Liam Neeson And Patrick Swayze Crossed Paths In This Forgotten '80s Crime Thriller

In John Irvin's 1989 thriller "Next of Kin," Patrick Swayze and Liam Neeson play Truman and Briar Gates, two brothers who followed very different paths. Director John Irvin is well-known to a certain generation of film-goers, having directed memorable hits like "Ghost Story," "Raw Deal," and "Hamburger Hill" in the 1980s, and "Robin Hood," "Freefall," and "A Month By the Lake" in the 1990s. Most recently, Irvin directed the biopic "Mandela's Gun" in 2016. His career is lengthy and prestigious. 

"Next of Kin" was a notable actioner in that it might have been elevator-pitched as "mobsters vs. hillbillies." Swayze plays Truman Gates, a man raised in the wilds of Appalachia with his hillbilly family, but who moved to Chicago to become a high-powered police detective. By the time the film starts, Truman is a city mouse through and through, engaged to the urbane Jessie (Helen Hunt), pregnant with their first child. 

The plot of the movie is one of simple blood revenge. Truman's younger brother, Gerald (Bill Paxton), falls on hard times when the family coal mine closes, and Truman invites him to stay in Chicago and take a job as a truck driver. On his first day, however, Gerald's truck is hijacked by the Chicago mob, and Gerald is murdered by Joey Rosellini (Adam Baldwin). Truman's older brother, Briar (Neeson), hears of Gerald's murder and comes to Chicago in full hillbilly regalia, hoping to track down and murder Joey Rosellini. Truman knows he can't dissuade the hot-headed Briar, so he has to race against time to solve Gerald's murder and arrest the perpetrator before Briar kills half of the gangsters in the city. 

It's pretty awesome.

As you might have noticed, the cast of "Next of Kin" is stacked. In addition to Swayze, Neeson, Paxton, Hunt, and Baldwin, "Next of Kin" also boasts an early appearance from a young Ben Stiller, playing a low-level mob guy. Stiller's character's father is played by prolific character actor Andreas Katsulas ("Babylon 5"), and Michael J. Pollard appears in a supporting role. Look closely, and you'll also see Ted Levine in there. 

"Next of Kin" is fascinating in that it follows a battle between two groups that believe in extrajudicial revenge and vigilante justice. Mobsters will happily take out hits on their enemies, while the honorable hillbillies are happy to ignore the law to settle personal scores. Both groups are also very family-oriented, eager to protect their relatives from any violence. Naturally, "Next of Kin" argues that city living, while providing comfort and lucre to Truman, is not a desirable lifestyle. Briar is violent, but he is presented as honest and rough-hewn. The mobster characters are depicted as devious and sniveling, even as they present their power, confidence, intelligence, and willingness to fight for their illegal business. Only Truman seems to have weathered the transition from the hills to the city. And, of course, Briar will tempt Truman back to his hillbilly sense of honor, inviting his brother to join him in a little frontier bloodletting. 

Patrick Swayze is a little miscast as Truman; it's hard to see the hillbilly in his character. He is too confident and cosmopolitan. Know that Swayze wasn't always widely beloved, and he was often the target of ridicule. He was certainly targeted by the Razzies in 1989. 

"Next of Kin" was only a modest hit, making less than $16 million on its $12 million budget. It produced a fun soundtrack that features Greg Allman, Rocky Skaggs, and Charlie Daniels, as well as a track sung by Swayze himself. Patrick Swayze was often teased for his "ultra-hunk" image at the time, leading to his "Next of Kin" performance being nominated at the Razzies. "Next of Kin" came out the same year as Rowdy Herrington's camp classic "Road House," so the Razzies nominated Swayze for both performances. They were, of course, undeserved. Both "Next of Kin" and "Road House" are wholly enjoyable movies (although no film in all of cinema history is more entertaining than "Road House"). 

"Next of Kin" was not at all beloved by critics, with many feeling it to be wholly idiotic. It currently only has a 50% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 10 reviews. Siskel & Ebert gave it a bad review on their show, and both later called it one of the worst films of 1989. Ebert felt that the script was terrible, and that he could barely see through the film's dim photography (something he credited to a bad projection job in his theater). Siskel argued that he was grateful he wasn't able to see such a terrible movie with any additional clarity. 

Like "Road House," though, some had reconsidered "Next of Kin," finding it to be a hoot. The dumb action and illogical plotting are a feature, not a bug, and it's exhilarating to see Liam Neeson, Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, and Ben Stiller all in one place. 

"Next of Kin" is available to rent on Prime Video and on Apple TV.