REBEL" (aka "NO PLACE TO HIDE") is mostly like an independent film that when it came out had little to no interest, but as decades passed it somewhat caught the eye of a ''few'' for the casting of its upcoming star. Still I wouldn't bother with it, unless you're a fan of Sylvester Stallone and want to see everything he's done. Outside of that, there's not much to recommend. The story follows a college dropout Jerry Savage, turned homegrown terrorist involved in an underground movement wanting to take down the corporate war machine while the FBI closes in.
This clunky low-budgeter is very much a product of its era. The movement of the late 1960s shines through and the backdrop of New York City is authentically brought across. Be it through stock footage, or gritty location shooting with its documentary-like style. Being made during the Vietnam era the political tailoring is at the forefront, yet the narrative is pretty long on its build-up consisting of numerous exchanges (capitalism, propaganda, spiritualism & etc) and tactical scheming of what needs to be done for this group to get their point across. Also the FBI is in the same boat in trying to weed out these organized bombers. Editing between scenes can be ragged and the script is more talk and ideas, than anything of action. So tension, or its attempts of it stems mainly from the character interactions. In spite of one or two minor visual moments towards the end. Even so there's a lot of sitting around and trivial waxing, causing it drag at times. Strangely though, the presence of Stallone keeps you watching. It's a raw, yet affecting performance of confliction that you can see why he went onto bigger, better things.
This clunky low-budgeter is very much a product of its era. The movement of the late 1960s shines through and the backdrop of New York City is authentically brought across. Be it through stock footage, or gritty location shooting with its documentary-like style. Being made during the Vietnam era the political tailoring is at the forefront, yet the narrative is pretty long on its build-up consisting of numerous exchanges (capitalism, propaganda, spiritualism & etc) and tactical scheming of what needs to be done for this group to get their point across. Also the FBI is in the same boat in trying to weed out these organized bombers. Editing between scenes can be ragged and the script is more talk and ideas, than anything of action. So tension, or its attempts of it stems mainly from the character interactions. In spite of one or two minor visual moments towards the end. Even so there's a lot of sitting around and trivial waxing, causing it drag at times. Strangely though, the presence of Stallone keeps you watching. It's a raw, yet affecting performance of confliction that you can see why he went onto bigger, better things.