Homicide: The Movie Review

Homicide: The Movie (2000)

Buy Homicide: The Movie on Amazon (paid link)
Written by: Tom Fontana, Eric Ellis Overmyer, James Yoshimura
Directed by: Jean de Segonzac
Starring: Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, Reed Diamond, Giancarlo Esposito, Michelle Forbes, Peter Gerety, Isabella Hoffman, Zeljko Ivanek, Clark Johnson, Yaphet Kotto, Melissa Leo, Toni Lewis, Michael Michele, Kyle Secor
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
Al Giardello is shot and the detectives of the Baltimore Homicide Unit return to work to solve the case, including Howard, Munch, Bayliss, Lewis, Bolander and Kellerman.

Verdict
I appreciated that the series always focused on cases, every episode. Rarely did it stray and it never went far when it did. This movie is purely fan service; a reunion of numerous characters that starred in the series whether they should appear or not. That's another aspect of the series I appreciated. Characters leave, often with little fanfare, just like in reality. If you need more of the series it provides that, but it doesn't stand on its own. The best thing about the series was the characters, but that's part of the disappointment here as this doesn't capture the spirit of the series. The only reason to watch this movie is if you crave more of the show after you finish the final episode.
Skip it.

Review
Set in the future after the television series, Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) runs for mayor on a controversial platform, and he becomes the case after an attempt on his life. That crime brings all the cops back to find the suspect. It's curious that Al is running for office when he always avoided politics in the show. It seems like fan service, and that's my complaint with most of this movie.

Kyle Secor, Melissa Leo, Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, Callie Thorne, Ned Beatty, Clark Johnson, Jon Seda play Bayliss, Howard, Munch, Pembleton, Ballard, Bolander, Lewis, Falsone

In deference to fan service, this attempts to gather all the characters from the series. We never get enough time with any of them. It's not far from a clip show, updating us on what happened to everyone since the series ended. During the series, several characters left with little inclination as to what happened. Several characters are no longer cops, but they have access to the case and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) even interrogates a suspect despite no longer employed by the city. For a show that was grounded in realism, that has to be a violation or at least undermine the case in some way.

This movie is fan service and the rest is manufactured drama. Characters act atypical, and while they're dealing with the emotion of an attack on Al, it doesn't fully explain it. The movie wants drama. Pembleton and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) school a rookie detective just to create an argument later.

If you want more Homicide, this fulfills that need, but it doesn't live up to the series. It's fan service by showing us nearly all the characters, but it fulfills that need at the expense of the movie's story.