Code of Silence (1985)

Synopsis:

Martial arts expert Chuck Norris (Missing in Action) does his part in the “War-on-Drugs.” He plays a tenacious Chicago cop who pursuits a vicious Colombian drug lord, played by Henry Silva (original The Manchurian Candidate). 

Reaction & Thoughts:

“When I want your opinion, I’ll beat it out of you.”

Director Andrew Davis, of Under Siege (1992) and The Fugitive (1993) fame, has been rightly praised for his work in the action genre. The filmmaker has a knack for making action movie clichés look new again. Davis’s 1985 thriller Code of Silence, starring Chuck Norris, is a good case in point. Though it’s tarnished by a ridiculously over-the-top third act, it’s a high-energy and somewhat smart police procedural movie.

A quick Google search made me aware of the fact that most people think this is Norris’s best movie. Although I didn’t like it as much as Lone Wolf McQuade (1983), I’m willing to accept the idea that, from a strictly technical standpoint, this is indeed one of the martial artist’s best films. It has a decent script, excellent camerawork by Frank Tidy (The Duellists and The Grey Fox) and, of course, rock-solid direction.

It’s also an unusual Norris movie for a number of reasons. Norris plays a seemingly incorruptible cop — he is nicknamed “Stainless Steel” — who prides himself on following the law to a tee. However, at some point during the story, he decides to ignore all the rules and goes rogue in the style of Harry Callahan (Dirty Harry). This is an incredibly cynical view of policing in America, whether it’s endorsing vigilantism or not.

Alas, despite having many good qualities, the movie falls apart at the end. I hated the cartoonish climax because it spoiled an otherwise perfectly good neo-noir. The “explosive” finale seriously damages the overall impact of the film. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised by the way the whole thing disintegrates into an extremely loud, dumb and cheesy fireworks show — it’s a Chuck Norris movie, after all.

Although I have serious reservations about the film’s ending, I thought Norris was better than usual. He gets to show off his karate skills, and he even does a little of subway surfing. But the script also asks Norris to tone it down quite a bit, and he does that very well. It was really nice to see Norris play a human being for a change. For an actor who can only do one emotion at a time, this is as good as it’s gonna to get.

Conclusions & Final Thoughts:

Code of Silence could have been much more, but it falls short of its potential (the first two thirds are almost great, though). Despite my complaints, I thought director Andrew Davis did a good job with the material. For action fans, this will make a very worthwhile rental. For Chuck Norris completists, the decision is clear: this is a movie that you must much as soon as you can. Color, 100 minutes, Rated R.

Theatrical Trailer: