Fifty / Fifty (1992) Review:

Charles Martin Smith who is not the most critically acclaimed director has made some pretty good movies in his time although not many people seem to know about them. However, this did not stop me from finding the movie Fifty/Fifty. I stumbled onto this little token because I was searching for films Peter Weller had starred in. Boy was I glad this film caught my attention with its excellent trailer. I usually do not laugh during trailers but this one was a rare gem.

Jake (Weller) & Frenchy (Hays) stand their ground

Fifty/Fifty was released by Cannon Films who seemed to me like a well- known cinema company; I guess not. This film wasn't even theatrically released. But that makes it all the better. Peter Weller and Robert Hays star as two CIA operatives who are given an assignment to overthrow a ruthless dictator. Although both are from two different genres, both of them work really well together. I say this because their wisecracks seemed so natural like they didn't read the script. I'll admit that I did not have one favorite scene in this movie, because almost every scene was too good to pick a favorite. Even director Charles Martin Smith has a role in this story and he does his part well too.

Director Charles Martin Smith's character role, Martin Sprue

The action is good in this movie too. There are plenty of shootings, explosions and there is some blood but not a lot of gore. The MPAA rating for this movie is rated R mostly for the language. I enjoyed Smith's direction on how he had Weller and Hays act during trouble. Even near death scenes, they never let go of their wit and funny comments.

Making this movie even more rare of a find is the score composed by Peter Bernstein, son of famous composer Elmer Bernstein. It's a little distressing to me because I enjoy many soundtracks to movies and I love collecting them and Bernstein's score is unobtainable. The score is fun to listen to because of its cheery mood and the way it gets fed into whatever scene is currently happening. I enjoyed this film a lot and wished that it was released theatrically. Director Charles Martin Smith outdid himself with this movie and its unfortunate not many people know of this funny action movie.

For some, it would seem like Robert Hays and Peter Weller are not the best duo in action comedy when in fact they deliver goods extremely well. With funny lines, a good soundtrack, and loud action, Fifty/Fifty will please any hardcore action comedy fan.

Points Earned --> 10:10