The Mod Squad

Julie Barnes (Claire Danes), Pete Cochran (Giovanni Ribisi), Lincoln Hayes (Omar Epps) are three infamous teenage criminals who were set to serve serious prison time until Detective Adam Greer (Denis Farina) recruited them to work as an undercover unit in order to infiltrate the club scene. When Greer is murdered during a drug sting, they take it upon themselves to solve the murder and clear his name, they end up uncovering something deeper.

Being that it's a remake of the vintage TV show, unfortunately never seen by me, so there's no comparison; this one feels just like a cop show from around that time evidenced by cinematography which clearly is an homage to Dirty Harry and The French Connection eras. With a rough combination of urban locations and depressed colors with urban fashion and grungy set designs, The Mod Squad offers a deep homage to classic police dramas. And the music selections fill out the rest, with a fabulous assortment of disco ballads and cool chill tracks.

As far as the story goes, it plays like a classic police drama: teaser (including setting and character intro), inciting crime, investigation, derailment, sting and arrest. It's a simple formula and this one follows faithfully. The writers went simple and kept everything clean, the film is honest and keeps the pacing tight. The mechanics are simple, non-stylized and hail from a time where the suspense ruled the screen. It feels like classic James Bond: muscle and plot.

The only thing with a film that follows formula so faithfully is that sometimes the performances fall emotionally flat. And such is the case with this film, unfortunately; however, it helps the film's honesty alive because this is not some deep existential film. What this film is, however, is comical; in the best way. The timing at each joke is perfect keeping the film light, as it's supposed to be, creating an effortless watching experience.

****

In: Steve Harris

Out: Giovanni Ribisi

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