TONY SCOTT'S NEO NOIR 'REVENGE' WITH KEVIN COSTNER

year: 1990 cast: Kevin Costner, Anthony Quinn, Madeline Stowe, Sally Kirkland  rating: ***

Only a few years after TOP GUN, in which jet fighter pilots became male pin-up models, director Tony Scott returned to the soaring skies: but only long enough to establish Kevin Costner's profession.

He quickly retires to Mexico to be aged-mobster Anthony Quinn's tennis coach. And in the usual Film Noir fashion, Quinn has a beautiful young wife, Madeline Stowe, who falls for the handsomer, youthful rogue.

 "This is particularly sad... Tony was great to me." Personal note from Sally Kirkland, 10-19-12

It's halfway through this steamy, beautifully shot film replete with lavish sunsets and sunrises... after Costner and Stowe are beaten to a pulp... that the title kicks in. Meanwhile, sexy Sally Kirkland plays a rock star in a steamy Mexican hotel that helps Costner rid impending foes.

So for the deliberartly slow pace even during the last half, as our brooding hero strives to find, and kill, his main adversary, Tony Scott (who sadly took his life tonight) deserves credit for going against the grain.

Between commercial projects like BEVERLY HILLS COP and DAYS OF THUNDER, a movie like REVENGE, taking time to build suspense with characters that aren't exactly flawless, was a big risk and a true labor of love.

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