VIEWER'S DELIGHT USA'S 'RED SKIES' SHOULD ENJOY SMOOTH SAILING AMONG ACTION FANS.Byline: David Kronke TV Critic 'RED SKIES'' is the sort of John Woo-lite production where everyone is so clearly too cool for the room that a lot more rooms are necessary for everyone to preen in. And in usually stodgy stodg·y adj. stodg·i·er, stodg·i·est 1. a. Dull, unimaginative, and commonplace. b. Prim or pompous; stuffy: San Diego, no less. Executive-produced by Woo (director of ``Windtalkers'' and ``Face/Off''), ``Red Skies'' is a cheeky and stylish action film that clearly was intended as a pilot for a projected series (and, given that TV executives are ostensibly mindful of the need for diversity in casting, it's doubly surprising the thing wasn't picked up immediately). It concerns a pair of FBI ``Special Enforcement Squad'' agents, Cross (Shawn Christian) - a cat so bad he doesn't do the gun thing - and Riley (Kadeem Hardison), who compensates for Cross by doing the trademark Woo two-fisted, guns-blazing-simultaneously thing. They investigate a ship off the coast filled with illegal immigrants from China and Wen Li (Vivian Wu), a member of the Beijing Military Police who has been tailing the Chinese gang lord (Roger Yuan) responsible for the smuggling smuggling, illegal transport across state or national boundaries of goods or persons liable to customs or to prohibition. Smuggling has been carried on in nearly all nations and has occasionally been adopted as an instrument of national policy, as by Great Britain operation for three years. She and Cross meet cute - they kick the stuffing out of one another - and her partner is killed. This sets up the traditional Woo trope trope n. 1. A figure of speech using words in nonliteral ways, such as a metaphor. 2. A word or phrase interpolated as an embellishment in the sung parts of certain medieval liturgies. - for Wen Li, this time it's personal, and she was pretty intense to begin with - not to mention the evergreen story line of cultures clashing while joining forces to solve a crime. Rachel Crawford and Sidney Liufau vie for screen time as new members of the Special Enforcement Squad, basically trying to stay out of Cross and Riley's way. Befitting be·fit·ting adj. Appropriate; suitable; proper. be·fit  ting·ly adv.Adj. 1. a Woo production, there's plenty of splashy splash·y adj. splash·i·er, splash·i·est 1. Making or likely to make splashes. 2. Covered with splashes of color. 3. Showy; ostentatious. See Synonyms at showy. gunplay and slow- motion martial-arts combat; everyone operates with a ruthless efficiency leavened leav·en n. 1. An agent, such as yeast, that causes batter or dough to rise, especially by fermentation. 2. An element, influence, or agent that works subtly to lighten, enliven, or modify a whole. tr.v. only by an occasional quip. Everyone meets the daily recommended requirements of looking good and acting desultorily des·ul·to·ry adj. 1. Moving or jumping from one thing to another; disconnected: a desultory speech. 2. Occurring haphazardly; random. See Synonyms at chance. . The one aspect of American culture Wen Li appreciates is Bugs Bunny, for, as she explains, ``He always triumphed over his capitalist oppressors in the cartoons, or at least that's how they translated it.'' The translation, she's told, pretty much got it right. As does ``Red Skies,'' if you're up for swanky swank·y adj. swank·i·er, swank·i·est Swank. swank i·ly adv.swank mayhem that doesn't insult your intelligence too much. RED SKIES - Three stars What: East-meets-West action flick concerning a Chinese cop joining forces with San Diego FBI agents. Where: USA Network. When: 8 tonight. In a nutshell: If you like John Woo gunplay, martial arts and mayhem, you'll like this. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Vivian Wu portrays a cop for the people. |
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