(The end of para. 2 contains a not very surprising spoiler, sort of.)
This movie is a must-have for Casper Van Dien fans and a nice little made-for-TV action-thriller for the rest of the world that is suffering through a nothing-good-on-TV night and looking for something to rent. There aren't a whole lot of surprises, except perhaps that India Oxenberg (Van Dien's daughter both in and out of the movie) is a good actress for her age, and his much-put-upon character, who runs the gamut of unknown assailants, suspicious cops, and a tottering marriage, is finally allowed to take revenge in a rather novel way involving a swimming pool and some brute force, and let's just leave it at that.
The Vector File, as we learn fairly soon, involves viruses, plagues, and possible apocalyptic chaos, and naturally is of interest to every nefarious SPECTRE type organization on the planet. But to a child who gets confused by all the keys and buttons on dad's computer, it's mainly useful as scrap paper to draw pictures on. And therein lies the reason for all the chasing, shooting, kidnapping, drowning, asphyxiating, car bombing, and battering with driftwood. There's quite a bit of mayhem, real and surreal, involving death, near death, and fear of death. But this isn't Quentin Tarantino, it's made for TV, so it's not incredibly bloody, and most of the people you'd expect to be left standing at the end of the movie actually are. And if you're careful about what your kids hear, hold their ears the 3 or 4 times somebody gets perturbed and uses four-letter words beginning with 's' and 'f'-at least in the unexpurgated version, or maybe TV down under is just different.
Periodically there is some beautiful New Zealand scenery to look at, and Van Dien fans will love seeing him looking scrumptiously scruffy in a beard and t-shirt throughout the movie (costumes were obviously not a big part of the budget this time around). Call me soft in the head, or just fascinated by the notion of show business 'dynasties,' but there's just something nice about watching the real daddy/daughter duo facing the bad guys together. And we kinda sorta suspect the estranged couple played by real-life husband and wife Van Dien and Catherine Oxenberg will probably wind up together again before the movie's over too. At least if they can settle the matter of the anchovies. As for what that's all about, you'll have to rent the movie and find out for yourselves.
This movie is a must-have for Casper Van Dien fans and a nice little made-for-TV action-thriller for the rest of the world that is suffering through a nothing-good-on-TV night and looking for something to rent. There aren't a whole lot of surprises, except perhaps that India Oxenberg (Van Dien's daughter both in and out of the movie) is a good actress for her age, and his much-put-upon character, who runs the gamut of unknown assailants, suspicious cops, and a tottering marriage, is finally allowed to take revenge in a rather novel way involving a swimming pool and some brute force, and let's just leave it at that.
The Vector File, as we learn fairly soon, involves viruses, plagues, and possible apocalyptic chaos, and naturally is of interest to every nefarious SPECTRE type organization on the planet. But to a child who gets confused by all the keys and buttons on dad's computer, it's mainly useful as scrap paper to draw pictures on. And therein lies the reason for all the chasing, shooting, kidnapping, drowning, asphyxiating, car bombing, and battering with driftwood. There's quite a bit of mayhem, real and surreal, involving death, near death, and fear of death. But this isn't Quentin Tarantino, it's made for TV, so it's not incredibly bloody, and most of the people you'd expect to be left standing at the end of the movie actually are. And if you're careful about what your kids hear, hold their ears the 3 or 4 times somebody gets perturbed and uses four-letter words beginning with 's' and 'f'-at least in the unexpurgated version, or maybe TV down under is just different.
Periodically there is some beautiful New Zealand scenery to look at, and Van Dien fans will love seeing him looking scrumptiously scruffy in a beard and t-shirt throughout the movie (costumes were obviously not a big part of the budget this time around). Call me soft in the head, or just fascinated by the notion of show business 'dynasties,' but there's just something nice about watching the real daddy/daughter duo facing the bad guys together. And we kinda sorta suspect the estranged couple played by real-life husband and wife Van Dien and Catherine Oxenberg will probably wind up together again before the movie's over too. At least if they can settle the matter of the anchovies. As for what that's all about, you'll have to rent the movie and find out for yourselves.