Quint is a serial criminal, hired by the US government to do some of their dirty work. Fulfilling his job to steal an important audio tape from a company under investigation, but under constant surveillance from his enemies, he is forced to hide the tape in the back of a racing car called Black Moon. Planning to follow the racing car across the US, he stumbles across another crime - the theft of a fleet of cars, including the racing car, from under the owners' noses by an attractive young woman called Nina. Nina is in the employ of a master criminal, Ryland, and in order to get the car back and therefore the tape, Quint needs to access Ryland's high security lair.
Along the way, Quint, who is attracted by Nina, manages to bed her. Nina, long fed up of her boss who rescued her from the streets and gives her very little freedom, helps Quint and the racing car's owners to find a way through the high security that Ryland has put in place. But Ryland is a dangerous man, who won't think twice about killing those who get in his way. Quint also has a rival, determined to snatch his cosy government job away from him. Will Quint succeed? And will he win over his woman?
Try as I might, I found it very hard to make the above sound interesting. Thankfully, I was given
this DVD - I would hate to have had to pay for it. This is, quite frankly, one of the dullest films I have ever come across.
I'm actually a big fan of Tommy Lee Jones. I loved his roles in Men in Black, Double Jeopardy and Natural Born Killers and I really do think he is a talented actor. He didn't totally disappoint in this film either. In fact, he was the one advantage. Quint is a typical Hollywood tough guy - apart from the odd exception, he undoubtedly comes out of everything without a scratch. The fact that Jones managed to make this seem natural is a tribute to his acting skills. Unfortunately, he had to contend with a terrible plot and screenplay, so there was no way he was going to come out of this film totally unscathed. Bearing in mind the material with which he had to work, he didn't do too badly. What struck me most of all was how young he looks in this film - made in 1986, he has certainly aged quite a lot since.
Linda Hamilton gives a lack-lustre performance as Nina. A popular actress of the day because of her role in Terminator, she doesn't really get much of a chance to shine in this role. Unfortunately, the dreadful 80s fashion make her look totally ridiculous, which doesn't help to make her any more believable. I didn't get her relationship with Quint either; there was no chemistry there. We hear a little about Nina's background; she was homeless and was rescued by Ryland, but even so, it is difficult to feel sorry for her.
It is worth briefly mentioning Robert Vaughan as Ryland. Another good actor, he does at least manage to seem vaguely scary as the real villain of the piece.
Although I am about to totally rubbish this film, to be fair, I suppose it is worth remembering that the film was made in the 1980s when action films, such as those starring Arnold Schwarzenegger were very popular, and that this film was probably an attempt to get on to the bandwagon. It is certainly an action film - to the extent that at times it almost seems as if the director has forgotten that people can talk to get an idea across. There are many high speed car chases, which I found deadly dull, but I can see that it might appeal to the boys more than the girls. Unfortunately, the fashions of the 1980s take away any chance of making this film more watchable than it is - the cars are odd shapes and the mobile phone that Nina seems to have permanently attached to her ear is the biggest brick I have ever seen! On top of that, the music is very reminiscent of the worst type of electronic music of that decade.
I suppose what I hated most of all about this film is that I just didn't care what happened. I didn't particularly like either of the main characters and didn't really mind if they came through all right or not. The plot, involving cars and secret government tapes, totally failed to inspire me. A child could have put together the plot on the back of an envelope. It almost seems that John Carpenter, who wrote the screenplay, is better known for writing Hallowe'en and Village of the Damned, put it together in as quick a time as possible without really thinking the plot through. Plus the director, Harley Cokeliss, packs the film with car chases and violent fights, but seems to forget that a film needs a little more content than that.
Bearing in mind that the film was made in 1986, it is probably not surprising that there aren't many special features - just the trailer of the film, which I can't imagine persuaded many people to go to see the film.
I really cannot recommend this film. It is certainly the worst film I have seen in a long time. If you are a big fan of Tommy Lee Jones, then you might want to see this to complete your collection, but otherwise, I would recommend that you stay well clear of it. Totally unforgettable.
If you really want to see it, it is available from play.com for £2.99. But please, don't!
Classification: 18 (huge amounts of violence)
Running time: 98 minutes
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
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