norris films, is, if nothing else, fairly "entertaining". In that respect, I'd give it at least a 4 or perhaps a 5-star rating. This film, in particular, was definitely one of Norris' better ones. However, it would be nice to see Chuck Norris in a role where he's more than just a "recognizable, run-of-the-mill performer" with that SAME, SILLY-ASS, STUPID "PUT A BOWL OVER MY HEAD AND CUT AROUND IT, 3-STOOGES, B/S HAIRDO" which he wears in EVERY silly movie he's EVER made...!! It doesn't matter whether he's a soldier, airman, marine, cop, detective, or even a Texas Ranger. Jesus, Chuck, get RID of that same, SILLY-ASS, stupid hairdo of yours..!! You look like an idiot when you refuse to "look" the part, ok..?? You wanna be known as a "REAL" actor..?? Then dammit, LOOK the part, ok...?? Stop looking like you're trying to audition for the next "3-Stooges" movie, ok...??

I mean its funny because its a pretty straight forward plot, and I was expecting tons of kung fu from Chuck but hardly any. But it was almost like Scarface but from a super cop perspective. Loved it!!

Hadn't seen this one in a decade or two so I fed it into my DVD player with much anticipation. I was a huge Chuck Norris fan as a kid, saw all of his films. After revisiting a couple of them I was overtly impressed... this one, however did not disappoint. Possibly Chuck's most 'serious' film? As had been said before, it was originally intended as a fourth Dirty Harry film. And the story, not to mention the sub-plots and characterisation, are far better than many of his films.But what annoys me about this film... THAT BLOODY ROBOT! It seems to be brought in from another film entirely! Hey, it's the 80's, robots are the future... so Chuck, despite having nothing it do with it an earlier scene, somehow manages to work it with clinical precision to take down the bad guys... sorry, not having it and it puts a damn big downer in this film for me.So, Chucks best film? Might have been without that damn robot. Invasion USA, Missing In Action, An Eye For An Eye and The Octagon are up for that title IMO. Still, if you're after some 80's action stuff, you could do far worse. It's a recommend from me.

As a martial artist myself I am a big Chuck Norris Fan and have been a watcher of his films since The Good Guys Wear Black.As I've said before A Force of One will never win any awards for its script but the fight scenes,arranged by Chuck himself,probably with a little help from brother Arron were first class for their time and contain top class martial arts action.By the time Code Of Silence was released in 1985 you could see that the 6 time undefeated World Karate Champion was no longer struggling with his acting,having settled on the strong,silent and thoughtful character method,which carried him right through to the end of WALKER TEXAS RANGER,which still remains CB S's longest and best ever,top selling TV series,repeats of which are still running on SKY TV today.Now established as Golum Globas's biggest star in the Code of Silence he gets a better script and a good supporting cast to add to the action.Chuck plays cop Eddie Cusack,ostracised by his colleagues for not backing up a burnt out drunken cop who shoots a young kid in a dark hallway during a drug bust.The kid is unarmed so the drunken cop plants a gun on him.Cusack doesn't know this,only that the cop is burnt out and shouldn't be on the streets.This great story leaves Chuck/Cusack on his own to take on and stop a gang war.Aided only by the Snooper,a high tech robot vehicle, with more armaments than a dozen Rambo's.Is it enough...?Ha,buy this great DVD and watch the great action sequences to find out cos all I'm gonna say is when the mayhem stops and the smoke clears there's only one man left standing....?I'm just starting to replace all of my CN videos with their DVD equivalents as I find them and as this has always been one of my personal favorites it was the second one I bought from Amazon.More will follow as there's nothing better than a good old Chuck film.Plenty of action without the gratuitous sex and bad language of more modern films.

Love this film had to buy a new one as the old one wore out beautiful story and the action is great.

With his usual grit and courage Chuck Norris does beat the bad guys in the end but not without a few problems on the way !Never a dull moment I commend this excellent film to anyone who enjoys adventures and heroes ! Incidentally Chuck was beaten once in 'Game of Death' by another hero Bruce Lee but that's another story !

Great