''Most Wanted'' is a 1997 American

action thriller Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

film directed by David Glenn Hogan, produced by Eric L. Gold and written by

Keenen Ivory Wayans Keenen Ivory Desuma Wayans (born June 8, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is a member of the Wayans family of entertainers. Wayans first came to prominence as the host and the creator of the 1990–1994 Fox sketch comedy s ...

, who also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars

Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, he ...

Jill Hennessy Jillian Noel Hennessy (born November 25, 1968) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is most known for her roles on the American television series ''Law & Order'', on which she played prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons, and ''Crossing ...

and

Paul Sorvino Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law. Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...

. The film was released by

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...

in the United States on October 10, 1997.

Plot

James Dunn ( Wayans), a

United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

who served in the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

is wrongly accused of an

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of an officer he had disputed with. Dunn is later saved from

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...

and recruited for a top-secret special operations squad led by Lt. Col. Grant Casey ( Voight). Their mission is to neutralize criminals who had avoided conventional law enforcement methods. On his first mission, Dunn finds that his purpose is to actually be falsely perceived as the man who assassinated the

first lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

. Soon, a search begins for Dunn and Dr. Victoria Constantini (

Hennessy Jas Hennessy & Co., commonly known simply as Hennessy (), is a French producer of cognac, which has its headquarters in Cognac, France. It is one of the "big four" cognac houses, along with Martell, Courvoisier, and Rémy Martin, who together ma ...

) who was a witness to what happened and had videotaped the incident. Dunn finds her and she becomes a reluctant ally to him after he saved her life after she was targeted by the conspirators, who blew up her house. They are pursued by the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, led by General Adam Woodward, who in fact was posing as the deceased Lt. Col and is a part of the conspiracy. During the manhunt, Dunn and Constantini start to put together the pieces of who is behind the assassination which also involves Donald Bickhart (Culp), the head of his own powerful pharmaceutical company behind an experimental vaccine called CRC-13 which was used to experiment on soldiers illegally which the first lady was investigating and the reason she was killed. As a smokescreen, Bickhart puts a bounty of 10 million dollars for anyone (both civilian and law enforcement) who can capture Dunn dead or alive. Meanwhile, Dunn finds a trustworthy ally in CIA head Ken Rackmill (Sorvino), who knows that Dunn is innocent and also knows that someone inside his organization is working with the conspirators who framed him in the first place. Dunn must go through Woodward himself and his henchman, Col. Steve Braddock (Bodison) to expose the truth before he and Victoria are killed.

Cast

as Gunnery Sergeant James Anthony Dunn *

as General Adam Woodward / Lieutenant Colonel Grant Casey *

as Dr. Victoria Constantini *

as CIA Deputy Director Ken Rackmill *

Robert Culp Robert Martin Culp (August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010) was an American actor widely known for his work in television. Culp earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on ''I Spy'' (1965–1968), the espionage television se ...

as Dr. Donald Bickhart *

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in ''King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes fo ...

as CIA Assistant Deputy Director John Spencer *

Wolfgang Bodison Wolfgang Bodison (born November 19, 1966) is an American actor best known for playing Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson in the 1992 drama film ''A Few Good Men''. Early life Brian Wolfgang Bodison was born on November 19, 1966, in Washington, D.C.

as Captain Steve Braddock *

Simon Baker Simon Lucas Baker (born 30 July 1969) is an Australian actor in television and film, as well as a director. He is known for his lead roles in the CBS television series ''The Mentalist'' as Patrick Jane and ''The Guardian'' as Nicholas Fallin a ...

as Stephen Barnes *

Eddie Velez Edwin Velez (born June 4, 1958) is an American film, stage and television actor. He is best known for playing Frankie Santana in the final season of the American action and adventure television series ''The A-Team''. Early life and education ...

as Sergeant Peyton *

Donna Cherry The Miss California competition selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss America competition. The pageant began in Santa Cruz in 1924 and was held there in 1925. During the years 1926 through 1946 in years when the Mi ...

as The First Lady *

John Diehl John Henry Diehl (born May 1, 1950) is an American character actor. Noted for his work in avant-garde theater, Diehl has performed in more than 140 films and television shows, including ''Land of Plenty'', ''Stripes'', ''City Limits'', ''Nixon' ...

as SWAT Captain *

Michael Milhoan Michael Milhoan (born December 19, 1957) is an American actor. Best known as Dante Pacino in '' Something So Right'' (1996-1998). Early life Milhoan was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. He studied jazz music in his early days, then w ...

as SWAT Leader *

Tucker Smallwood Tucker Smallwood (born February 22, 1944) is an American actor, author, and vocalist. Early life From 1967 to 1970, Smallwood served in the United States Army Airborne Infantry. Commanding a Mobile Advisory Team during the Vietnam War, he was n ...

as Chief William Watson *

Lee de Broux Lee de Broux (born May 7, 1941) is an American character actor of film and television who is best known for his roles in such films and television series as '' Chinatown'', '' RoboCop'', '' The Gun'', '' Geronimo: An American Legend'', ''Norma ...

as Commander Goldstein * Dave Oliver as Lieutenant Scruggs *

Thomas G. Waites Thomas G. Waites (born January 8, 1955) is an American actor and acting instructor born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Waites runs an acting studio in New York City which is named for him. He has been a member of the Actors Studio since 1984 ...

as Sergeant *

David Groh David Lawrence Groh (May 21, 1939 – February 12, 2008)Noland, Clair"David Groh, 68; Husband on 'Rhoda'" ''Los Angeles Times''. 14 February 2008. was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Joe Gerard in the 1970s television series ''R ...

as TV Station Manager *

Michael D. Roberts Michael D. Roberts is an American actor. Career Roberts played the role of "Rooster" in the 1970s television series ''Baretta''. Roberts starred in the short-lived 1983 television series ''Manimal'', appearing in five of the eight episodes whic ...

as Homeless Man * Amanda Kravat as Charlie * Casey Lee as Randy * Robert Kotecki as Marine Lieutenant * L.V. Sanders as Gangbanger #1 *

Tito Larriva Humberto "Tito" Larriva (born 1953) is a Mexican/American songwriter, singer, musician, and actor. He came to prominence leading The Plugz, one of the earliest Los Angeles punk rock groups. Since the 1990s, his main musical outlet has been the T ...

as Gangbanger #2 * Martin Clark as Gulf War Colonel (uncredited) * John Reidy as Tommy (uncredited)

Reception

''Most Wanted'' received negative reviews from critics. Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.

was nominated for a

Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

for Worst Supporting Actor for his performance in both this film and ''

U Turn A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180° rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others, it is treated as a m ...

'', but lost the trophy to

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...

for ''

Double Team In basketball, a double team (also double-team, double teaming, or double-teaming) is a defensive alignment in which two defensive players are assigned to guard a single offensive player. Among basketball strategies in which defenders are assign ...

''.

Soundtrack

Paul Buckmaster Paul John Buckmaster (13 June 1946 – 7 November 2017) was a Grammy Award-winning British cellist, arranger, conductor and composer, with a career spanning five decades. He is best known for his orchestral collaborations with David Bowie, Sha ...

wrote the score for the film. Its soundtrack was released by Milan Records on 14 October 1997."Paul Buckmaster - Most Wanted (Soundtrack From The Motion Picture)". Discogs. Retrieved 13 June 2019.

References

External links

* * * {{Keenen Ivory Wayans 1997 films 1997 action thriller films American action thriller films Films about capital punishment Films about the United States Marine Corps New Line Cinema films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films