the mod squad ( m ) . ( mgm/uip ) director : scott silver stars : claire danes , giovanni ribisi , omar epps , dennis farina , josh brolin , michael lerner , steve harris , richard jenkins . another old tv series is revisited and updated for the '90's . however , this lacklustre big screen version of the mod squad , which originally ran from 1968 to 1973 , joins other dud adaptations such as the beverly hillbillies , lost in space and the recent my favourite martian . the original series centred around a squad of delinquent teenagers put back onto the streets by a tough but sympathetic cop , who used them to infiltrate seedy bars and clubs and street gangs in an effort to fight crime . this big screen version takes the same premise , but basically trashes it with a formulaic and unoriginal plot that involves crooked cops and illicit drug deals . this '90's version also loses the rebellious anti-establishment undercurrents that were prevalent in the '60's and '70's , and which gave the series an unusual edge . this new look mod squad is little more than an average television movie , and is unlikely to appeal to the same audiences that remember the similarly themed 21 jump street with more affection . the script is trite and predictable , the dialogue terribly clichéd and the characters one dimensional . scott silver's direction is pedestrian . the three stars lack rapport , and their performances are uncomfortable , flat and uncharismatic . claire danes does the best she can with the undemanding role of julie barnes , the street wise former drug addict . giovanni ribisi ( from the other sister , saving private ryan , etc ) brings an intensity to his performance as pete cochrane , the rich kid turned bad , that seems misplaced given the almost comic book quality of the material . omar epps ( from higher learning , etc ) gives his linc hayes all the life and energy of a lump of wood . veteran dennis farina is wasted as the squad's mentor adam greer , whose murder kick-starts the plot . the ending conveniently leaves the way open for a sequel . however , if prolific producer aaron spelling was hoping to turn the mod squad into a successful new movie series he has sadly under estimated the intelligence of the audience and over estimated the quality of the banal script . 
