I found this one just flippin' through the pages of a video-on-demand site ... and what a find. A solid, very entertaining noir B-thriller.
Cop Kyle MacLachlan and his partner aim to steal a cache of loot from a crime scene ... think they'll get away with it?? Kyle Mac is sort of bullied into the scheme by his bumbling, loudmouth, forever-in-debt partner. And as soon as the idea is hatched, things go wrong, Murphy's Law-style, for the next 90 minutes. There were plenty of twists and turns in the plot: many were quite predictable, but some were real shockers, and the intrigue carried through until the final scene, with the viewer never *really* sure who would come out on top.
This is a made-for-cable movie from the '90s but does not feel lowbrow or shot on-the-cheap like many such movies do. MacLachlan is joined in the cast by familiar faces such as Amy Locane, Peter Coyote, the striking Roma Maffia (who is terrific as a very sharp DEA agent), and Miguel Sandoval, later to star in TV's "Medium". There are a few very nice stunts including a big gun battle to start the pic, a mountainside car chase, and numerous big explosions. Director David Mackay manages a few very clever setups and cutaways as he keeps the story moving along. The music score features a prominent bluesy slide guitar dropped in for effect here and there, it is very nicely done.
This is in the end a B-movie, but B-movies when done well can be as exciting and diverting as a pic of any stripe, thanks to simple, efficient construction and skilled execution. ROUTE 9 has those in spades. B- or 7 out of 10 stars.
