Very well executed

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Bill Paxton 20. Slipstream (1989).One of 8 movies with the same title, this was the first scifi movie, coincidentally released the same year as the slipstream (scifi) genre was first coined.Set in the not-so-distant-anymore-future, after a global environmental disaster causes most of the planet to be uninhabitable, there is a thin valley tunnel system, called the slipstream, where the winds haven't wiped the planet clean, where humanity ekes out a living following the downfall of technology. Many small groups have begun to worship the wind as a god. Others who were better prepared, simply party away the years, awaiting their eventual doom.Traders and trackers fly the slipstream in small 1- or 2-man planes, presumably also with their own wind-powered generators, because no-one ever refuels.Does the slipstream encompass the globe or is there a beginning and end? No-one knows.2 cops (although who they report to is unknown, it's hinted that there's no-one left to even read the reports) capture a murderer, Byron, who in turn is kidnapped by petty thief/fence Matt Owens (Paxton), intending to turn Byron in himself for the reward. In their journey downstream, Byron befriends Owens, to the point that he no longer wants to turn him in.Unfortunately for Owens, he was hit with a dart by the cops during his escape, containing a tracer (they catch up with him a few times) and a very slow-acting curare poison (takes days to take effect, rather than minutes).But fortunately for Owens, the cops are also lovers who are slowly falling apart, and the female ends up falling for Owens, while Byron, who it turns out is an android, kills the male cop, who turns out to be Luke Skywalker. Yes, it's Mark Hamill. The number of times I yelled out "Use the force, Luke!" is quite embarrassing.So Byron the android learns to be human and heads off for the promised land of androids, Owens ends up with Belitski, the female cop (who shoots him again, this time with the antidote), and they presumably start up a hot air balloon company, and Luke is one with the force. Or maybe just dead. Those movies probably aren't in the same universe. Although, it is produced by the same guy that produced A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. So you never know.StarringElmer Bernstein - Composer/conducter since the 50s, died in 2004, but his music continues to be used, as recently as The Magnificent 7.The London Symphony Orchestra - who are just awesome (Star Wars series, Harry Potter series)Alan Polonsky - bit part in Aliens with Paxton as an insurance claimant, bit part here as a committee member (they're arguing that now these newcomers know about the place, they can never be allowed to leave. Then the cops bust in and start shooting everybody)Bruce Boa - "Prepare for ground assault" - General Rieekan, Empire Strikes Back. Not this movie, but the only part you'll know him fromRichard Huggett - born in Brisbane, career highlight was 3 years on Neighbours as Glen Donnelly. Glen has an incestuous relationship with his half-sister. These scenes were cut from UK airing. When Richard decided not to renew his contract, his character fell off the roof and was paralyzed from the waist down.Ben Kinsley - best known for Ghandi, Sexy Beast and Iron Man 3. But still mostly Ghandi. Certainly not for his death scene here, where he gets crushed by a stone prayer wheel.Eleanor David - short-lived lover of the android, also wife of Pink in Pink Floyd: The WallRobbie Coltrane, aka Rubeus "You're in a hot spa, Harry" Hagrid. That's his whole scene. He sits in a giant bubbling bathtub with 5 other people and makes fun of Owens as a loser. To be fair, he hadn't really broken into TV or movies yet, although I was surprised to see him and Liam Neeson in Krull (1983)Ricco Ross - left Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket to play Frost in Aliens. Never really made it big after that. Has 2 small scenes in this movie, where he's friends with Owens and helps him escapeMark Hamill - after Star Wars, he didn't want to get typecast, so he started acting in small budget roles, which nobody saw, and everyone still only thinks of him as Luke. As a hardass cop, he's pretty good. When Gary Kurtz and George Lucas split up, Mark said it was "like Mom and Dad getting a divorce". Kutz didn't like where Lucas was taking the franchise, which was making more money in toy sales thatn the movie itself. Kurtz left, and we ended up with 'Ewoks dancing in the forest like a teddy-bear luau.'Gary Kurtz - Assistant Director and Producer of Empire Strikes Back. He made 5% of net profit from the movie, but lost it all when he divorced his first wife (somewhere in the realm of $6m at the time). Same year, he's remarried, to a woman he met filming one year earlier. Coincidence? It was the divorce that sank this movie, as he was personally bankrolling it. He couldn't even afford to have it shown in theatres, so it went straight to VHS. He filed for bankruptcy, and this film is in the public domain, so go download it guilt-free (or watch it on Amazon for $3.99 or buy it 'new' for $12.99).

In the future our planet has been devastated by pollution. Scruffy down on his luck bounty hunter Matt Owens (a typically lively performance by Bill Paxton) kidnaps fugitive android Byron (a fine and likable performance by Bob Peck) from two police officers, who naturally give chase. While the offbeat and interesting setting has promise, alas Steven Lisberger's bland direction, Tony Kayden's wildly uneven script, the sluggish pace, the meandering narrative, the dodgy (not so) special effects, and far too much tedious and pretentious dialogue doom this one to the level of strictly diverting mediocrity. Moreover, this picture crucially lacks the snap and tension it requires to really catch fire; instead it just kind of putters around without ever picking up any steam throughout. Fortunately, the cast do their best to rise well above the lackluster material: Mark Hamill snarls it up nicely as the hard-bitten Will Tasker, Kitty Aldridge provides some much needed (and appreciated) spark as Tasker's feisty partner Belitski, and Eleanor David makes a strong and appealing impression as the sweet and radiant Ariel. The eventual friendship between Byron and Owens and Byron's romancing of Ariel deliver several pleasingly warm and charming moments. Robbie Coltrane, Ben Kingsley, and F. Murray Abraham are given precious little to do in minor parts. Frank Tidy's sumptuous cinematography boasts lots of striking aerial shots and makes the most out of the desolate rocky terrain. Elmer Bernstein's robust and rousing full-bore orchestral score hits the stirring spot. An okay time-waster.

Compared with todays frenetic, kinetic, fast cutting, CGI laden crap this actually holds up fairly well. I liked the actors, I liked the characters (each with a clear motivation) and I liked the settings. It was well shot, well edited and well written. And you know what, the story held my interest. Not like a lot of what I see today (story often gets lost over a 'great shot' or pointless effect). Yes, the special fx are very 80's with some matte lines but I am very forgiving about that, this film is over 20 years old after all. Like the original Star Wars Trilogy (before George tinkered with it again, and again, and again), this film is best enjoyed with all it's flaws. A simple film, well told story and great characters. A really good family film.

The story and the characters really REALLY needed work. The world idea is kind of neat, but no one bothered to develop any of it either through exposition, or through the plot. Despite the cheesy notes at the beginning of the film, it makes sense that you wouldn't use exposition, since no one is new to this world. And yet, when Matt Owens (Bill Paxton) and Byron (Bob Peck) stray off-course and get lost, and get introduced to the wind-worshipers and the fat, lazy, rich people in the museum, we don't get any real idea of who these people are, or why we should care about any of them. Smart films have ways of developing this simply by having the characters live in the world. Simple things, like ordering a drink at a bar, or talking about something in the past -- these are the kind of things that make the film world memorable, not endless shots of crappy planes, and cheap CG effects of someone trying to do loops in an ultralight.If this is too difficult for you, here's a little tip -- pare down the multiple locations. If everything's becoming disjointed because you're pulling up to often, stay in one place for a little while and have the characters talk a little. All the superfluous crap should be removed. Get rid of the entire wind-worshipers scene. Get rid of the stuffy museum people. Get rid of all the crappy flying crap unless you can make the wind relevant to the story. Have the entire thing set on a big plane, or something. Just get people talking about something we care about.Hey, get rid of Bill Paxton. Have the film center around Tasker's character and his relationship with the robot, Byron.Indeed, the biggest problem of the film is that we don't care anything about anybody, because no one takes the time to either explain their motivations or delve into their characters. We don't like Matt (well, because he's played by Bill Paxton, among other things). He's a scoundrel, who doesn't redeem himself enough, except to let the android, Byron, go. And this action has even less meaning than most because of three key points: 1. Byron is a murderer. 2. Byron is indestructible 3. Byron can leave any time he damn well pleases.We try to like Byron, because there's a kind of pathos there, but it's largely undeveloped. All we're left with is a whiny, glassy-eyed robot guy who's acting is subdued and wooden one moment, and practically zany the next. We don't know why or how he develops emotions, but we do know for a fact that he's murdered someone. We don't know why he murdered someone, or the circumstances of this grisly event, because it isn't developed. We can't feel pity for him if we don't know the story. All we know for a fact is that he murders people. And he likes Bill Paxton.We don't hate Tasker enough (partly because he's played by good-guy Mark Hamill), since while gruff and ruthless, doesn't do anything out of the ordinary for his character -- a post-apocalyptic peace officer. Sure he kills Montclaire (Robbie Coltrane) and his team, but they are drug dealers, on their way to grow poppies for heroin. And they shoot at him first. He doesn't kill anyone who doesn't get in the way, or who does not try to physically harm him first. That goes equally well for the final confrontation in the museum. He uses a smidge of police brutality against a lazy dilettante (F. Murray Abraham is wasted in this role), and everyone else draws a gun on him.I really don't understand what's the deal with Belitski (Kitty Aldridge), Tasker's partner. After only an accumulated 10 minutes with Matt, she's ready to switch sides, despite her shouts of loyalty, and despite Matt's trash-talking her, and punching her out. If that's love, then I'll choose hate any day.Really. Paxton's character is about as lovable as Simon in "True Lies", or Pvt. Hudson from "Aliens". Does anyone fall for him in these movies? No. Why? Because he's a loud-mouthed idiot, and a loser. Why put him at the helm of this film?