there be something in most of u and especially guy and that admire some really working class small town real men populist fare . and sean penn serf it up for u with a cherry on top . hey and a lot of people use penn a a political whipping boy and but i do not rate movie or actor or director base on politics or personality . that be what right wing commentator like excretable faux movie reviewer debbie schlussel do . while acknowledge he be one of our best actor and a good director and i think this picture be a simplistic piece of aimless dreck that he have atone for since . okay and you have the gist of this there be this good cop and a small town trooper and joe and play against type by david morse and who in the opening scene chase some guy on a country farm road in big sixty car . the bad guy stop and get out and shoot at him so joe have to blast him dead . there be no explanation what drive this man to do such a desperate violent thing and the dead man parent do some redneck freak out at the police station while joe feel real sad and guilty that he have to kill someone . so we know that joe and the farmer force off his land into a cop job and be a good basic sort of guy . then his brother frank show up and he be a sadistic and amoral bully and fresh out of the army and nam where the war get his blood lust up . some people here and in other review call him just an irresponsible hell raise young brother and sean be try to make some point about what our john wayne tough guy culture and war do to otherwise good people but what i saw be an amoral and sadistic bully who enjoy hurting and rip people off . then there be mom and dad and marsha mason and charles bronson and who do the requisite turn a old fashioned country couple and then die off while she by illness and he by shotgun suicide and to advance the story for u . both time frank the bad guy be away be a miserable sob . but good joe bring him back to podunksville from jail so frank can straighten his life out by weld bridge and live with his utterly stupid scream trashy pregnant wife . but joe have a nice wife and play by italian actress valeria golina and who be mexican and sean us this a an exercise in some affirmative action embellishment of goody joe and his real soulfulness underneath his uniform and crew cut . for me and that be an utterly pointless affirmative action subplot that sean us to burnish his tough guy cred by suck up to mexican because mexican be so tough and cool . but frank be bad and we get the requisite event like steal friend car and rob gas station by beat the clerk over the head then torch the car and all those cool thing that hell raiser do . then there be the mandatory 8mm film childhood flashback of young joey dutifully move the lawn and cowboy dress franky jump on his back and wrestling him and yadda yadda so we all know what deep bond there be between the two of them . so the film meander around with a lot of small town schlock to warm the heart of any red stater . accompany the film be a great soundtrack of good sixty song like jefferson airplane and janis joplin which be totally inappropriate and except for the 60 era effect and to win the heart of old hippy . the bad offense be that and since the movie be inspire by a springsteen song and the highway patrolman and that song be not include . so joe brain dead wife go into labor and joe run off to the bar to get loaded and spout some populist drunken victim spiel about how tough thing be while good joey come to drag him back to his wife . the bartender be good ole ceasar and play by dennis hopper . so viggo frank whig out for no particular reason and beat his pal ceasar to death after good joe the cop leave . so joe have chase his bad brother down and i be so hop that he would do the right thing and blow that menace to society away . instead we get a scene where his brother stop ahead of him in some old 50 junker on some lonely road at night and and little franky in his cowboy suit and cap gun get out of the car to face good joe and the kid from the 8mm flashback home movie sequence . oy and such dreck . then to top off this drecky sap fest and there be some zen crap about the indian runner and who be a messenger and become the message and ala marshall macluhen . see what i mean and sean have do much good than this so do not be afraid to miss this one .