L.A. TAKEDOWN (1989) Directed by Michael Mann,

I recently re-watched Michael Mann's 1995 film HEAT which confirmed my opinion that it was one of the best American movies of its year. This prompted me to catch up with the original version of the story which Mann made for television in 1989. Technically there is little wrong with the earlier film but when it comes to the acting it is a different story. I really can't recall any film of consequence where the acting is quite as mind numbingly bad as it is here. There is no point in naming and shaming as the blame is evenly spread over the entire cast. The sheer awfulness of the performances is only emphasised by the fact that six years later Mann decided to remake the film for the cinema and this time he had the services of Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, John Voight and Val Kilmer. Rating: **