My review was written in October 1989 after a screening in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.
John Irvin's atmospheric direction lifts the Patrick Swayze cop vehicle "Next of Kin" from routine programmer to sleeper status. Unfortunately, Warners' no-press-screenings play is indicative of this intriguing B+ picture getting the heave-ho in the marketplace.
Pic is of historical interest as the final film to go into production (August 1988) at Lorimar, while theindie was being swallowed by Warner Communications.
Interesting wrinkle in Michaei Jenning's screenplay (based on a script by Jenning and pic's associate producer, Jeb Stuart) is a mixing and matching of two ethnic strains of the vendetta: backwoods Appalachian version and revenge Sicilian-style.
These plot threads ar4e set in motion when Bill Paxton, a Kentucky boy from the hills now working in Chicago, is ruthlessly murdered by mafia enforcer Adam Baldwin as part of a strong-arm move in the vending machines racket. Paxton's older brother, Patrick Swayze, is a Chicago cop determined to find the killer.
Interfering with Swayze's efforts is the old-fashioned "eye for an eye" vengeance demanded by eldest brother Liam Neson. Picture climaxes with an elaborate war ina Chicago cemetery between Baldwin's mafioso and Neesons Kentucky kin, matching automatic weaponry with primitive (but reliable crossbows, hatchets, snakes and knives. Treachery on the Cosa Nostra side brings out a parallel "next of kin" subplot that concludes the film effectively.
Director Irvin's technical skill and Steven Poster's muted-color photgraphy bring out th4e flavor of both Kentucky and Chicago locations, with consistent tongue-in-cheek eleents (and ouright comic relief by the delightful Michael J. Pollard) balancing the film noir mood.
Swayze is solid as the mixed-motives hero, and inspired casting teams him with Irish thesp Neeson, most convincing as a tghrowback whose fish-ou-of-water misadventures in Chicago are a treat. Cast against type, Baldwin, the hulking youngster, familiar from "My Bodyguard", builds a fascinating portrait of evil lurking behind the innocent face. Supporting cast is convincing and physicaly perfect.
