Ambushed (1998)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Ernest R. Dickerson

Writer:

Andrew Miles (writer)

Release Date:

20 June 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

When a Klan leader is murdered, it lights the fuse to a race explosion. Now the only man who can put it out is the one everyone suspects.

Plot:

Jim Natter, the leader of a violent Kuk Klux Klan lodge, is shot dead. His teenage son Eric Natter is found nearby...

Plot Keywords:

Police | White Supremacy | Racial Slur | Crooked Cop | Ku Klux Klan

Cast

Courtney B. Vance	...	Jerry Robinson
Jeremy Lelliott	...	Eric Natter
Virginia Madsen	...	Lucy Monroe
William Forsythe	...	Mike Organski
David Keith	...	Deputy Lawrence
Bill Nunn	...	Watts Fatboy
Charles Hallahan	...	Sheriff Carter
Robert Patrick	...	Shannon Herrold
William Sadler	...	Jim Natter
Carl Espy	...	Deputy Bean
Scott Hinson	...	Deputy Dunbar
William Flaman	...	Tom
J. Michael Hunter	...	Mintz
Scott Simpson	...	Richter
Don Hall	...	Billy Dean

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:16 (VHS/DVD rating) | USA:R (Certificate #35945) | UK:18 | Australia:MA | France:-12 | Germany:18 (video premiere) | Portugal:M/16 (video premiere) | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Company:

DWT Productions

Movie Connections:

References Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Prime Schlock

Actually there have been quite a few features, made-fors, and miniseries shot in and around Wilmington, North Carolina, as this one was. Wilmington has the second largest assemblage of studios in the country, outside of Burbank. The problem is, most of the things shot there are turkeys. Not including "Crimes of the Heart" and "Blue Velvet" and one or two others. Considering the schlock as a class in itself, this probably rates a B. It isn't as bad as it could be. Of course it's filled with cliches. Shoot outs take place in which thousands of rounds are exchanged with no one having to pause and reload their weapons. A black detective on the run has to protect the racist 12-year-old son of a Klan member, and we know their relationship will evolve, and the direction that evolution will take. The good guys are completely good, while the bad guys are somewhat less one dimensional -- let's say they have one and a half dimensions. But it has a few interesting directorial touches; odd angles are used effectively and bodies and objects are moved around with efficiency. The racial issue is nicely handled. A black man makes tender love to a white woman and it's treated matter-of-factly. And the movie is as much watchable for what it doesn't include as for what it does: no slow-motion deaths, no car chases. The acting is not bad, particularly on the part of the twelve-year-old racist. Just before the climax, Shannon has a line, "Take him out to the cement factory." This refers to a real cement factory on Blue Clay Road which has been used as a location in several other films. It served as a prison twice, in "Weeds" and again in "Everybody Wins." It's always good to see Dick Olson in a Wilmington movie, and he has a small part in just about every one, in this case, a motel manager. He's a nice guy as well as a reliable character actor.