Tom Selleck turns in another nice performance as Robert B. Parker's big-city cop turned small-town hero: Jesse Stone. No Remorse gives us more of the emotional, moody side of Stone and his surrounding cast, compared to previous shows that focused on sleuthing and action. It's not that there isn't intrigue, but the whole thing is up in the air until the last five minutes, when everything comes crashing down before the credits roll. Tied up too quickly? Probably. Worse off for it? Probably not. No Remorse feels like Selleck stretching out, enjoying the generally warm reception previous installments received from the press. My couch-sitting partner-in-crime, sitting downwind of me like some spousal version of Mystery Science 3000, asked at some point in the first third of No Remorse, "Why is everybody so sad?" It was good for a laugh at that moment, but this is definitely the Stone film that does the most shoe-gazing, out of the entire series. Perhaps the passing of Robert B. Parker influenced things, or perhaps Stone's dolorous nature is all Selleck has to lean on, since No Remorse has no connection to an actual Parker novel.

The plotting of No Remorse is fairly simple, with Stone spending much of his time in Boston helping to solve a string of murders. The Paradise Police force is struggling without him, chased in part by their own demons and the fact that they aren't allowed to have any contact with their suspended Chief of Police. Selleck chooses to distance Stone from his ex in L.A., which is probably a good thing, but staple characters from town all make some type of appearance. At times, it feels like characters are trotted out as little more than fan service, especially when they play no functional role in the story. Since there are nine Parker novels featuring Stone as a character, it seems strange that only four films use source material. The intrigue that was a big part of earlier movies gives way to some fairly obvious devices. Watching Stone try to reclaim a normal existence after all the tumult that has taken place in Paradise is the most interesting part of the film, and Selleck plays everything with seriously low affect.

Made-for-TV doesn't get much better than this, and No Remorse even with its faults is still easy to watch. The music continues to be a standout, and there's decent camera work throughout that showcases the beautiful waterside locations around town. Interior shots of Stone's house have now warmed up, depicting it as a safe haven more than some dreary isolation chamber. Parker was apparently proud of Selleck's accomplishment, and there's good reason to imagine that fans of this series of books will appreciate No Remorse, at least for its imagination. Keeping the character alive will only go so far unless future movies can dig back into the source material, or harness some more compelling writing talent. All things considered, I've paid to see movies in theaters that didn't hold my attention nearly as well as No Remorse. Perhaps I'm just wistful and teary-eyed for the old days of Magnum P.I., but Selleck does an admirable job serving the memory of a great writer's great character.