Dead Presidents (The Hughes Brothers)

Rating: 2.0

Mssrs. Washington, Lincoln, Hamilton and Franklin aren't half as inert as 
the dramatic tension in this film.  Acting and direction are top-notch, 
but the script is a mess; every scene plays like a reconstruction of a 
scene from another, better movie.  The two-reel Vietnam sequence, in 
particular, is hoary as hell.  As in their debut, MENACE II SOCIETY 
(which I didn't much like either), the Hughes Brothers demonstrate both 
their uncanny technical aptitude and their complete inability to bring 
life to a compendium of cliches.  Here's hoping they hook up with a 
gifted writer next time.