| abstract | - U.S. Marshals is a 1998 type 2 Spin-Off to The Fugitive (1993), directed by Stuard Baird. This was his second film, following Executive Decision (1996). Tommy Lee Jones returns to his role of Marshal Samuel Gerard. This time his co-star is Wesley Snipes. At the start of the film a man gets involved in a traffic accident and arrested. He is identified as Mark Roberts (Snipes), a federal fugitive wanted for a double homicide in a Manhattan parking garage. He and other prisoners are transported to New York City by plane. On board is Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard, an unwelcome assignment. Gerard was recently involved in a publicized incident of police brutality, and in order to avoid bad publicity for the service, his boss has him transporting prisoners for a while. In mid-flight, one of the prisoners pulls out a concealed weapon and fires at Roberts. He misses but the bullet travels through a window and depressurizes the cabin of the plane, resulting in a plane crash. Once Gerard recovers, he notices a single prisoner unaccounted for: Mark Roberts. Worse, the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) informs the Marshals that "Roberts" is actually Mark Sheridan, an operative of their service who murdered his fellow agents while selling state secrets to unidentified agents of another country. None of this really matters to Gerard, who really just wants to catch him. Meanwhile, Sheridan is heading to New York City on his own, intent on clearing his name. Things become significantly more complicated almost immediately, as it turns out there's a lot more to the crime, a lot more to Sheridan, and a lot more at stake than anyone thought... The film was a modest box office hit, its worldwide gross estimated to 102,367,405 dollars. About 57 million of those dollars came from the United States market, where it was the 36th most successful film of its year. For Snipes it was one of two hits in a single year, the other being Blade. Critically, it was mostly regarded as a by-the-numbers action film. Frenetic chases, gunplay and explosions are present. But the story is arguably paper thin and there is little depth to the characters. Baird would go on to direct Star Trek Nemesis (2002), his third and last film.
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