'Next of Kin' (1989) – John Irvin.

A once beloved VHS-era action thriller by John 'The Dog of War' Irvin that seems to have fallen a little out of favour with the increasingly fickle B-film cognoscenti these days. While sinewy Swayze's hard-hitting, moonshine mental actioner 'Next of Kin' still appears sporadically on TV it would most certainly merit a spiffy, feature-packed, UK-friendly HD restoration. Not only enjoyable for its splendidly gutsy action, gritty Chicago backdrop, but the scintillating appeal of steely, charismatic actor Patrick Swayze as the morally righteous, straight-shooting Lawman Truman Gates stoically investigating the sudden suspicious death of his truck driving brother Gerald (Bill Paxman) in the murky metropolitan darklands of the mob-run Windy City remains wholly untarnished. No one has ever suggested that the formulaic plot of 'Next of Kin' has boldly broken new thematic ground, but if you simply wanted to knock back a few frosty-cold ones in front of some straightforward, unpretentious, ballistically-inclined B-Movie mayhem, some of the less uptight 80s action-freaks could certainly do a lot worse than the boisterously bloody Backwoods reprisals unleashed in John Irvin's vengeful Redneck Vs. slick Chicago Goombah shoot 'em up 'Next of Kin'; besides, you're bound to be quite 'Taken' by the unassailable fact that youthful neck-beard Liam Neeson's vengeful slaughter skills were no less 'special' way back in '89'! The notable supporting cast is on lively form, showcasing early appearances from the lovely Helen Hunt, and sweetly cherubic Ben Stiller, including some additionally rigorous work from perma-shifty skell Michael J. Pollard as fidgety Flop House clerk Harold, and fan-favourite Andreas Katsulas is suitably sinister as grim-faced mobster Johnny "Papa John" Isabella. 'You gotta have rocks the size of Gibraltar in your head if y'all can't catch a decent B-Movie buzz from 'Next of Kin's Southern Discomfort!'