People are voting emotionally.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Kiss of Death is directed by Barbet Schroeder and collectively written by Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, Eleazar Lipsky and Richard Price. It stars David Caruso, Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, Helen Hunt, Ving Rhames, Stanley Tucci, Kathryn Erbe, Michael Rapaport and Anthony Heald. Music is by Trevor Jones and cinematography by Luciano Tovoli. Reformed ex-con Jimmy Kilmartin (Caruso) reluctantly helps out his cousin transporting stolen cars but gets caught and ends up taking the fall for the whole caper. Back in prison and missing his wife and child, Jimmy gets offered a lifeline if he is prepared to go undercover with the police to bring down psychotic crime boss Little Junior Brown (Cage). A loose remake of the excellent 1947 film noir of the same name, Schroeder's Kiss of Death is slightly better than the iffy reputation afforded it. Yes it's more solid than anything resembling truly compelling, but it wears its noir heart on its sleeve and is very well performed by an impressive cast. Caruso's Kilmartin is a classic noir protagonist, a man who tries to go straight but gets dragged into a world of crime and shifty undercover machinations after doing one honest intention favour. From the point he agrees to help out Ronnie Gannon (Rapaport a jumping bean performance), he loses what he holds most dear and continually gets pulled from pillar to post by everyone around him. He's basically a good guy that fate has dealt a deadly hand, even when he gets a second chance at happiness it's not long before the door knocks and he's thrust into a deadly undercover game where he will be lucky to escape with his life intact. A lot has been made of TV star Caruso's unsuccessful attempt at breaking into films, with some believing that his performance here is mostly to blame. Yet in the context of a noir protagonist his performance is perfectly good, in fact it's a very subtle turn that isn't short on brooding intensity. That he is overshadowed by the likes of Cage (wonderfully on full tilt overdrive as a nut-case) and Jackson (calm yet assured presence) is no bad thing, especially since both come with noir infected ticks (Jackson has a continuous weeping eye/Cage has a phobia about metal in his mouth). Caruso does good here, bringing the character to life without histrionics, he helps the audience understand his frustration as he spins in his vortex of disharmony. Nobody is done any favours by a screenplay that doesn't take chances, and at times it comes close to standing still in the mid-section, while the climax is a little underwhelming. But for a piece of pulpy neo-noir it has enough about it to make it worth a look. 6.5/10

As with any role she assays, Kathryn Erbe creates a character of such depth and meaning that she deservedly receives most of the attention of audiences. Here, she takes an underwritten part and through her compassion, spirituality, and sensuality makes the film her own. Anyone who has watched her on Law and Order: Criminal Intent, OZ, Homicide: Life On the Street on television, or seen the films Dream With the Fishes, 3 Backyards, or especially and most notably Blume In Love, realizes Ms. Erbe is an actor's actor. She is certainly one of the most gifted women working as an actor in any medium. Over the course of Criminal Intent, she was able to keep the character of Eames fresh and real while holding her own with grace as her co-star did everything possible to overshadow her. There was, however, no ignoring Ms. Erbe's presence. The film now being discussed is a weak remake and not very good, simply put. Yet Kathryn Erbe makes her part shine and with a subtle power makes her character outstanding. She deserves an opportunity in better quality films to demonstrate how gifted and talented she is. She has done this time after time on stage and whether in film or on television, audiences are always in for something very special when her name appears in the credits.

America has the best justice money can buy- meaning gentry that pay for the privilege of justice receive it and normal citizens will see justice only by pure accident. Here is a normal citizen who served his time but continues to be harassed by police- a common tactic of pigs- since they are too stupid to be detectives- they make their informants do all the dirty work of investigation under penalty of return to prison on some lies and setups-ya know- who they gonna believe? Me or you? This is the framework this movie operates in- the reality that most cops and lawyers are total scum that need two neat in the back of the head, and justice is a fairy tale in America.Add in a little action jackson moments to spice it up and we have a watchable movie that is reasonably OK- not stellar- but watchable to the finish and a decent job of acting by our lead. This is one of the few action flicks that actually tries to do some acting- our lead does a great job- his supporting actors do OK- but not great.All in all- I would watch this movie for a matinée by myself. One of the humorous things in this movie is you see Nicholas Cage bulked up as a guido in a disco.

(There are Spoilers) Trying to go straight and raise a family ex-convict & car thief Jimmy Killmartin, David Caruso, gets back into his chosen profession by trying to keep his sleazy cousin Ronnie, Michael Rapaport, from getting his brains beat out by his demanding and not too kindly boss Little Junior, Nicolas Cage. Ronnie wants Jimmy to drive an 18 wheeler loaded with stolen cars for his chop-shop business. As you would expect Jimmy gets caught by a cop sting that results in one of the NYPD detectives Calvin Hart, Samuel L. Jackson, getting a bullet in his head but miraculously surviving.Even though Jimmy was set up and deserted by Ronnie he lives by an unbroken and moral code not to rat on any of his fellow hoods. But that's quickly broken when Jimmy's wife Bev, Helen Hunt,is killed in a car crash that Ronnie was responsible for. It turned out that instead of looking after Bev and her and Jimmy's infant daughter Corinna, Lindsay J. Wrinn, Ronnie was taking advantage of Bev while Jimmy was locked up. Also the day she was killed Ronnie got Bev drunk and took her home to his place for both fun and games. Bev waking up from her alcohol-induced sleep ran out of Ronnie's place into her car and, still being under the influence, drove into an oncoming truck killing herself.Realizing what Ronnie did Jimmy agrees with the State prosecutor Frank Zioli, Stanley Tucci, to rat on his fellow car-thieves at a closed door grand jury hearing implicating even himself in number of car robberies but slyly keeps Ronnie's name out of it. The news of the car-theft gang being ratted out by someone from the inside gets back to Little Junior from his mobbed-up lawyer Jack Gold, Anthony Heald. It's then agreed that it had to be Ronnie, since he was the only member who wasn't indicted, who ratted on his gang and in no time at all Little Junior pay him a friendly visit with a half dozen of his goons that turns out to be Ronnie's funeral.Having served his time Jimmy is released from Sing Sing Prison but the aggressive State procurator Zioli has plans for him to get Little Junior in a sting operation which will result in him getting a federal judgeship. Going to Little Junior's Baby Cakes strip club Jimmy has a wire planted on him by the police in order to get evidence. Jimmy gets friendly with the mob boss only to be later shaken down in the club's bathroom to see if he's working for the cops or not. Jimmy realizing what was going down threw away his wire before Little Junior and his boys got to him. As crazy as Little Junior is he still strikes me as a pretty smart cookie being able to sense if he's being set up in a sting operation, with a wiretap. But later he act's so stupidly that he guns down in cold blood an undercover federal agent Omar, Ving Khames, right in front of a shocked Jimmy who's got a wire on him. This in the end can lead to Little Junior to be indited and arrested for murder one. With Jimmy having the incriminating tape it looked like a slam dunk to convict Little Junior but his lawyer Jack Gold comes to his rescue having the evidence thrown out on a technicality; Little junior killed a federal agent thinking that he was hood like himself and even more convincing it was in self-defense! With Little Junior out free Jimmy, who's cover was blown, is now a marked man and with only Det. Hart, who's since become bonded with him, willing to help Jimmy it looks as if it's only a matter of time before he's history. But unknown to Little Junior as well as the double-crossing state procurator Zioli, who promised Jimmy that he and his family would be protected , Jimmy had devised a plan to keep himself alive. And that plan is to use the same method that get him into hot water to get him out of it: the wiretap.The David Caruso came across completely colorless as Jimmy Killmartin showing in most of his scenes almost no emotion at all. The final scene in the movie showed that he, or Jimmy, also wasn't all that bright even though he miraculously survived a assassination attempt on his life. NIcholas Cage as the mob boss Little Junior has a very serious asthma condition but looks and act in the pink of health. He even lifts heavy weights, as well as showgirls, 15 at a time without even breathing hard. Little Junior also viciously beats people up sometimes to death which is very strenuous exorcise for an asthmatic. With the only sign of his asthma condition is the occasionally asthmatic aerosol spry that he uses to keep himself from possibly suffocating to death.Samual L. Jackson as Det. Hart is totally wasted as the good cop who risk his job and life in setting up his bosses in the federal government and NYPD. I also found it odd that Jimmy's wiretaps on both Little Junior and prosecutor Zioli had such an impact of bringing them both down to earth, Little Junior in jail and Zioli facing a serious ethics charge, that can also put him behind bars. When the wiretaps were done without a court order not only making them illegal but even criminal on Jimmy's part! Just earlier in the movie a court ordered wiretap that resulted in getting evidence of the murder of a federal agent, by Little Junior, was thrown out of the same courtroom on the most flimsiest of legal technicalities. But these totally illegal and uncalled for wiretaps, on Little Junior and Zioli, were allowed to stand!