Bad Company

On paper this sexy thriller must have looked foolproof, with charismatic leads Laurence Fishburne and Ellen Barkin capable of generating a fair amount of on-screen steam. However, the plodding direction and an unnecessarily convoluted script put paid to any high expectations, and this went straight to video in Britain. Fishburne plays the newest recruit to a shadowy organisation specialising in industrial espionage, who becomes romantically involved with one of his colleagues (Barkin); both, however, have hidden agendas. The accomplished cast, which includes David Ogden Stiers, Spalding Gray and Frank Langella, keeps it watchable but, ultimately, this is a missed opportunity.