Sweeney gets the job at the dealership after he passes a couple of tests: He proves he knows all about repairing Porsches, and during a fast trip down the hairpin turns in the hills above Los Angeles, he proves to Sheen that he can drive one, too. You'd think that Sheen would be on the alert for another undercover cop, having just discovered one, but he trusts Sweeney and before long the two men have become friends.

It's a complicated friendship.

Sweeney, from a working-class background, is impressed by Sheen's style and wealth, by the fancy discos and private clubs he hangs out in, and by the expensive cars he lets Sweeney drive.

He also is impressed by Sheen's sister (Lori Butler), and after they fall in love he becomes convinced that there's no way Sheen could have murdered a cop.

Quaid worries that his undercover guy is falling for a con job.

"You're not going native, are you?" he asks. He's right; the kid hasn't been on the force long enough to develop good police instincts, and he falls under the influence of the charismatic Sheen. That leads him into a no man's land, halfway between the criminals and the law, and as he tries to do the right thing and juggle his conflicting loyalties, a tragic situation begins to develop.

"No Man's Land" is better than the average thriller because it is interested in those moral questions - in the way money and beautiful women and fast cars look more exciting than good police work. The screenplay, by Dick Wolf, is subtle in the way it develops its temptations for Sweeney. He is seduced by Sheen's style and flash. And Sheen creates his character as a very complicated young man. True, he's rich, and doesn't need to steal and kill. But like the members of that Billionaire Boy's Club out in Los Angeles, he is attracted to risk. And eventually he gets way in over his head.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7s7vGnqmempWnwW%2BvzqZmq52mnrK4v46npmalkaPAbrjAp5tmaWlthA%3D%3D