I've been very disappointed with the Rockford films so far. Of course, I didn't expect the quality of the original series - you never get that when they come back years later - but I did expect a certain basic standard, which I don't think has been reached. Punishment and Crime definitely does nothing to change that opinion.
I'm one of those who already didn't appreciate Megan after the way she behaved in the original series. Now she comes back and does it all over again. It's just a tired rehash. By the way, I only saw that episode recently so I still remember how surprised I was when, after she'd scolded Jeffrey for coming by without first phoning her and then basically thrown him out to be alone with Jim, we found out that she was going to marry him! Honestly? If I were Jeffrey I would have demanded to know why I had to make an appointment to see the woman I was going to wed in a month's time. And then she went on to sleep with Jim later on in the same episode. Again, a month before her wedding! Not a likeable character.
Speaking of unlikeable characters, thank God Angel only has a short amount of screen time. I couldn't stand him in the series, but in the films they've taken his antics to ridiculous heights. Remember the one where he was a fake preacher, conning scores of believers out of their cash and giving sick and disabled people false hope he could cure them? It was all, as ever, treated as a joke, with the usual gentle telling-offs from Jim. Sorry, I have a sense of humour but I just don't find that funny. Not in real life, not on TV.
Even Dennis acts like a jerk in two scenes. In the first, in the hospital after Molly's rape, he speaks exclusively to Rockford about her condition and what's happened to her, totally ignoring Patrick, her boyfriend, who's standing right there and is obviously the person he should talk to first. In the second, he calls Jim into his office to tell him that Patrick has been murdered, leaving Megan, Patrick's cousin who, again, should be the first to know, waiting outside. I know Jim is the lead character and the story revolves around him, but come on. No policeman - in fact, no one with an ounce of empathy or common sense - would shut out victims' nearest and dearest in that way and give all their information to a private detective.
As for the main storyline, the basic idea is good but it's spoiled by a level of nastiness and brutality that I wouldn't expect from a Rockford episode or film. The rape of Molly is a totally unnecessary element - we understand already that the Russian mafia is evil. Likewise, the torture scene in the music studio, where Megan risks ending up deaf-blind. Ditto for the golf-club-to-the-feet interrogation. The standard Rockford beatings would have fully sufficed for plot needs and would have been in keeping with the show's normal violence levels.
I'm one of those who already didn't appreciate Megan after the way she behaved in the original series. Now she comes back and does it all over again. It's just a tired rehash. By the way, I only saw that episode recently so I still remember how surprised I was when, after she'd scolded Jeffrey for coming by without first phoning her and then basically thrown him out to be alone with Jim, we found out that she was going to marry him! Honestly? If I were Jeffrey I would have demanded to know why I had to make an appointment to see the woman I was going to wed in a month's time. And then she went on to sleep with Jim later on in the same episode. Again, a month before her wedding! Not a likeable character.
Speaking of unlikeable characters, thank God Angel only has a short amount of screen time. I couldn't stand him in the series, but in the films they've taken his antics to ridiculous heights. Remember the one where he was a fake preacher, conning scores of believers out of their cash and giving sick and disabled people false hope he could cure them? It was all, as ever, treated as a joke, with the usual gentle telling-offs from Jim. Sorry, I have a sense of humour but I just don't find that funny. Not in real life, not on TV.
Even Dennis acts like a jerk in two scenes. In the first, in the hospital after Molly's rape, he speaks exclusively to Rockford about her condition and what's happened to her, totally ignoring Patrick, her boyfriend, who's standing right there and is obviously the person he should talk to first. In the second, he calls Jim into his office to tell him that Patrick has been murdered, leaving Megan, Patrick's cousin who, again, should be the first to know, waiting outside. I know Jim is the lead character and the story revolves around him, but come on. No policeman - in fact, no one with an ounce of empathy or common sense - would shut out victims' nearest and dearest in that way and give all their information to a private detective.
As for the main storyline, the basic idea is good but it's spoiled by a level of nastiness and brutality that I wouldn't expect from a Rockford episode or film. The rape of Molly is a totally unnecessary element - we understand already that the Russian mafia is evil. Likewise, the torture scene in the music studio, where Megan risks ending up deaf-blind. Ditto for the golf-club-to-the-feet interrogation. The standard Rockford beatings would have fully sufficed for plot needs and would have been in keeping with the show's normal violence levels.