Renegades Reviews

RENEGADES is an action film of such numbskull intensity that, while ever-inane, it is never boring. Undercover cop Buster McHenry (Kiefer Sutherland) becomes involved in a diamond heist that gets ferociously out of hand due to the sadism of its mastermind (Rob Knepper). The theft is accomplished only after innumerable vehicles are trashed, innocent bystanders are slaughtered, a gallery showing of native American art is disrupted, and a sacred lance of the Lakota tribe is stolen. This weapon is the McGuffin upon which the silly FRENCH CONNECTION meets A MAN CALLED HORSE plot turns, since Hank (Lou Diamond Phillips), a young Lakota, vows to retrieve it and avenge his brother's death. A wary alliance is forged between Hank and Buster before all is put right in the head-splitting finale. Director Jack Sholder is a whiz at coordinating the traffic in the many catch-me-if-you-can-or-explode sequences, which provide a visceral thrill to appeal to the six year old in everyone, but which must be balanced against the lame story, offensive ethnic stereotypes, and perfunctory acting.