is this a good movie
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sa420 — 18 years ago(October 20, 2007 12:18 PM)
I watched this last night and enjoyed it quite a bit actually.
I can imagine this as a sort of low-tech Snake Plissken film. The basic skeleton of the premise is similar-ish to Escape from N.Y.
"Not The Gold!!" - Augustus Steranko. -
Woodyanders — 18 years ago(January 24, 2008 05:31 PM)
I thought this film was a lot of fun. It's a pleasingly tight, trim and witty little Grade B action thriller that gets right down to brass tacks in a satisfyingly straightforward and unpretentious manner.
I write bios, therefore I am. -
successor13326 — 17 years ago(September 28, 2008 07:33 PM)
Geez, where do I start? I love a guilty pleasure as much as the next person, but this film is hopeless.
The acting is horrible and the characters have no motivation. Tommy Lee Jones is supposed to be an expert thief, but he doesn't even wear gloves to a robbery?! Not to mention the fact that he's stealing for the FBI? If the feds wanted the cassette so badly, then why didn't they get subpoenas to enter the place and take it? And how can they introduce stolen evidence into a trial? If anyone found out, the agents would be arrested.
And what about Lee Ving's character? There's practically no background motivation as to why he knows Quint and hates him so much, aside from them supposedly being competitors. And don't get me started on the gas station scene. How come no cops noticed Quint's shot up car? And how did he get away? It just cuts to him speeding out of the desert and being pursued. Did they lose a reel or two of film?
A futuristic car drives through Los Angeles and nobody noticesnot even cops. This must be one of those movie universes where the cops only come when they're needed for the plot.
And why put the cassette in the Black Moon in the first place? Why not just hide it behind a soda machine? And further, what if Quint lost the Black Moon? He'd never get the cassette back. And this guy is supposed to be a professional? The car isn't even integral to the plot. It's just there for show.
Also, Linda Hamilton acts like Quint's a stalker in one scene, then the next she lets him get in her car? Is she nuts or does she have split personalities? Further, in the next scene, she sleeps with a guy she hardly even knows and doesn't trust! WTF? Doesn't she worry about AIDS or herpes? I know this was the 80's, but can't we at least have some character consistency here?
Not to mention that at least two scenes feel like direct rip offs of The Terminator. I half expected Arnie to come into the bar scene and shoot the place up.
And there's a big goof in the chase scene. One minute it's night, but when they get off the freight elevator it's daytime again. Where were the continuity people? Also, the physics of a car crashing from one roof to another is impossible. I love crazy stunts, but this was just ridiculous. And how did Bubba Smith's character know Quint would land the car in the other tower? Did Quint call ahead of time?
The film is horribly shot, the fight scenes look fake and several blows don't even connect. The assistant bad guy looks like he got shot in the head with a paint ball. The music is wretched 80's cheese.
I could go on and on, but what's the point? The only way this film could be redeemed is if Rifftrax got a hold of it. Otherwise, definitely stay far away from this film. -
mcfly-31 — 17 years ago(November 18, 2008 09:43 PM)
The film has one of the best opening scenes to establish the sauveness of a lead character, only to lead us down a primrose path. What follows is a slow-as-hell (and thin-crust pizza) plot with only really two good scenes to follow, in my opinion. The way Jones escapes his beating, and the finale involving two high-rises.
But any film with Robert Vaughn, Bubba Smith, and Lee Ving as your supporting castyou get what you expect. And no wonder this is Jones only love scene ever, I remember Linda Hamilton saying he was totally uncomfortable and refused to take his pants off. -
chopperman — 17 years ago(February 02, 2009 02:26 AM)
despite what has been written here, this was probably jones' best movie from post coal miner's daughter-lonesome dove. that should tell you how terrible everything else he was in was. the movie gotham made absolutely no sense.
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neal2zod — 16 years ago(July 16, 2009 04:00 PM)
i did like how the sex scene was almost the same as the one from the Terminator, but shot from a different angle. I like how it's billed as a "car" movie yet the car spends 95% of its time in storage. It's also slow as hell and too convoluted. But Jones is fun (especially that opening scene!) and the final fight with Lee Ving is good 80s fisticuffs. Unlike the guy above, I did like how they didn't go into Ving and Jones' past history. We don't need it all spelled out for us.
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Moondrop_C — 14 years ago(September 25, 2011 05:51 PM)
Further, in the next scene, she sleeps with a guy she hardly even knows and doesn't trust! WTF? Doesn't she worry about AIDS or herpes? I know this was the 80's, but can't we at least have some character consistency here?
Think about it. AIDS, having been recognized by the CDC in 1981, was not as widespread and well-known as it is these days. Gia Carangi, who was played by Angelina Jolie in the role that made her famous, died of AIDS-related complications in 1986, which she contracted either through unprotected sex or dirty needles. Ryan White, a hemophiliac, was given what turned out to be contaminated blood (even doctors and hospitals hadn't caught on yet) and was diagnosed with HIV in 1984. Even today, people still engage in unprotected sex; knowing the risks.
The big thing in the 80s was the war on drugs, especially cocaine. They were very different times. -
Lokisgodhi — 10 years ago(July 28, 2015 11:40 AM)
You don't know what the fk you're talking about. AIDS was a much bigger deal in the 1980s as opposed to what it is now. Everybody was absolutely terrified of contracting it because treatment was ineffective. It was basically a death sentence. You caught it and you'd be gone in five years. It killed off the sexual revolution.
Moondrop_C wrote:
Think about it. AIDS, having been recognized by the CDC in 1981, was not as widespread and well-known as it is these days. Gia Carangi, who was played by Angelina Jolie in the role that made her famous, died of AIDS-related complications in 1986, which she contracted either through unprotected sex or dirty needles. Ryan White, a hemophiliac, was given what turned out to be contaminated blood (even doctors and hospitals hadn't caught on yet) and was diagnosed with HIV in 1984. Even today, people still engage in unprotected sex; knowing the risks. -
matsellah — 13 years ago(July 15, 2012 07:33 AM)
It's a guy flick for sure.
No, the car doesn't do anything except go fast. Really. Fast.
The rest of this movie is Tommy Lee Jones. Keenan Wynn steals his scenes.
The revenge fight between Quint and Ringer was good.
This movie is what it is. On a nothing else to do day, it's a good movie.