Jack Reed: Death and Vengeance

By ADAM SANDLER

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(Sun (17), 9-11 p.m., NBC) Filmed in Toronto by Patricia Clifford Prods. in association with Kushner-Locke. Executive producers, Peter Locke, Donald Kushner , Steve Krantz, Brian Dennehy; producer, Patricia Clifford; director, Dennehy; writers, Dennehy, Bill Phillips; director of photography, Alik Sakharov.
 
Cast: Brian Dennehy, Charles Dutton, Susan Ruttan, Michael Talbot, Peter Outerbridge, Larissa Lapchinski, Dean McDermott, Barbara Eve Harris, Frank Moore, Anthony Sherwood, D. Garnet Harding, Joe Morton, Anthony Zerbe, John Bourgeois, Ned Vukovic, Ken James, J.W. Carroll, Allegra Fulton, Amos Crawley, Nicole Crozier, Ralph Small, Linda Carter, Denise McLeod, Adrian Hough, Jeff Clarke, Martin Roach, Darryl Palmer, Tom Masek, Elena Kudaba, Jim Feather, Jeremy Tracz, Aaron Bartkiw, Kamil Orzechowski, The Greaseman, Ryan Kent. Brian Dennehy serves up another solid perf as the no-nonsense sheriff Sgt. Jack Reed in this fifth installment of the popular franchise. In this outing, which features a timely illustration of how differently the legal system treats the poor and the privileged as pic's subtext , Dennehy has again found his rhythm as the hard-charging detective. Also driving this quick-paced telefilm is a taut story that Dennehy co-scripted, and one he ably advances with his considerable directing skill. Story opens with Reed investigating a grisly murder orchestrated by Russian mobsters in Chicago. But his probe is thwarted by the closeness of the community and its fear of the group and its ringleader (Peter Outerbridge), who is dubbed the Mad Man.
 

While Reed navigates the immigrants, his superior Lt. Charles Silvera (Charles Dutton) is traversing an equally slippery slope as he's pushed by the city's political machine todrop drunken driving and manslaughter charges lodged against a mayoral candidate's son. The two concurrent storylines serve as the writers' forum for insightful glances into the nuances and perceived inequities of the justice system, which in this post-O.J. Simpson verdict era have been given considerable airing. But Dennehy and co-scribe Bill Phillips avoid the expected cliches and instead weave their deft observations into moving dialogue and enjoyably inflammatory political rhetoric offered primarily by big-gun attorney Sandy Miller (Anthony Zerbe) and politician/mayor wannabe Gordon Thomas (Joe Morton). As Miller and Thomas put the pressure on Silvera, Reed turns up the heat on the main suspects in the murder in an effort to force movement in the case. An unusual ending, one perhaps more expected from a "Homicide" or "St. Elsewhere," suggests the high caliber of story sought and achieved by Dennehy and crew. Casting is king in this telefilm, as principals Dutton and Dennehy set show's pace and style with their elan-filled interaction while offering powerful , one-two punch perfs. Zerbe weighs in with a top-notch dramatic reading that helps to solidify some of the peripheral plot points, while Outerbridge is convincing and engaging as the accented, conniving mob ring leader. Peter Bernstein's haunting score, which is bolstered by Russian-inspired chants, serves as an additional dramatic undertow that is sure to help pull viewers in. Adam Sandler

Editor, Peter V. White; production design, Alicia Keywan; art director, Ken Watkins; sound, John Thomson, Brian Day; music, Peter Bernstein.