Scott LeBrun Mostly routine, but agreeably trashy goodness from the Charles Bronson-J. Lee Thompson- Cannon Group-1980s assembly line. The almighty Bronson plays Jack Murphy, a detective whose motto is simple: "Don't *beep* with Jack Murphy." But of course, somebody does: a vindictive, psychotic woman named Joan Freeman (Carrie Snodgress), who goes about murdering people who Jack knows and framing him for the crimes. However, Jack seizes upon an opportunity, breaking out of prison while handcuffed (shades of "The Defiant Ones") to a foul mouthed car thief, Arabella McGee (scene stealing Kathleen Wilhoite).With this team, you expect some pretty straightforward, and effectively sleazy, entertainment. It's fairly violent as well as exploitative (ever delectable Angel Tompkins, as Jacks' ex-wife Jan, plays a stripper and shows off some of the goods). Gail Morgan Hickmans' story is diverting, throwing in a subplot involving a mobster named Frank Vincenzo (Richard Romanus) and creating a reasonable body count.What gives this otherwise formulaic scenario a shot in the arm is the give and take between Bronson and the sexy, husky voiced Wilhoite. She's constantly firing off insults at him. While they were much more profane in the original script, Wilhoites' one-liners are still ridiculously funny. And you can see that Bronson is having some fun with this premise. It's not often that he had a full blown sidekick in one of his vehicles.Other familiar faces that turn up include Robert F. Lyons, Bill Henderson, James Luisi, Janet MacLachlan, and Lawrence Tierney. It is somewhat novel that our vengeance crazed villain is female, and Snodgress is just fine as the kind of psycho who's *well aware* that they're a psycho.Capped off by a finale that offers up some fairly good suspense, and a typically amusing Bronson quip.Wilhoite gets an "introducing" credit, although she'd actually made her film debut in "Private School" three years previous. She also belts out the theme song over the end credits.Seven out of 10.

FlashCallahan Jack Murphy is an antisocial cop. Things are not good for him, he's just killed the brother of a mobster, and is now marked for death. His wife left him and is now a dancer, and when she shuns him, he drowns his sorrows in the bottle. And if that isn't enough, someone is stalking him, and kills his wife to frame him. Murphy is arrested and is handcuffed to a young street kid, whom he arrested earlier. They escape and Murphy tries to find out who did this to him.....If your familiar to the Bronsan movies of the eighties, especially the ones made by Cannon,,you know exactly what your in for. A short movie, with typecast Italian villains, Pretty grim violence (the air stewardess still gets me), and Bronsan shouting brilliant one liners.But wow, Arabella McGee, has the best one liners ever committed to film. It's as if the scriptwriters have left her part for their teenage sons to write, because she literally says the most immature put downs every couple of minutes.Suck on a door knob Donkey breath Whiskey breath, are just a few of the crackers, and they never fail to make me laugh.The actual plot is pretty good for the genre, and although the main villain channels Sondra Locke in Sudden Impact a little too much, she still convinces.All in all its a brilliant, cheesy action movie, that never fails to entertain.Plus it's the best movie ever to feature a man trying to stop a car by throwing shopping at it...

AaronCapenBanner Charles Bronson plays Jack Murphy, a veteran police detective who is framed for his ex-wife's murder by a loony killer he helped put away years ago, but who is now out and looking for revenge. Jack must go on the run handcuffed to a young car thief who hates him, but of course they must work together now to clear his name, since the killer is after them both...Awful film may well be Bronson's worst; utterly routine and predictable plot, uninspired direction(J. Lee Thompson, once a great director...), thoroughly unappealing and foul-mouthed characters that you care nothing about. The pits.

Terrell-4 Murphy's Law: If anything could possibly go wrong, it will. Murphy's Second Law: Don't mess with Jack Murphy. (Substitute the usual word for 'mess.') Murphy's Law is a lot better than some people would have you believe. Yeah, yeah, it's a Charles Bronson film from the Eighties, a period when a lot of film enthusiasts sniffed that Bronson was little more than a stuffed dummy who phoned in his performances. Bronson is one of those actors who make condescension drip from the lips of some cineastes. Charles Bronson was no typical Hollywood actor. He didn't have to be. With that worn-out, weary, tough face he could set a scene just by being there. Bronson was Bronson, and we knew the kind of taciturn, honest, relentless character he'd be. Bronson was a private man, kept to himself, was realistic about his talents and proud enough to deliver the goods. With all that said, you either kind of like his star movies, or at least some of them, or you kind of don't. Murphy's Law is one I like. Jack Murphy is a police detective on the downslide. His wife, a stacked stripper at a gentlemen's club who fancies herself a dancer, has just divorced him. Murphy doesn't want to let her go, drinks himself into a stupor most nights and shows up for work with stains on his rumpled suit and bad breath. Then his wife is killed and he's arrested for her murder. Jack Murphy knows he must find out who the real murderer is, so he breaks out of jail. While he tries to identify the killer, the killer bumps off one person after another who helps Murphy or who was associated with him. Early in the movie we know who the killer is (this is no spoiler), a psycho named Joan Freeman (Carrie Snodgrass). Murphy put her behind bars ten years ago and now she's out. She's ready for some wet revenge. She leaves corpses in her wake. She pumps iron with a vengeance. She smokes. She's also handy with a garrote, a cross bow and a pistol. Never, never take a bath with her. With just this as a plot Murphy's Law might have been an efficient, violent and reasonably entertaining Bronson movie. What I like about it is the gimmick -- the relationship between Murphy and a foul-mouthed young thief named Arabella McGee (played by Kathleen Wilhoit). Murphy had been handcuffed to Arabella at the stationhouse after he was arrested. When he broke out he had to take her along with him. A movie cliché? Sure. I think it works because of Murphy's tough stoicism and Arabella's creative and energetic profanity. There's nice chemistry between Bronson and Wilhoit. Wilhoit looks more like a tomboy than a cutesy starlet, more a gamin rough around the edges. She's a good actress and holds her own with Bronson's screen charisma. When the handcuffs finally come off thanks to Arabella's lock- picking skills, she decides to stick around with Murphy. If he can clear his name, he'll clear hers as being an accomplice in the escape. And off they go, with Murphy now fighting a three-front war. Freeman is after him. A cop who hates his guts is after him. And a mob smoothie he beat up is after him. The climax is a rough battle between Murphy and Freeman in a dark, gloomy building already loaded with some of her corpses. Arabella proves useful. Murphy proves capable.