Film

Renegades

Name: Renegades
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Released: 1989
Cast: Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Jami Gertz, Robert Knepper, Bill Smitrovich

A 1989 action thriller about an undercover cop forced into a heist gone wrong who teams up with a Native American man seeking revenge and recovery of a stolen sacred spear. It's propulsive B-movie entertainment—Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips sparring through betrayal and redemption across a taut 105 minutes. For fans of '80s genre cinema who don't need everything polished.

TMDb rating

2.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy lean, gritty crime pictures from the late 1980s, where a corrupt-cop plot doubles as a pulpy quest and the leads carry more weight than the explosions.

Skip it if you want a polished, modern thriller; this one is rough around the edges, with an uneven tone that swings between hard-boiled grit and earnest sermonizing about heritage and greed.

What it asks of you: A brisk 105 minutes that moves in hard jolts rather than a steady build, and its genre conventions and blunt moral lines need accepting without much irony.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Point Break1991

Keanu and Patrick Swayze as ideological opposites in a high-octane cat-and-mouse game. Similar DNA: buddy tension, spectacular action sequences, and the thrill of watching two leads who understand each other too well.

But The surfing subplot feels dated now, and the pacing slows considerably in the middle act before the climax arrives.

The Hunt for Red October1990

Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin as former enemies forced into reluctant partnership aboard a submarine. Builds tension through dialogue as much as action; that same cat-and-mouse trust-and-distrust dynamic.

But It's talky and methodical. If you need constant motion rather than mounting suspicion, this will feel slow.

Tequila Sunrise1988

Gibson and Russell as old friends on opposite sides of the law, with intricate plotting about loyalty, corruption, and what friendship costs when stakes are this high. Gorgeous and morally complex.

But The romance subplot dilutes the tension, and it prioritizes mood over momentum—some find it slack.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Renegades

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Black Cloud2004

Both follow a Native American protagonist recovering a stolen sacred object and avenging murder, but this one centers Indigenous sovereignty rather than using it as backdrop to a cop's redemption.

A Lakota director (Randall Yellowrobe) telling a story of Native American revenge and cultural restoration. Same spine as Renegades—stolen sacred object, avenging family death, blood against law—but told from inside the culture that matters.

But Shot on a tight budget with a non-professional cast. The production values are uneven, and it prioritizes authenticity over narrative convenience.

Lethal Weapon1987

Riggs and Murtaugh discovering how to work together while taking apart a conspiracy. The template for action-buddy chemistry: banter, mutual respect hidden under surface friction, and genuine stakes.

But It's been endlessly imitated, so the formula feels familiar now. Also keeps veering toward comedy when things get dark.

No Way Out1987

Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman in a paranoia thriller where nobody knows who's really on which side. Fast, cunning, full of reversals—the espionage equivalent of Renegades' moral uncertainty.

But The ending twist feels slightly forced, and some plot mechanics require you to not think too hard.

The Hidden1987

Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Nouri as cop partners hunting an alien entity. B-movie premise executed with B-movie discipline: tight, weird, genuinely entertaining without pretension.

But It's silly. The sci-fi element won't appeal to purists of either crime thrillers or creature features.

Witness1985

Harrison Ford protecting an Amish boy from corrupt cops. Cross-cultural partnership, police corruption, violence in unlikely places. Feels weightier than Renegades but from the same playbook.

But The romance subplot seriously derails the second half. Many find it overwrought where it should stay tight.

48 Hrs.1982

Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte—convict and cop forced to work together. Invented the buddy-action template Renegades inherits. Scrappy, funny, genuinely propulsive.

But Some comedy bits feel dated, and the film occasionally undercuts its own momentum with tonal whiplash.

Murphy's Law1986

Charles Bronson as a cop blamed for his partner's murder, teamed with Carrie-Anne Moss. Lean action vehicle with real stakes and an underdog cop forced to trust an unlikely ally.

But Bronson's against-type casting feels mismatched with the material. It's workmanlike where Renegades aspires to something sharper.

Rolling Thunder1977

Both hinge on an outsider(vet or Native American) drawn into violence to recover what was stolen, but this film interrogates whether recovery is even possible or just another form of damage.

William Devane as a Vietnam vet forced into a revenge arc after a robbery. Brutal, moral, about a man's code fracturing under pressure. Written by Paul Schrader; it's serious genre cinema where action serves character catastrophe.

But It's a 1970s film about trauma and violence as spiritual death—deliberately spare, sometimes difficult to watch. Not entertainment in the sense Renegades offers.

Wind River2017

Reverses Renegades' formula: instead of a white cop redeemed through Indigenous partnership, an Indigenous person must work within white law enforcement that actively fails their community. Same setting, opposite moral weight.

A police procedural set on a Lakota reservation where an FBI agent and a Shoshone tracker hunt a killer. Modern, taut, deeply sad. Shows what Renegades' setup could mean if examined for real: institutional indifference to Indigenous victims.

But It's quietly agonizing. This is not catharsis or adventure—it's an indictment. If you want Renegades' fun, this will feel punishing.