Renegades

R

Released Jun 2, 1989

1 hr. 46 min.

Crime

Drama

List

33%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

28%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

While no-nonsense Philadelphia cop Buster McHenry (Kiefer Sutherland) is going undercover to investigate a gang headed by the ruthless Marino (Rob Knepper), he's forced to take part in a robbery that ends with the theft of a sacred Sioux artifact and the death of several onlookers. After the incident, Hank Storm (Lou Diamond Phillips), whose brother was killed during the robbery, teams up with Buster to recover the artifact and avenge his brother's death.

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Justin J

The type of small scale action film I'm glad these actors take. This is the team up i didn't know i wanted. We all know Keifer Sutherland is a great actor, and this shows again that Lou Phillips is underrated as a lead. I wish they made more of these mid budget actioners in modern day. A cop(Keifer) & a native americans(Phillips) fates cross when they seek revenge on the same criminal who has impacted both their lives. Chemistry of our leads is adequate. Nice opening of a diamond theft, along with to a minor late movie twist & solid supporting cast of Robert Knepper(Prison Break), Jami Gertz(The Lost Boys) & Vetaran actor Bill Smitrovich. If I was asked, i would call it a gem. A film worth seeking out for an action fan if nothing else.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/10/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Doesn't work as well as the cast the director would suggest. It's decent enough, but totally forgettable. It basically plays as exactly what it is, a cheap 48 Hrs knockoff...

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/19/22

Full Review

Audience Member

Buster McHenry (Kiefer Sutherland) works as an undercover agent for the Philadelphia Police Department. He is attempting to flush out a corrupt officer. McHenry's investigation hits two complications. The first occurs when he gets arrested while trying to stop a carjacking. He distracts the suspect with a beer bottle and assaults an officer. The second occurs when he participates in a robbery of a jewelry store to retrieve $6 million in diamonds. During the course of fleeing the crime scene, an ancient Indian spear is stolen from an Auction House and Buster is wounded. Marino (Rob Knepper), a crime boss who led the robbery, thinks that the spear might be worth something to his associates. Hank Storm (Lou Diamond Phillips), a young Indian, is now after the spear and Buster is after his criminal cohorts. Hank rescues Buster and nurses him back to health. Hank starts to blame Buster for what happened at the Auction House, but Buster tells him he was doing his job. Marino discovers where Buster has been hiding out. With Hank's help, both of them escape... "Renegades" is an average 80s buddy buddy cop drama with a storyline that isn´t all that much to get excited about. I saw it when it came out, but it hasn´t aged well and re-seeing it in 2021 was not really a treat. At that point both Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips were on the hot list in Hollywood and they both had starred in the solid "Young Guns" a year earlier. But, "Renegades" was hardly the correct follow up film for them both. Nice to see the lovely Jami Gertz, but she doesn´t get anything to work with in "Renegades". No need to see.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I am a big Kiefer Sutherland fan, I have seen a majority of his movies and some of them I consider nail biting and others I consider involving. This movie, directed by Jack Sholder, the director of A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge takes on the buddy cop genre, but doesn't take it into another level, it's the same old cliche, basically trying to rip off 48 Hours and Lethal Weapon. It starts off good, but goes in the wrong direction when the movie follows. Although big ups to Sholder for trying.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I thought I owed it to Doc Scurlock and Chavez E Chavez to watch this post Young Guns mess. I was wrong.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Late 80's buddy/cop movie that ticks all the boxes for cliched 80's villains. Sharp suits- check Briefcases -check Slicked back ponytails - check Armed with Mac 10s - check Drives a BMW - check This has them all! Renegades really pushes the boat out. Throw in a car chase a Red Indian who gets called chief all film and a dreadful 'tache on Sutherland and you have Renegades. Very much a film of its time.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

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Jack Sholder

Director

Kiefer Sutherland

Buster McHenry

Lou Diamond Phillips

Hank Storm

Jami Gertz

Barbara

Robert Knepper

Marino

Bill Smitrovich

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Renegades is good action film... much better than expected [Full review in Spanish]

Jul 12, 2022

Full Review

Brian Orndorf

BrianOrndorf.com

Drab and unconvincing, trying to manufacture car crashes and violent detours to keep in step with the action genre. Not a terrible film, but an oddly joyless one.

Rated: C

Aug 26, 2009

Full Review

Scott Weinberg

eFilmCritic.com

Yet another mismatched cop adventure.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 17, 2005

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Nov 5, 2004

Full Review

Carol Cling

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Rated: 1/5

Oct 31, 2003

Full Review

James Sanford

Kalamazoo Gazette

Half-baked, forgettable action flick

Rated: 2/5

May 30, 2003

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Synopsis

While no-nonsense Philadelphia cop Buster McHenry (Kiefer Sutherland) is going undercover to investigate a gang headed by the ruthless Marino (Rob Knepper), he's forced to take part in a robbery that ends with the theft of a sacred Sioux artifact and the death of several onlookers. After the incident, Hank Storm (Lou Diamond Phillips), whose brother was killed during the robbery, teams up with Buster to recover the artifact and avenge his brother's death.

Director: Jack Sholder
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Morgan Creek Productions, Interscope Communications
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 2, 1989, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 5, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.9M
Sound Mix: Surround