U.S. Marshals (film)
Encyclopedia
U.S. Marshals is a 1998 action thriller
film starring Tommy Lee Jones
and Wesley Snipes
, and a sequel to The Fugitive
. The storyline of U.S. Marshals does not feature the character Dr. Richard Kimble; the role of the protagonist has been passed onto Samuel Gerard and his team of U.S. Marshals who pursued Kimble in the first film.
(DSS) agents are gunned down while trying to intercept a briefcase exchange taking place in a United Nations
(UN) parking garage. The murders are caught on a CCTV
camera but the killer escapes with the top secret information.
Six months later, Mark Roberts (Wesley Snipes
) is arrested for a weapons violation after a traffic accident, enabling the Chicago Police Department
to discover he is the federal fugitive wanted for the double-homicide. Roberts boards a prisoner transport
back to New York, sharing the flight with Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones
), who is escorting prisoners unrelated to Roberts' case. Roberts thwarts an assassination attempt by a Chinese prisoner with a zip gun
, but the bullet pierces the window and depressurizes the cabin, forcing a crash landing. Gerard discovers Roberts has fled the crash site and DSS Special Agent John Royce (Robert Downey Jr.
) is assigned to join Gerard's team to hunt Roberts.
Roberts makes it to New York City, secures money, weapons and a false ID, and begins conducting surveillance on Chinese attaché/spy Xian Chen (Michael Paul Chan
). In Chicago, Gerard and the marshals pursue several leads, including Roberts' girlfriend Marie Bineaux (Irène Jacob
) as well as the airplane mechanic who hid the zip gun, the latter of whom the marshals find killed by Chen. Gerard and team view UN surveillance footage of the murders in the parking garage that suggests Roberts acted in self-defense and was wearing gloves; thus couldn't have been identified by fingerprints at the scene as was claimed. Confronted with the evidence, DSS Director Bertram Lamb (Patrick Malahide
) informs Gerard that "Mark Roberts" is in fact Mark Sheridan, a highly-trained covert operative that went rogue during an investigation to find the mole
within the U.S. State Department
that had been selling secrets to China. Chen was the contact delivering the money to Sheridan for the information and when DSS agents tried to apprehend him Sheridan killed them and disappeared.
Eventually, the team catches up with Sheridan in the Bohemian National Cemetery
where Sheridan meets with, and threatens to expose, DSS Special Agent Frank Barrows (Rick Snyder) as one of the conspirators who framed him. Chen tries to snipe Sheridan as he leaves the cemetery, but inadvertently kills Barrows instead. Sheridan flees to a retirement home followed by Gerard, Royce and Deputy Marshal Noah Newman (Tom Wood
), while Chen is caught and arrested. Newman corners Sheridan inside one of the patient's rooms where he witnesses Royce holding Sheridan at gunpoint. But then Royce shoots Newman, revealing himself as the mole inside the U.S. State Department
and later lies to the team claiming Sheridan ambushed and shot Newman. Sheridan escapes by jumping from the building onto the top of a passing train. Newman dies in transit to the hospital.
After finding empty motion sickness
pill containers in a stolen car, Gerard tracks down Sheridan on a freighter bound for Canada. During a brief scuffle, Sheridan gains the upper-hand and grabs Gerard's gun, aiming it at him but then lowering it without taking the shot. Sheridan is then shot from behind by Royce and taken into custody. Due to his curious behaviour and change of his firearm (displayed in an earlier scene), Gerard begins to suspect Royce may be associated with the mole within the U.S. State Department. Royce is left alone to guard Sheridan's hospital room and plants a knife to claim an attempted escape and therefore justifiable self-defense in shooting Sheridan. Gerard interrupts Royce before he can shoot Sheridan and tricks him into revealing his status as a rogue agent, before telling him he has emptied his gun. Royce pulls an alternate firearm but is fatally shot by Gerard. After leaving the hospital, Sheridan's charges are dropped and he is released. Gerard then takes his team out to celebrate the life of their fallen comrade, Marshal Newman.
, 27% of critics gave U.S. Marshals a positive review, with an average rating of 4.9/10.
The Box office opening of US Marshall was $16.8 million.
The film grossed $57,167,405 domestically and $45,200,000 in foreign markets, totaling $102,367,405 worldwide.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
film starring Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
and Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
, and a sequel to The Fugitive
The Fugitive (1993 film)
The Fugitive is a 1993 American thriller film based on the television series of the same name. The film was directed by Andrew Davis and stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. The film was one of the few movies associated with a television series to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best...
. The storyline of U.S. Marshals does not feature the character Dr. Richard Kimble; the role of the protagonist has been passed onto Samuel Gerard and his team of U.S. Marshals who pursued Kimble in the first film.
Plot
Two Diplomatic Security ServiceDiplomatic Security Service
The U.S. Diplomatic Security Service is the federal law enforcement arm of the United States Department of State. The majority of its Special Agents are members of the Foreign Service and federal law enforcement agents at the same time, making them unique...
(DSS) agents are gunned down while trying to intercept a briefcase exchange taking place in a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
(UN) parking garage. The murders are caught on a CCTV
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
camera but the killer escapes with the top secret information.
Six months later, Mark Roberts (Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
) is arrested for a weapons violation after a traffic accident, enabling the Chicago Police Department
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
to discover he is the federal fugitive wanted for the double-homicide. Roberts boards a prisoner transport
Prisoner transport
Prisoner transport describes the transportation of prisoners by land, air and water. It is performed by law enforcement agencies and their armed agents or officers. Handcuffs are often the minimum restraint, however the additional precaution of leg irons is more often taken, particularly if the...
back to New York, sharing the flight with Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
), who is escorting prisoners unrelated to Roberts' case. Roberts thwarts an assassination attempt by a Chinese prisoner with a zip gun
Improvised firearm
An improvised firearm is a firearm manufactured by someone who is not a regular maker of firearms , and is typically constructed by adapting existing materials to the purpose...
, but the bullet pierces the window and depressurizes the cabin, forcing a crash landing. Gerard discovers Roberts has fled the crash site and DSS Special Agent John Royce (Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert John Downey, Jr. is an American actor. Downey made his screen debut in 1970 at the age of five when he appeared in his father's film Pound, and has worked consistently in film and television ever since. During the 1980s he had roles in a series of coming of age films associated with the...
) is assigned to join Gerard's team to hunt Roberts.
Roberts makes it to New York City, secures money, weapons and a false ID, and begins conducting surveillance on Chinese attaché/spy Xian Chen (Michael Paul Chan
Michael Paul Chan
Michael Paul Chan is an American television and film actor. Some of his recent television work includes Judge Lionel Ping on Arrested Development, Robbery Homicide Division, Dr. Lee in the Joel Schumacher directed "Batman & Robin," the voice of Jimmy Ho on The PJ's, and Lieutenant Michael Tao on...
). In Chicago, Gerard and the marshals pursue several leads, including Roberts' girlfriend Marie Bineaux (Irène Jacob
Irène Jacob
Irène Marie Jacob is a French-born Swiss actress considered one of the preeminent French actresses of her generation. Jacob gained international recognition and acclaim through her work with Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski, who cast her in the lead role of The Double Life of Véronique...
) as well as the airplane mechanic who hid the zip gun, the latter of whom the marshals find killed by Chen. Gerard and team view UN surveillance footage of the murders in the parking garage that suggests Roberts acted in self-defense and was wearing gloves; thus couldn't have been identified by fingerprints at the scene as was claimed. Confronted with the evidence, DSS Director Bertram Lamb (Patrick Malahide
Patrick Malahide
Patrick Malahide is a British actor, who has played many major film and television roles.-Personal life:Malahide, real name Patrick Gerald Duggan, was born in Reading, Berkshire, the son of Irish immigrants, a cook mother and a school secretary father...
) informs Gerard that "Mark Roberts" is in fact Mark Sheridan, a highly-trained covert operative that went rogue during an investigation to find the mole
Mole (espionage)
A mole is a spy who works for an enemy nation, but whose loyalty ostensibly lies with his own nation's government. In some usage, a mole differs from a defector in that a mole is a spy before gaining access to classified information, while a defector becomes a spy only after gaining access...
within the U.S. State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
that had been selling secrets to China. Chen was the contact delivering the money to Sheridan for the information and when DSS agents tried to apprehend him Sheridan killed them and disappeared.
Eventually, the team catches up with Sheridan in the Bohemian National Cemetery
Bohemian National Cemetery
Bohemian National Cemetery is a cemetery at 5255 North Pulaski Road on the north side of Chicago, Illinois.-History:The cemetery was established by members of Chicago's Czech community in 1877. The community had been outraged when a Czech Catholic woman named Marie Silhanek was denied burial at...
where Sheridan meets with, and threatens to expose, DSS Special Agent Frank Barrows (Rick Snyder) as one of the conspirators who framed him. Chen tries to snipe Sheridan as he leaves the cemetery, but inadvertently kills Barrows instead. Sheridan flees to a retirement home followed by Gerard, Royce and Deputy Marshal Noah Newman (Tom Wood
Thomas Mills Wood
Thomas Mills Wood is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his portrayal of "U.S. Marshal Noah Newman" in the 1993 movie The Fugitive and the 1998 movie U.S. Marshals and "Private Nash" in the 1992 movie Under Siege...
), while Chen is caught and arrested. Newman corners Sheridan inside one of the patient's rooms where he witnesses Royce holding Sheridan at gunpoint. But then Royce shoots Newman, revealing himself as the mole inside the U.S. State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
and later lies to the team claiming Sheridan ambushed and shot Newman. Sheridan escapes by jumping from the building onto the top of a passing train. Newman dies in transit to the hospital.
After finding empty motion sickness
Motion sickness
Motion sickness or kinetosis, also known as travel sickness, is a condition in which a disagreement exists between visually perceived movement and the vestibular system's sense of movement...
pill containers in a stolen car, Gerard tracks down Sheridan on a freighter bound for Canada. During a brief scuffle, Sheridan gains the upper-hand and grabs Gerard's gun, aiming it at him but then lowering it without taking the shot. Sheridan is then shot from behind by Royce and taken into custody. Due to his curious behaviour and change of his firearm (displayed in an earlier scene), Gerard begins to suspect Royce may be associated with the mole within the U.S. State Department. Royce is left alone to guard Sheridan's hospital room and plants a knife to claim an attempted escape and therefore justifiable self-defense in shooting Sheridan. Gerard interrupts Royce before he can shoot Sheridan and tricks him into revealing his status as a rogue agent, before telling him he has emptied his gun. Royce pulls an alternate firearm but is fatally shot by Gerard. After leaving the hospital, Sheridan's charges are dropped and he is released. Gerard then takes his team out to celebrate the life of their fallen comrade, Marshal Newman.
Cast
- Tommy Lee JonesTommy Lee JonesTommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
as Chief Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard - Wesley SnipesWesley SnipesWesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
as Mark J. Sheridan/Warren/Roberts - Robert Downey Jr.Robert Downey Jr.Robert John Downey, Jr. is an American actor. Downey made his screen debut in 1970 at the age of five when he appeared in his father's film Pound, and has worked consistently in film and television ever since. During the 1980s he had roles in a series of coming of age films associated with the...
as Special Agent John Royce, U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS)Diplomatic Security ServiceThe U.S. Diplomatic Security Service is the federal law enforcement arm of the United States Department of State. The majority of its Special Agents are members of the Foreign Service and federal law enforcement agents at the same time, making them unique... - Joe PantolianoJoe PantolianoJoseph Peter "Joe" Pantoliano is an American film and television actor. He played the character of Ralph Cifaretto on The Sopranos, Bob Keane in La Bamba, Cypher in The Matrix, Teddy in Memento, Francis Fratelli in The Goonies, Guido "the Killer Pimp" in Risky Business, and Jennifer Tilly's...
as Deputy Marshal Cosmo Renfro - Daniel RoebuckDaniel RoebuckDaniel James Roebuck is an American television film actor, writer and producer, primarily in films, soap operas and television.-Life and career:...
as Deputy Marshal Bobby Biggs - Tom Wood as Deputy Marshal Noah Newman
- Latanya RichardsonLatanya RichardsonLaTanya Estelle Richardson is an American actress and television producer. She graduated from Spelman College in 1974. While at Spelman, she met actor Samuel L. Jackson who would later become her husband. She and Jackson married in 1980 and have one daughter, named Zoe...
as Deputy Marshal Savannah Cooper - Irène JacobIrène JacobIrène Marie Jacob is a French-born Swiss actress considered one of the preeminent French actresses of her generation. Jacob gained international recognition and acclaim through her work with Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski, who cast her in the lead role of The Double Life of Véronique...
as Marie Bineaux, Mark's Girlfriend - Kate NelliganKate NelliganPatricia Colleen "Kate" Nelligan is a Canadian BAFTA award winning stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Nelligan, the fourth of six children, was born in London, Ontario, the daughter of Josephine Alice , a schoolteacher, and Patrick Joseph Nelligan, a factory repairman and municipal...
as United States Marshal Catherine Walsh - Patrick MalahidePatrick MalahidePatrick Malahide is a British actor, who has played many major film and television roles.-Personal life:Malahide, real name Patrick Gerald Duggan, was born in Reading, Berkshire, the son of Irish immigrants, a cook mother and a school secretary father...
as Special Agent Bertram Lamb, Director of the DSS - Rick Snyder as Special Agent Frank Barrows, DSS
- Michael Paul ChanMichael Paul ChanMichael Paul Chan is an American television and film actor. Some of his recent television work includes Judge Lionel Ping on Arrested Development, Robbery Homicide Division, Dr. Lee in the Joel Schumacher directed "Batman & Robin," the voice of Jimmy Ho on The PJ's, and Lieutenant Michael Tao on...
as Xian Chen, U.N. Cultural Attache of China - Johnny Lee Davenport as Deputy Marshal Henry
- Donald Li as Detective Kim
- Marc VannMarc VannMarc Vann , is an American actor. He is known for his role as Conrad Ecklie in the CBS television series, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Although this role as the agitator of Gil Grissom has earned the character the dislike of CSI fans, Vann himself has a small, but growing fanbase...
as Deputy Jackson
Reception
Based on 30 reviews collected by the film review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 27% of critics gave U.S. Marshals a positive review, with an average rating of 4.9/10.
The Box office opening of US Marshall was $16.8 million.
The film grossed $57,167,405 domestically and $45,200,000 in foreign markets, totaling $102,367,405 worldwide.