Michael Madsen seems to have become the quintessential bad guy in films, owing in large part to his very low, gravelly voice. He fully embraces this role in the straight-to-DVD film “Beyond the Trophy”. In this film directed by Daniel J. Gillin, two rival gangs from LA and Las Vegas are vying for control of “The Prize”. It’s never fully stated what “The Prize” really is, but these two gangs want it. One is led by Gino (Robert Miano), the other by Cole (Madsen). Thrown into the mix is cop Danny O’Neill (Michael Masini), who has gone undercover as a drug dealer in Gino’s gang in order to bring them down. Of course, he gets in a little too deep when he begins hooking up with Angela (Ali Costello). To further complicate matters, his partner, Detective Terry Wells (Stephen Cloud) is married to a Russian mail-order bride whose drug addict brother is also mixed up with Gino’s gang. Not an original story in the least, but Madsen does a decent job with what he has been given. The story is kind of all over the place, the acting is not that great, and there are times when the sound goes out and sounds as if the characters are talking in a bathroom, with as much of an echo that happens during those particular scenes. It’s a shame this wasn’t better than it was, because Michael Madsen and Eric Roberts- as a cop named Bachman- are such strong actors.
“Beyond the Trophy” is now available on DVD.
