Also, due to his wreckless ways, which appear somewhat restrained relative to that of most movie cops, Beck is ordered by the chief to obtain permission from a police shrink or be removed from the case. There are a few rows and gunfights, and a Fed overplayed by William Forsythe imposes himself.
He produces the name of a freshly paroled offender apparently affiliated with a disheveled band of white supremacists. His name is Beck and on Christmas Eve he's designated to probe the murder of another LA cop. Has anyone ever made a movie about a good cop who is neurotically orderly? The one perhaps determining stroke contributed by Dead Bang is a scene in which the inebriated investigator heaves onto a suspect. In Dead Bang, Don Johnson plays this classic brand of cop, to a tee. And the first thing everybody tells him is that he looks terrible. The company he keeps does nothing for his lexicon. Generally, he eats three meals of pizza or Chinese and drinks like a fish. Or debasing brutality has taken too big a chunk out of his consciousness for him to frequent the society of women and children. Typically, he's alienated from his family because he's too dedicated to his job and consumes too much of his time doing it and not enough with them. There's a specific brand of cop in film and on TV that apparently appeals to audiences. Reviewed by jzappa 7 / 10 Stale Clichés Sprinkled with Crumbs of Peculiarity