''Fled'' is a 1996 American

buddy Buddy may refer to: People *Buddy (nickname) *Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present) * Buddy Cage (1946–2020), American pedal steel guitarist, member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage *Buddy Holly (1936–1959), artistic ...

action comedy film The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the Americ ...

directed by

Kevin Hooks Kevin Hooks (born September 19, 1958) is an American actor, and a television and film director; he is notable for his roles in '' Aaron Loves Angela'' and '' Sounder'', but may be best known as Morris Thorpe from TV's '' The White Shadow''. Earl ...

. It stars

Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has gained recognition for his roles on stage and screen as militant and authoritative characters. List of awards and nominations received by Laur ...

and

Stephen Baldwin Stephen Andrew Baldwin (born May 12, 1966) is an American actor. He has appeared in the films ''Born on the Fourth of July (film), Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), ''Posse (1993 film), Posse'' (1993), ''8 Seconds'' (1994), ''Threesome (1994 ...

as two prisoners chained together who flee during an escape attempt gone bad.

Plot

An interrogator prepares a man to take the stand against mob boss Frank Matajano on an Air Force base. A driver delivers takeout, which is taken to the interrogation room. Once opened, it explodes, killing the witness. In court, a judge places court on recess until the attorney general can bring sufficient evidence against Matajano. The attorney general angrily demands a

U.S. marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the U.S. federal judiciary. It is an agency of the U.S. Department of Jus ...

, Pat Schiller (

Robert John Burke Robert John Burke (born September 12, 1960) is an American actor known for his roles in the early films of Hal Hartley as well as his roles in '' RoboCop 3'' (1993), ''Tombstone'' (1993), and '' Thinner'' (1996). During the 2000s Burke became ...

), get evidence in 72 hours to replace the killed witness. On a chain gang, an inmate harasses Luke Dodge (

), who fights back. When Charles Piper (

) intervenes, the guards chain him and Dodge together, and then Dodge and Piper begin fighting. The guards discuss a plan in hushed tones and change their magazines, but before they do anything, the inmate who attacked Dodge snatches a gun and starts a shootout. During the confusion, he, Dodge and Piper escape. The cop who arrested Dodge, Matthew 'Gib' Gibson (

Will Patton William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''.Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...

) drive them to a hideout. At her house, they change clothes and part ways—Piper gives Dodge his harmonica for good luck. Dodge goes to a strip club to meet up with his girlfriend; after arranging to meet his hacking partner, Puffy, at a massage parlor to hand off the disc, Matajano's thugs enter their hotel room and kill her and begin to torture Dodge. Piper arrives and kills several of the hitmen, escaping with Dodge. He reveals that he's an undercover cop that Marshal Schiller hired to break Dodge out of prison so that he could recover the disc in exchange for exonerating him from an undercover drug bust that went bad in New York. The disc has evidence the attorney general needs against Matajano. At the massage parlor, Dodge meets up with Puffy, who is immediately shot by Matajano's men. Gibson, who hired a private investigator to get him information on Dodge, also arrives and participates in the gunfight. Piper and Dodge escape on special Ducati motorcycles left by Puffy; Gibson is reprimanded for not leaving the case to the attorney general. Not knowing the location of the disc, Piper and Dodge get desperate. Dodge notices a clue on his bike that lead them to the Georgia Dome and the disc, with Cora's help. The marshal (revealed to be working for Matajano to get the disc before the attorney general), Gibson, Dodge and Piper all end up in a gunfight. Piper and Dodge again escape with Cora's help, telling the attorney general they will hand off the disc at the top of Stone Mountain. Dodge and Piper lead Matajano's men on a chase up the mountain which results in Piper killing them; he meets up with Dodge and they ride a skycar up the mountain. The marshal, presumed dead in the gunfight, stops the car and demands the disc. Piper eventually throws him from the car and they hand the disc off to the attorney general, who exonerates them both and gets Piper his job back in New York.

Cast

as Charles Piper *

as Luke Dodge *

Will Patton William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''.Robert John Burke Robert John Burke (born September 12, 1960) is an American actor known for his roles in the early films of Hal Hartley as well as his roles in '' RoboCop 3'' (1993), ''Tombstone'' (1993), and '' Thinner'' (1996). During the 2000s Burke became ...

as U.S. Marshal Pat Schiller *

Robert Hooks Robert Hooks (born Bobby Dean Hooks; April 18, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and activist. Along with Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald S. Krone, he founded The Negro Ensemble Company. The Negro Ensemble Company is credited with the lau ...

as Lieutenant Henry Clark * Victor Rivers as Rico Santiago *

David Dukes David Coleman Dukes (June 6, 1945 – October 9, 2000) was an American character actor. He had a long career in films, appearing in 35. Dukes starred in the miniseries ''The Winds of War (miniseries), The Winds of War'' and ''War and Remembrance ...

as District Attorney Chris Paine *

Ken Jenkins Ken Jenkins (born August 28, 1940) is an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Bob Kelso, the chief of medicine on the American comedy series '' Scrubs'' (2001–2009). He has also had notable appearances in many popular TV shows. Ea ...

as Warden Nichols *

Michael Nader Michael Nader (February 19, 1945 – August 23, 2021) was an American actor, known for his roles as Dex Dexter on the ABC primetime soap opera ''Dynasty'' from 1983 to 1989, and Dimitri Marick on the ABC daytime soap opera ''All My Children'' ...

as Frank Mantajano *

Brittney Powell Brittney Powell (born March 4, 1972) is a German-American actress. She has starred in '' Safety Geeks: SVI''. Career In 1991, Powell started her career in ''Playboy: Girls of Spring Break'' as herself. She then went on to be a contestant on ''Ro ...

as Cindy Henderson / Faith *

Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...

as Cora *

Steve Carlisle ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' is an American sitcom television series about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional AM radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson. It was based upon his experiences obs ...

as Herb Foster *

Brett Rice James Brett Rice (born April 20, 1954) is an American film, television, and theater actor. He is perhaps known for his roles in the films ''Forrest Gump'' (1994), ''Remember the Titans'' (2000), ''Monster'' (2003), '' Super 8'' (2011), ''Foxcatc ...

as Officer Thornhill * Anderson Martin as Officer Kevin * Gary Yates as Sergeant Bailey * J. Don Ferguson as Chairman * Kathy Payne as Margaret Parks * Robert Apisa as Jose Marti * Jon Huffman as Milliner * Bob Hannah as Mason *

Angela Elayne Gibbs Angela Elayne Gibbs (born 1955) is an American actress. She has acted professionally since the 1970s in films such as '' Cleopatra Jones'', ''The Healers'', and '' The Naked Cage''. She later went on to act in films including '' Drumline'', '' Th ...

as Jocelyn * Michael Cary Hooks as Vonte *

Joe Torry Joe Torry is an American comedian, actor, and screenwriter. Torry is the older brother of comedian Guy Torry who is known for creating '' Phat Tuesdays'' a weekly stand-up comedy show launched in 1995 for African American comedians that was ...

as Bo Grant *

Bill Bellamy William Bellamy (born April 7, 1965) is an American actor and stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian. Bellamy first gained national notoriety on HBO's Russell Simmons' ''Def Comedy Jam'', where he is credited for creating or coining the phrase "bo ...

as Ray *

Taurean Blacque Taurean Blacque (born Herbert Middleton Jr.; May 10, 1940 – July 21, 2022) was an American television and stage actor, best known for his role as Detective Neal Washington on the series ''Hill Street Blues''. He stated that he chose the name ...

as Les * K. Addison Young as 'Puffy' * Libby Whittemore as Sandra * David Dwyer as Sergeant Leonard *

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

as himself * Kenny Endoso as Manny, Mantajano Thug (uncredited) * Jay Amor as Mantajano Thug (uncredited) * Henry Kingi Jr. as Mantajano Thug (uncredited) * Baby Norman as Exotic Dancer (uncredited)

Soundtrack

A soundtrack consisting of mostly hip hop and R&B music was released on July 15, 1996, by

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

and

Rowdy Records Rowdy Records is a record label distributed through Motown Records and Republic Records. It was founded by record producer Dallas Austin in 1992, and the precursor to his entertainment company, Freeworld Entertainment. History Formed in 1992 by ...

. It peaked at #60 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

Reception

Critical response

''Fled'' was widely panned by critics. It holds an 18% rating on review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

based on 33 reviews, with an average score of 4.36/10. "Stephen 'After

Alec Alec or Aleck is a Scottish form of the given name Alex. It may be a shortened form of the name Alexander or a given name in its own right. Notable people with the name include: People * Alec Aalto (1942–2018), Finnish diplomat * Alec Acton ...

but better than

Billy Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) * Billy (surname), a surname (and list of people with the surname) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy ( ...

' Baldwin is one of two convicts on the run," wrote ''

OK! ''OK!'' is a British weekly magazine that primarily specialises in royal and celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly magazine, its first issue was published in April 1993. In September 2004, ''OK''! launched in Australia as a monthly ...

''. "Laurence ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...

'' Fishburne is the other. Saucy Salma Hayek and Will ''

Armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...

'' Patton are in there too. So now you don't have to actually ''watch'' it."

Box office

The film opened at No. 6 at the North American box office with $5.4 million. In total it made $17.2 million in the domestic market and didn't get a worldwide release, failing to recover its $25 million budget during its theatrical run.

References

External links

* * {{Kevin Hooks 1996 films 1996 action comedy films 1990s chase films 1990s buddy comedy films American action comedy films American chase films American buddy comedy films Films directed by Kevin Hooks Films set in Atlanta Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films scored by Graeme Revell Films shot in Atlanta Films about the United States Marshals Service 1990s English-language films 1990s American films Films produced by Frank Mancuso Jr. English-language action comedy films English-language action thriller films English-language buddy comedy films