''Underworld'' is a 1996

neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

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 Roger Christian and starring

Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Born in Massachusetts, he first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song " Asshole") and th ...

Joe Mantegna Joseph Anthony Mantegna (, ; born November 13, 1947) is an American actor best known for starring on CBS's ''Criminal Minds'' since 2007 as FBI Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi. He has voiced the recurring role of mob boss Fat Tony on th ...

and

Annabella Sciorra Annabella Gloria Sciorra ( , ; born March 29, 1960) is an American actress. She came to prominence with her film debut in '' True Love'' (1989) and worked steadily throughout the 1990s in films such as ''Jungle Fever'' (1991), '' The Hard Way'' ...

Plot

Just out of prison, Johnny Crown (

) is running a bit late for a meeting he's been waiting seven years to attend. First he has a little unfinished business to take care of: hunt down every last man responsible for taking out his dad. Like everything else Johnny does, he's going to do it his way – in style. With his mysterious friend Frank Gavilan (

) along for the ride, Johnny's out to uncover just who masterminded his father's hit, and settle the score for good, on one eventful

Father's Day Father's Day is a day set aside for honoring one's father, as well as fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. "Father's Day" complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Mother's Day and, in som ...

Cast

as Johnny Alt / Johnny Crown *

as Frank Gavilan / Frank Cassady / Richard Essex *

as Dr. Leah *

Larry Bishop Larry Bishop (born November 30, 1948) is an American actor, screenwriter and film director. He is the son of Sylvia Ruzga and comedian Joey Bishop. He has been featured in many Hollywood movies including '' Hell Ride''. Early life Bishop atte ...

as Ned Lynch *

Abe Vigoda Abraham Vigoda (February 24, 1921 – January 26, 2016) was an American actor known for his portrayals of Salvatore Tessio in ''The Godfather'' (1972) and Phil Fish in both ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1977, 1982) and ''Fish'' (1977–1978). His ...

as Will Cassady *

Robert Costanzo Robert Jason Costanzo (born October 20, 1942) is an American film, television and voice actor. A character actor with an acting career spanning over 40 years, he is often found playing surly New York City types on both sides of the law, and mixe ...

as Stan *

Traci Lords Traci Elizabeth Lords (born Nora Louise Kuzma; May 7, 1968) is an American actress and singer. As a 15-year-old high-school dropout, she used Identity document forgery, fake identity documents to enter the sex industry, where she began appearin ...

as Anna *

Jimmie F. Skaggs Jimmie F. Skaggs ( – July 6, 2004) was an American actor. Skaggs was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, but moved to Valley City, Ohio, as a young boy. He later moved to Elyria, Ohio, as an adolescent. He got his start in acting performing in the ...

as Phil "Smilin' Phil" Fox / Todd Streeb *

James Tolkan James Stewart Tolkan (born June 20, 1931) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as high school vice-principal in charge of discipline Mr. Strickland in ''Back to the Future'' (1985) and ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), and as ...

as Dan "Iceberg" Eagan *

Heidi Schanz ''Universal Soldier: The Return'' is a 1999 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Mic Rodgers in his directorial debut, written by William Malone (director), William Malone and John Fasano, and produced by Craig B ...

as Joyce Alt *

Cristi Conaway Cristi Lea Conaway (born August 14, 1964) is an American actress and fashion designer. Early life and education Conaway was raised in Lubbock, Texas. Her father was a car dealer and her mother is a real estate agent. She had attended Southern Me ...

as Julianne *

Angela Jones Angela Jones (born December 23, 1968) is an American actress. Early life and education Jones was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and then raised in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, where she graduated in 1986. She is a graduate of Point Park Colleg ...

as Janette * Michael David Simms as Mitch Reed * Amy Moon as Ava * Marc Baur as Leo

Release

In June 1996 the film premiered at Italy's Mystfest, where it was nominated for Best Film. It was also shown at the

Austin Film Festival Austin Film Festival (AFF), founded in 1994, is an organization in Austin, Texas, that focuses on writers' creative contributions to film. Initially, AFF was called the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and functioned to launch the c ...

on October 10, 1996. The film was released in the United States on May 9, 1997.

Reception

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

reviewer Paul Tatara gave a highly negative review of the film, dubbing it as "...very violent, very profane, and very bad. There's less killing at your local slaughterhouse, and the dialogue is probably sharper." Anita Gates of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' noted that the film with all its flaws was "Fine actors in the lead roles struggle to maintain their dignity and to breathe some believability into these characters, who all talk strangely alike, and to an admirable degree they succeed."

References

External links

* * 1996 films Mafia comedy films 1990s English-language films Films directed by Roger Christian 1996 action comedy films 1996 thriller films American action comedy films Films scored by Anthony Marinelli 1996 comedy films 1990s American films English-language action comedy films English-language thriller films {{1990s-US-comedy-film-stub