Proximity Reviews

Vigilantism infects the penal system in this uninspired action flick about a diminishing prison population. College professor William Conroy (Rob Lowe) is incarcerated for vehicular manslaughter and experiences the usual fears about his chances for survival in prison. Soon after his arrival, a sympathetic convict informs him that 14 prisoners have died unexpectedly at his facility. Disbelief turns to shock when a fellow inmate nearly shanks him en route to a bogus parole hearing. After the prison-transport van crashes, Conroy escapes and visits his attorney, Eric Hawthorne (Mark Boone Jr.), and begs him to expose the penitentiary's selective termination policy. Warden Clive Plummer (Joe Santos) has in fact ordered a hit on Conroy, but prison official Price (Jonathan Banks) starts getting cold feed about conducting the executions. He's in no position to prevent Plummer from allowing a convict to escape for the express purpose of eliminating Conroy, who's busily investigating Plummer's relationship with prominent victims rights' advocate Jim Corcoran (James Coburn). Conroy infiltrates Corcoran's corporate headquarters and begins tipping off a reporter as to what he discovers: With the financial backing of vengeful relatives, Corcoran has established an assassination bureau to purge society of prisoners treated too leniently by the courts. Zealot Corcoran intends to turn his personal beliefs into a profitable business and spread his instant justice initiative nationwide. Somehow, Conroy must find a sympathetic ear for his bizarre claim within the legal system, ferret out conclusive evidence of the Plummer-Corcoran alliance and outwit the convict assassin who's been paid to ice him. Not nearly as effective as THE STAR CHAMBER, this slice of paranoia is ultimately a hackneyed action movie that got sideswiped by a topical issue. Even the presence of some big name stars can't salvage the wreck.