Glen's (Christopher McDonald) young son (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is almost killed by a maniac on the road. Glen insists on confronting the culprit (Craig Sheffer). He gets into a heated discussion with him at a restaurant. Glen is tragically burned to death in a car accident during a showdown with cars, and it's up to Jack (Christopher Lambert) to get revenge, especially when his family gets in danger
This started off very auspiciously. It was intense, interesting, and suspenseful. There was nothing complicated about it, it was an old fashioned set-up, and it was working beautifully. Christopher McDonald's death scene is one of the most realistically disturbing death scenes I've seen. I felt for JGL in that scene, I could feel the emotion. I was really beginning to wonder why this movie is rated so low. My question became answered, not too long after. The first half is an above average thriller, but sadly, there is a second half as well. It tosses away all the progress it made for unimaginative storytelling, and extremely poor character development. Too many characters disappear during key times, all for the sake of focusing on the villains. Christopher Lambert's screen time isn't as big as you might think. He has a substantial part, don't get me wrong, but he disappears too often. His "everyday" man had potential, but it's written so poorly. Lambert tries, but he's defeated by the script. Craig Sheffer is the biggest problem for me in this movie. He has WAY too much screen time, especially when his role is as mundane as it was. He did these weird facial ticks, and gives a whiny, unconvincing performance. I wanted to backhand him one. They try to portray him as crazy, but he was just an imbecilic baby as far as I'm concerned. Josh Brolin has an unmemorable early role as a sensitive person. David Arquette does what he does best, be eccentric. Joseph Gordon-Levitt shows why he's such a sought after actor these days. It was very impressive, considering his age. Alexondra Lee does her best Scarlett Johansson impression, and even resembles her. The ending is so routine, so conventional, that it angered me.
Final Thoughts: I was going to give this movie a rating in the upper 4's, but I really liked a bit of the first half. There are some memorable scenes, but Craig Sheffer & routine plotting ruin it. It's worth a watch I suppose, but I wouldn't go out of my way. Its average
5/10
This started off very auspiciously. It was intense, interesting, and suspenseful. There was nothing complicated about it, it was an old fashioned set-up, and it was working beautifully. Christopher McDonald's death scene is one of the most realistically disturbing death scenes I've seen. I felt for JGL in that scene, I could feel the emotion. I was really beginning to wonder why this movie is rated so low. My question became answered, not too long after. The first half is an above average thriller, but sadly, there is a second half as well. It tosses away all the progress it made for unimaginative storytelling, and extremely poor character development. Too many characters disappear during key times, all for the sake of focusing on the villains. Christopher Lambert's screen time isn't as big as you might think. He has a substantial part, don't get me wrong, but he disappears too often. His "everyday" man had potential, but it's written so poorly. Lambert tries, but he's defeated by the script. Craig Sheffer is the biggest problem for me in this movie. He has WAY too much screen time, especially when his role is as mundane as it was. He did these weird facial ticks, and gives a whiny, unconvincing performance. I wanted to backhand him one. They try to portray him as crazy, but he was just an imbecilic baby as far as I'm concerned. Josh Brolin has an unmemorable early role as a sensitive person. David Arquette does what he does best, be eccentric. Joseph Gordon-Levitt shows why he's such a sought after actor these days. It was very impressive, considering his age. Alexondra Lee does her best Scarlett Johansson impression, and even resembles her. The ending is so routine, so conventional, that it angered me.
Final Thoughts: I was going to give this movie a rating in the upper 4's, but I really liked a bit of the first half. There are some memorable scenes, but Craig Sheffer & routine plotting ruin it. It's worth a watch I suppose, but I wouldn't go out of my way. Its average
5/10