Matty spotlights a solid – if thoroughly by the numbers – revenge caper from the Pepin/Merhi production line.

While not quite the classic pockets of PM Entertainment fandom paint it as, ZERO TOLERANCE is a hugely enjoyable romp. Boisterously directed by shingle bigwig Joseph Merhi, the film alternates between throat-grabbing bursts of Friedkin-esque docu-realism and a slicker, showier approach indicative of the growing influence Hong Kong auteurs John Woo, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark were having on action cinema throughout the ‘90s, DTV and otherwise. The tone is thrillingly no-nonsense, and Merhi’s propulsive sense of pace counteracts the mechanical plotting; several noticeably sloppy scene transitions; and the odd egregious stunt double. Further highlights include: a desert car chase; a flutter of dock-based carnage; two nicely done explosions on the Las Vegas Strip; and plenty of gunfire. 

Though better as a heavy or amidst an ensemble (think The Marine (2006) or Cop Land (1997)), an impeccably coiffed Robert Patrick makes for a decent hero and adds welcome heft to the script’s generic revenge framework. Patrick’s sole venture for PM, why Messrs Pepin and Merhi never tied the Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) star – who, by his own admission, wound up “slumming it” in the video arena due to substance abuse issues – to a multi-picture deal a la Dan Haggerty, Traci Lords, Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson, and Jack Scalia is anyone’s guess. Flamboyant support comes via Titus Welliver, Miles O’Keeffe, Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter, Gustav Vintas, and – of all people – Mick bloody Fleetwood as a cabal of colourful, cross-state drug lords responsible for the murder of G-man Patrick’s family. Patrick’s real-life wife, Barbara, and Michael Gregory – a perennial bit parter, specialising in police and military types, whose resume is peppered with such noteworthy films as: Nomads (1986), RoboCop (1987), Prime Target (1991), The Lawnmower Man (1992), Seedpeople (1992), and Stealth Fighter (1999) – also appear.

Sporting some eye-catching location photography (the oft-used Veluzat Motion Picture Ranch amongst it) and serving as an amusing alternative Christmas flick thanks to its utterly inconsequential Yuletide setting, Zero Tolerance premiered on HBO on Thursday 7th July 1994, per PM’s lucrative supply deal with the network. Here in the U.K. the film landed on shelves in mid-October ‘94 and boasted the distinction of being the first tape released by New Age Entertainment’s freshly minted video label. New Age had previously operated as a licensing and rights subdivision of Columbia-TriStar, and their acquisitions — Lady Dragon (1992) and A.P.E.X. (1994) et al — were usually issued through/in conjunction with another Columbia-TriStar subset, 20:20 Vision. Post Zero Tolerance, New Age’s brief but brilliant existence as a full-blown distribution entity of its own would see them giving us Brits the likes of Project Metalbeast (1995), Isaac Florentine’s Savate (1995), and Fred Olen Ray’s Possessed by the Night (1994) and Inner Sanctum II (1995).

USA ● 1994 ● Action ● 86mins

Robert Patrick, Titus Welliver, Miles O’Keeffe, Mick Fleetwood ● Dir. Joseph Merhi ● Wri. Jacobsen Hart