Next of Kin (1989)

Well, without reviewing the entire movie I will suggest this. Liam Neeson, God love him, should never again do a movie with a hillbilly accent.

John Chard

6.0

Aug 30, 2020

Appalachian Clan vS. The Chicago Mob Patrick Swayze stars in an action revenge thriller in the same year that he also made Road House, the following year he made Ghost, these were two years after he had made a sensual splash with Dirty Dancing. Thus it's safe to say that Patrick did not pigeon hole himself. Next of Kin holds no great hidden gem rewards, but it's a rock solid thriller boasting a splendid cast list featuring Liam Neeson, Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Adam Baldwin, Andreas Katsulas, Ben Stiller (in a serious role), Michael J. Pollard, Ted Levine and Paul Greco. Plot finds Swayze…

Like its hero, Next of Kin is an anomaly — a thriller about a family feud between hillbillies and wiseguys that brings together Patrick Swayze, Liam Neeson, Adam Baldwin, Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton and Ben Stiller. Truman Gates (Swayze) is as elusive a cryptid as the Frozen Caveman Lawyer; born and raised in Appalachia, Truman emigrated to Chicago where he is now a plainclothes cop with a violinist wife (Hunt), a sports car, and a mullet that's pompadour on the front and a ponytail on the back; what we have here is a Civilized Redneck. And yet Swayze makes the character work, precisely becaus…