Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Captivating movie !

best movie i've ever seen.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Truman, a Chicago cop, sets out to find the killer of his brother. Meanwhile, another of his brothers, Briar (a hillbilly) decides to find the killer himself.This is probably seen as a second-tier Patrick Swayze movie. Certainly it can't compete with "Roadhouse" or "Dirty Dancing". But in my opinion, it doesn't fall far behind. The action, the authentic Chicago scenery. It is all quite nice. And the cast. Wow. Beyond the three brothers (Swayze, Bill Paxton and Liam Neeson) you have a very early appearance from Ben Stiller, a young Helen Hunt and more. Quite the cast.Exactly why the Gates family has an Irish brother when everyone else is clearly American is unclear, but Neeson at least tries to cover up his accent a little bit.

The film is directed by Englishman John Irvin who has made a rather unsung career out of bringing a stronger-than-usual sense of characterization to genre films. Although Irvin's filming of the action scenes are a little pedestrian, he still has a strong visual sense and manages to vividly contrast the conflicting worlds of the country and the city. The film's supporting cast is well chosen and both the heroes and the villains all come to life with a surprising amount of dignity. At no point do any of the actors demean their roles by playing... typical hillbillies or, for that matter, typical mobsters and that shows an unusual and admirable amount of integrity for a film of this sort. Paxton isn't on screen long but remains, as always, a likable presence and Adam Baldwin makes a compellingly understandable and hissable villain. Michael J. Pollard shows up as a hillbilly and brings his trademark quirkiness to the proceedings while the role of the nerdy mob scion is played by Ben Stiller, of all people. It's a little jarring to see Stiller show up on screen (especially playing an essentially villainous role) yet he gives a strong performance without resorting to do any standard Stiller bits. Helen Hunt's role is... typical but she's probably far warmer in this role than she's been in any of her prestige pictures. Certainly, the best performance in the film is given by Liam Neeson who dominates the proceedings with the grim sincerity he brings to his quest for revenge. This Irish actor also manages to perfectly capture the unique accent of the Appalacian region. As an actor, Patrick Swayze has always been limited and he's always been better at projecting sincerity than complexity. Luckily, his role in Next of Kin has been designed to require little more of him than sincerity and, if Next of Kin doesn't represent his best performance, its certainly his most likable.The music was great in this movie, a little culture and a lot of country. Swayze again wrote a song especially for this movie "Brothers" sung by Swayze and Larry Gatlin. All in all, Great acting from Liam Neeson and Patrick Swayze.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

NEXT OF KIN (1989) Back in the 80's action movies where all the rage, remember when everybody was seeing/talking about Die Hard, Predator, Lethal Weapon or the latest Rambo entry. Reenter those wonderful unforgettable days of ole for this piece of underrated southern fried vengeance and mayhem action flick starring mullet hero Patrick Swayze and a then largely unknown Liam Neeson, who sets the groundwork for his future metamorphosis from Oscar nominated actor to 21st century Charles Bronson, here.Directed by John Irvin, a maverick of the underrated action movie with credits like the Dogs of War and the superior Schwarzenegger vehicle Raw Deal, Swayze stars as Truman Gates, a reformed hillbilly turned windy city cop. When mobsters kill his little brother (Bill Paxton), he finds himself torn between "what he should have done and what has to be done." So enter his estranged older brother, Briar (Neeson), the kind of Appalachian who keeps a severed deer's head in his fridge next to his beer. Briar comes to the big city looking for the men responsible and more than willing to stomp a few creeps to get some answers. Truman, unsuccessfully attempts to keep him on a leash, but soon finds himself drawn into the dark side of vengeance too.Not nearly as giddy silly as the much loved Swayze starrer cult classic Road House. Still, Next of Kin offers plenty to recommend like an awesome showdown in a cemetery, amiable characters, funny cheesy duologue, and a great role for cult character actor Michael J. Pollard as the proprietor of a flophouse who gets the film's single funniest line ("Hell, no. I'd shoot somebody").Having never looked better than on the new Blu-ray release with it's 1:85:1 high definition transfer, it easily replaces the poor quality budget pan & scan DVD from years ago. Featuring a stunning cast of actors who would continue to various levels of stardom, not just Neeson and Paxton, but also a never lovelier future Oscar Winner Helen Hunt, Adam Baldwin (Serenity) as the chief heavy, a young Ben Stiller as a mobster flunky and Ted Levine ("Monk") .Next of Kin is not as well known as many of the other actioners of it's day, but it is one of the best. As expected there are plot holes, inconsistencies and plenty of good old clichés, but it's also a lot of fun and an agreeable time waster. A perfect lazy Sunday afternoon movie.

Never believable as hillbillies, Patrick Swayze and Liam Neeson struggle with a one idea script that runs out of steam in the first half hour. Helen Hunt adds little as the violin teacher love interest. A few action scenes, one involving elevated trains, and the presence of the always interesting Michael J. Pollard help, but can't move the film beyond mediocrity. Believability flies out the window and what remains is such a stretch that the movie bogs down. The cops stand by while the vigilante hicks run amok with bows and arrows and shotguns. Then in the finale, the main mobster pulls a no surprise "surprise ending" that does little more than leave the audience more unsatisfied than before. - MERK