It is hard to fathom how many wooden Chuck Norris performances there have been throughout the 1980's. I can't say for sure if he was far more animated in the late 1970's in his karate action pictures but he always possessed some measure of charisma by being resolutely steely-eyed. Norris is not wooden in "Code of Silence" but he isn't very animated either, yet his lack of nuance or facial expressions beyond a steely-eyed look work to his advantage in this entertaining Windy City police actioner.
Norris is a tough, no-nonsense righteous cop, Sgt. Eddie Cusack, who has not a single blemish on his record. His record is not being put to the test yet his loyalty to the police department and its numerous detectives is. After a disastrous sting operation involving drug dealers from a gang called the Comachos and a rival mob that unexpectedly show up to mow down them down, there is an unfortunate killing of an innocent kid by a grizzled, alcoholic cop, Detective Cragie (Ralph Foody) who plants a gun in the kid's hand. Cragie's younger partner, Kopalas (Joseph Guzaldo), witnesses it and later lies about the incident at a hearing. Meanwhile, Cusack is determined to find the rival mob members - one who skips town has a daughter (Molly Hagan) who might be in danger. The Comachos have their drug lord, Luis Comacho (Henry Silva) whose smile is almost enough to kill you.
"Code of Silence" refers to the code that cops have - don't sell anyone out for any criminal negligence or unethical violations. At first, I couldn't really buy that Sgt. Cusack would have an unblemished record and not been in the police force long enough to know that sometimes you do take the law into your own hands, ethics be damned. Aside from the hearing and the investigation subplot, nothing in "Code of Silence" is unfamiliar turf. Drug dealers and cop and drug lords, oh my; they had been a staple of dozens of police action thrillers of the 1980's (we won't even get into the ones that went into direct-to-video release). Norris gives it oomph and gets to kick ass with his stunning back kick (the scene at the bar shows him getting pummelled after kicking a few minions, which is far more realistic than most other Norris action pics or Steven Seagal pics). There is also the terrific debut of Dennis Farina as a wounded cop (who was an actual cop at the time) and some nice solid work from Mike Genovese as an angry mafia drug lord named Tony Luna (he looks more like a construction worker but he is still effective). Let's not forget the unsung, authentic Chicagoan Ron Dean as another tough cop who has appeared in "The Package" and "The Fugitive," which were all directed by the same guy, Andrew Davis.
"Code of Silence" has a rousing finish involving Chuck Norris as a one-man army and the climactic buildup in this standard plot is captivating in its own way. He doesn't perform as many martial-arts fight scenes as in previous films yet he can still make you root for him regardless. I can't forget the inclusion of an armored, computer-voiced police tank called the Prowler that can shoot with great aim and barrel through anything. It just adds more oomph to an already colorful, ably acted if familiar action picture. Easily Chuck Norris' best picture ever.
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