Where to watch Zero Tolerance
3 1/2 Stars
Jeff is an FBI agent sent to pick up Ray Manta, a member of the White Hand drug cartel, from a Mexican jail. Manta escapes, and gets revenge by killing Jeff’s family. Kowalski, another member of the White Hand, is sympathetic to Jeff as he hunts down the other members of the Hand one by one, getting vengeance for his family, eventually leading to a battle with Manta.
If you only know Robert Patrick from his iconic roles in T2 and The X-Files, then you probably aren’t aware of his early career work as a stuntman and action hero in low-budget shoot-em-ups. He appeared in films by Ciro H. Santiago or Roger Corman, shot quickly in a remote foreign location. These movies were often set in a jungle or a future world, but when James Cameron cast the magnetic actor as Schwarzenegger’s counterpart in the Terminator sequel, the worldwide exposure would surely lead to superstar status in the studio system. With the exception of a few pictures, the majority of Robert Patrick’s films skipped theatrical release and premiered straight-to-home video. That’s not to say these movies aren’t watchable or of lesser entertainment value; they are not, but they are also not polished big-budgeted pictures with a multi-million dollar studio-backed advertising campaign.
Zero Tolerance is Robert Patrick working with the premiere producers of the era’s best genre flicks, P.M. Entertainment. And Zero Tolerance belongs in the upper echelon of their film library. Fast-paced, straight-forward, and brutally violent, this is a B-movie to please fans of Lethal Weapon, Revenge, or any of the latter Charles Bronson movies. P.M. Entertainment was known for their explosive (and often comically overlong) action sequences, and Zero Tolerance doesn’t disappoint. An assignment inside a Las Vegas casino leads to a shoot-out and car chase along the Vegas side streets that is extremely well choreographed and photographed. Anyone looking for an action flick with lots of gunplay, minor narrative complications, a compelling leading man, and higher than usual production values (especially at this level of filmmaking) is in for a good time with this one.
Directed by: Joseph Merhi
Written by: Joe Hart
Starring: Robert Patrick, Titus Welliver, Mick Fleetwood