Homicide: The Movie (2000)

Homicide: Life on the Street was an interesting series. For five seasons, I would say it was an *excellent* series, until executive meddling brought it down in its last two years (younger, more attractive cops! more sensational cases!). This TV movie served to wrap up the show.The main problem is how the "let's bring everyone back for The Most Important Case" premise - all detectives return to investigate the shooting of Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) - clashes with the series' main tone. Homicide was always at its best in quieter, minimalistic moments. Also, like in a class reunion, suddenly having so many old acquaintances around means you end up ignoring most of them. Here the focus is on the couple with the most complex psychological interplay, the duo Pembleton (Andre Braugher) / Bayliss (Kyle Secor). Their powerful last confrontation is the movie's highlight, in spite of it being distractingly over-directed. This character moment really called for a subtler approach.The second best scene is a comedic one, a montage of Kellerman (Reed Diamond) nonchalantly eating various foods as his partner uselessly pursues an aggressive line of investigation.Overall, what can be done with his sort of things is done fairly well, although the best conclusion for Homicide would have been ending the series a few years earlier.7/10

My favourite police series of all time turns to a TV-film. Does it work? Yes. Gee runs for mayor and gets shot. The Homicide "hall of fame" turns up. Pembleton and nearly all of the cops who ever played in this series. A lot of flashbacks helps you who hasn´t seen the TV-series but it amuses the fans too. The last five minutes solves another murder and at the very end even two of the dead cops turn up. And a short appearance from my favourite coroner Juliana Cox. This is a good film.

Although there were a few rough spots and some plot lines that weren't exactly true to character, this was Classic H:LOTS. The characters, outside of Mike Giardello (Giancarlo Esposito), were true to form, and the reunion scenes of Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) were as deep and well acted as anything ever to grace the small screen."Homicide: The Movie" aka "Life Everlasting" is a fan flick, but stands on its own as well as any 2-hour episode of the series. Fontana, Overmeyer and Yoshimura did a wonderful job in pulling loose ends from 7 seasons and every major cast member of "the best damn show on television" together for the series finale that NBC never bothered to give it. True to "Homicide" form, there were no happy endings, such is life. That's what has always set this show apart from the mindless cookie-cutter cop shows left on television. Kudos to the writers and the cast for creating something over the span of the series and in the movie that challenged television viewers and producers alike.** I call myself a "Homicidal Maniac" if for no other reason than to keep my co-workers in a cooperative mood. **

I have always been a fan of the show so I'll admit that I am biased. When the show's run ended, I felt like too many questions remained unanswered. This movie to me felt like closure. To see all the people I'd followed over the past few years together at last was most rewarding. I have heard that this is probably the only Homicide movie that we can expect. If that is so, this is the appropriate way to go out. This movie is sometimes poignant, sometimes upsetting, but always satisfying. If you are or ever have been a fan of the show, watch this movie.