Exiled (1998) Review

Mr. Big goes home again

Exiled (1998): 5 out of 10: is a TV movie that continues the story of NYPD Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth) from the popular TV series Law & Order. The film, directed by Jean de Segonzac and written by Charles Kipps, Dick Wolf and Chris Noth himself, provides a deeper look into Logan’s character and the consequences of his actions that led to his reassignment from Manhattan to Staten Island.

The movie opens with Mike Logan, who was previously a prominent detective in Manhattan’s 27th Precinct, now working the beat on Staten Island. Logan had been exiled there as a result for asking producer Dick Wolf for too much money…Oh I am sorry it was a punishment for punching a politician, an act of frustration stemming from his inability to bring justice within the bounds of the law.

Logan stumbles upon a murder case that rekindles his detective instincts. A young woman is found brutally murdered, and this provides Logan with the opportunity to return to his former precinct, albeit temporarily, to assist with the investigation.

Back in Manhattan, Logan is reunited with his former colleagues, including Detectives Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt), and Lieutenant Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson). However, the collaboration is tense, as Logan’s abrasive personality and unorthodox methods clash with the established dynamics of the team. Logan also faces scrutiny from his former boss, Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek).

As the investigation progresses, Logan delves deeper into the victim’s background and uncovers a dirty cop in his old precinct with ties to a mobster conveniently living on Staten Island.

Logan, still a drunk, tries to bed the sister of the victim and through some pretty sloppy police work figures out the dirty cop and the son of the mobster were behind the murder. The bad guys conveniently shoot each other and the dirty cop is arrested and ends up doing a stint on the Sopranos.

The Good

The Good: My girlfriend Maggie is a huge Law and Order fan. As a result, since I got her a Peacock streaming subscription, I have watched a lot of Law and Order recently in its various forms.

One of her favorite games is pointing out the “Dick Wolf players” where a murder suspect one week will be a judge next season. Also, a lot of series regulars start as murder suspects, rape victims, other cops. For example, Law and Order SVU’s Kelli Giddish guest starred on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the episode “Outsider” as rape victim Kara Bawson. She would rejoin the cast as a regular a few years later and go on to do 257 episodes.

Exiled has a few of these. But none is as spectacular as Law and Order SVU regular Ice-T (530 episodes and counting) as Huggy Bear. I know his name in the movie is Seymour ‘Kingston’ Stockton, but trust me, I know Starsky & Hutch’s Huggy Bear when I see him. (He even calls Chris Noth a cracker while playing with his gold chains. My hand to God)

Alas, Ice-T is not long for Exiled as he is beaten to death with a bowling pin. That Don Giancarlo Uzielli’s (Tony Musante) headquarters is a bowling alley should give you an idea of the level of top notch police work required in the movie.

Fans of both The Staten Island Ferry and The Twin Towers are also in for a treat as both are featured for an amazing amount of running time in Exiled. The film seems to pad out its establishing shots with these two at some length to the point of almost being a fetish.

The Bad

The Bad: Since Exiled is a TV movie from the nineties, it suffers from standard definition disease. It is also not currently available in the states. (Not even on Peacock, who really should have it.) As a result, the copy I watched on YouTube taped off the USA network was not the best quality. So I am grading a bit on a curve here.

Neither high definition nor standard definition explains how one possibly wastes Dabney Coleman. He plays Chris Noth’s Staten Island lieutenant and what is the point of getting Dabney Coleman if you are going to stick him with such a boring stock character?

A lot of regulars from Law and Order seem off as well. Jerry Orbach’s character seems wrong somehow and Sam Waterston has a glorified cameo that seems shoehorned in. For a Law and Order movie, there is no actual order. There is no courtroom case or even an arraignment in the entire film.

The Ugly

The Ugly: Exiled is simply not as good as a regular episode of Law and Order. Part of the problem is the characters seem off. Part of the problem is that Chris Noth is in every scene and that is a lot of Noth.

There is no genuine mystery or drama and barely any police work. It reads like Chris Noth fan fiction where he takes on the system and gets his old job back despite his incompetence, drunkenness and generally overall creepiness. Since the script was partially written by Mr. Noth himself, the fan fiction theory is not out of bounds.

In Conclusion

In Conclusion: The things you like in a Law and Order episode are probably absent from this movie. The things you dislike, such as Chris Noth hitting on a murder victim’s sister with his “charm” are here in spades. Interesting for fans of the show, completionists, and people with a fetish for the old Staten Island Ferry (I am looking your way, Colin) but everyone else will be disappointed.