Jack Cole (Steven Seagal) was once a CIA operative known as "The Glimmer Man," because he could move so quickly and quietly through the jungle that his victims would only see a glimmer before they died. Having retired from Central Intelligence, Cole, who is versed in Buddhism and unaccustomed to working with others, has become a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. Cole is partnered with tough, no-nonsense detective Jim Campbell (Keenen Ivory Wayans) who has little patience for Cole's New Age philosophies and "outsider" attitude. Campbell says that they are homicide detectives and refuses to deal with anything outside of that. While Cole says that life and death do not distinguish between homicide or suicide and believes as policemen its their job to help the victims, no matter how they died. Cole and Campbell must set aside their differences when they're assigned to track down a serial killer known as "The Family Man," named for his habit of killing entire households. The serial killer had struck 6 times already and the 7th instance is the day Cole joins the LAPD. The distinctive feature of the killer is that all his victims are Catholics, and he performs a proper Crucifixion with their bodies. Cole determines at autopsy that the victim is a Russian. Campbell later IDs the victims as Eugene and Sonya Roslov. Cole and Campbell save Johnny Deverell from suicide. Johnny had taken a class of students' hostage, which was being taught by his girlfriend Millie. When Cole and Campbell reach the school, they find that Johnny had been in therapy and has a record for drug use. Cole enters the classroom where Johnny is ready to shoot himself and repeats "I can't go back to him". Cole manages to tackle Johnny to the floor, before he presses the trigger. Turns out Johnny is the stepson of Frank Deverell. Donald Cunningham is Deverell's head of security and wants Cole to testify that Johnny is insane to avoid a prison term. Cole refuses to cooperate and Deverall asks Cunningham to send their Russian friends after him. Cole and Campbell are ambushed by men sent by the Russian mafia, but they are able to fight them off. The Family Man strikes again. The Family Man's latest victims turn out to be Cole's former wife Ellen and her current husband Andrew Dunleavy. Cole lives with his current wife Jessica (Michelle Johnson). Cole knows that somebody is trying to send him a personal message. Cole's fingerprints are found on Ellen's body, and Campbell knows that Cole was with him the entire evening (when the murder took place). They deduce that someone is trying to frame Cole for the murders. Campbell tries to find out about Cole's history prior to LAPD and NYPD but gets nothing. Cole also refuses to dwell into his past. Cole suspects that Smith (Brian Cox) - Jack's former superior in the CIA - may be connected with the killings. Cole contacts Smith, who (unknown to him and Campbell) has been working with local crime boss Frank Deverell (Bob Gunton). Smith refuses to contact Cole and ignores his calls. Cole confronts Smith at a restaurant where he is having a private lunch. Cole says that the last 2 serial killings are the work of a professional. Campbell receive a tip from a teacher, who saw the drawings associated to the serial murders and she links it to one of her past students This leads them to Christopher Maynard (Stephen Tobolowsky). While Campbell goes after the residential address, Cole goes to the Church in the vicinity of the address and finds Maynard there. Maynard insists that the Family Man murders were actually committed by more than one killer. Only the slayings that occurred prior to Jack's arrival in Los Angeles were Maynard's work; more recently, a second party has been massacring households and blaming it on Maynard. Maynard pulls a gun on Cole and Cole is forced to shoot him in self-defense. Cole is suspended for killing a suspect without due sanction. This had happened with Cole previously in New York as well when he was serving with the NYPD. Cole is suspended pending investigation from Internal Affairs Division. Seeking a lead on the "other" Family Man, Cole goes to the home of Celia Roslov: Deverell's Russian translator and a relative of the recent victims of the serial killer. Jack finds out that the Roslovs had tickets to Russia, paid for by Deverell's company. The Family Man makes an unsuccessful attempt on the lives of both Cole and Campbell, blowing up the latter's apartment. It is revealed that the Family Man works for both Deverell and Smith, who have murder contracts out on both of the detectives and also on Johnny (Johnny Strong), Deverell's own stepson. Cole and Campbell chat with Johnny's girlfriend Millie (Nikki Cox), who tells them where to find Johnny. The detectives trick and kill a hit-man sent by Johnny's stepfather. Johnny informs Campbell and Cole that Donald Cunningham (John M. Jackson), Deverell's private security chief, is the other Family Man whose killings were confused with Maynard's. Johnny also reveals Smith's partnership with Deverell. Turns out that Smith was collaborating with Deverell to smuggle Chemical weapons into US to sell to terrorists. Smith & Deverell used the cover of the serial killer to tie up their loose ends. The detectives confront Smith, who reveals that Deverell has been smuggling chemical weapons into the USA from Russia and selling said arms to the Serbian underworld. Smith is arranging contacts for the deal, which is being cut by the Russian Liberation Fighters (aka the Organizatsiya). The sale has been scheduled to take place at a welfare hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. When Cole and Campbell storm the hotel to disrupt the weapons deal, Cunningham kills Deverell (because Deverell set up Cunningham for the LAPD, in order to clear himself of the arms-running charges) and wounds Jim. Cole fights Cunningham, who is finally tossed through a window and impaled on a wrought iron fence. Campbell half-jokes that Cole has brought him nothing but bad luck ever since they became partners. Cole says he'll keep that in mind, as Campbell is driven off to the hospital.
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