'Laws change, people don't,' says one of the characters in this black thriller that takes another pretty gloomy look at the police - this time at the role they play in the violence-ridden America of the Seventies. Despite the customary excellence of George C Scott, it never really catches fire or makes us care about the characters who, Scott's apart, are indifferently acted. One can only blame director Richard Fleischer for not exercising tighter control. But he does raise the excitement in the chases. Watch in the supporting cast for lean, lank William Atherton, later a star in Sugarland Express, Day of the Locust and Looking for Mr Goodbar.

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