Watch In the Line of Duty: The F.B.I. Murders For Free

Touches You

As Good As It Gets

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I own this DVD. I have watched this movie countless times over the years. I can remember watching this film as it aired 'live' for the first time on TV. I immediately knew it would be a favorite of mine for years to come. Upon researching the actors in the film, I noticed an actor had not been mentioned. At least- I believe it to be this actor. I was wondering if anyone would confirm this. Towards the end of the film, when Gross's character and his girlfriend Vickie are in the restaurant, and Gross's character mentions it may be his last 'hit', his character grabs Vickie's arm. On the other side are patrons of the restaurant- one of whom I believe is Kevin Sorbo. Am I correct? There are no credits for him.

SUCH a good film, could have easily earned a theatrical release. For a generation raised on David Soul as Detective Ken Hutchinson on Starsky and Hutch it really is a revelation to see him here as such a brutal villain (although having seen him as the vigilante police officer in 'Magnum Force' you realise his range extends far beyond clean cut heroes). Soul really dominates this film even with noted character actor Ronny Cox who was enjoying an excellent run at this stage of his career with his appearances in 'Robocop' and 'Total Recall'.I think what makes Platt and Matix so terrifying is their very ordinariness, both family men with no criminal record, both ex-soldiers with honourable discharges. Yet they were two of the most ruthless and violent criminals ever to be encountered. The final shootout is very accurate and thrilling, so well directed and acted by all. There are a few discrepancies from real life, the Miami police arrived sooner and helped protect one of the wounded agents, whilst Platt certainly did fire on Ed Moraless with his handgun it is disputed whether he got out of the car to do so. Terrific music too conveying the drama and excitement and also the poignancy of events depicted. Looking back now you can see all the mistakes the FBI made, not in their investigation which was flawless but in the final confrontation, they took on 2 men whom they knew were combat trained and armed with assault rifles with most of their agents just armed with pistols and one shotgun, only one of whom was wearing body armour. Nowadays many people criticize SWAT operations as over the top but they were developed partly as a result of this shootout. I think what really makes this stand out is the final sequence, the last zoom in on Matix's drivers licence and the voice-over informing us of the aftermath and unanswered questions surrounding the case never fails to chill the blood. The tribute at the end to Jerry Dove and Ben Grogan is always moving, giving their lives in the line of duty.

This has to be one of the best made for TV movies that you are ever likely to see.Based on the real life story of Platt & Matix ( played by David Soul & Michael Gross ) two murderous bank robbers operating in Dade County, Florida, this film is expertly crafted and maintains a gripping pace all the way through. Hollywood veteran Ronny Cox (Deliverance, RoboCop, Total Recall) brings a steely eyed brilliance to his role as Ben Grogan, head of the FBI unit charged with the apprehension of these bandits.Soul and Grosse put in dynamite performances as the two violent and unstoppable villians, which was a total role reversal from the warm, friendly characters that they are both best known for on television. Amazingly, the film does not pull any punches when it comes to the vicious nature of the crimes committed by both of these men. The final gun battle involving the FBI and these two villians is well shot (no pun intended), powerful and gripping television.

Most people tend to look down their noses at made-for-network TV movies. In fact, a rap against some theatrical films is that it plays "like a made-for-TV film". IN THE LINE OF DUTY: THE FBI MURDERS should take a backseat to no movie: network, cable or theatrical. Based on an actual FBI case, FBI MURDERS chronicles the attempts of the Bureau to capture two men who were going on a spree of murder and robbery across Florida in 1986. Eight agents shot it out with the two men. By the time the smoke cleared, two agents were dead and six were wounded before the robbers were taken down. The action in this film can stand side-by-side with such shoot 'em ups as HEAT (which was a remake of a made-for-network movie: LA TAKEDOWN), BONNIE AND CLYDE and TAXI DRIVER. What may come as a surprise is the actor playing one of the robbers. While David Soul has portrayed men on both sides of the law, it is the shock of seeing Michael Gross, best known for playing the ultraliberal Stephen Keaton on FAMILY TIES as the most vicious of the two crooks. I had the opportunity to go back and look at new articles about this case, one of the news photos is used as a shot in the film. The makers of this really did their homework. It was a shame that FBI MURDERS did not receive any Emmy nominations. Maybe someone will do a theatrical remake of it and cop some Oscars. If it can happen with HEAT, it can happen to this movie.