Sorry, this movie sucks

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This is one of my favourite films. Yet it started unpromisingly, as I am not particularly interested in car chases. Or, for that matter, films bank robberies. (Rose, you ask, did not the title alert you to the fact that this was a film about a bank robbery?) James Spader (my reason for watching the film) is excellent in it. Part of the reason was continually having to revise my views as to whether his character (Parker) was basically a "good guy" or much more sinister. Spader, who has worked with writer-director Herrington before ("Jack's Back") and since ("I Witness") knows better than to give the audience any clues ahead of time. When he grabbed ambushed Natalie (Leslie Stefanson) and grabbed her by the throat, my attention was riveted.Plus, when his character was shot, he actually looked like he was both in a lot of pain and going into shock. That seems surprisingly unusual.There were some subtle details to satisfy those of us who want to watch the film over and over again. For example, Parker seems to have a Catholic background (despite being separated from his wife); Natalie has a cross on her wall.I liked the part near the end with the injured bad guys limping away. Having lots of dead bodies is a little dull and, well, it is over-kill.Natalie is feisty, which is always a good quality in a screen heroine. The whole cast is good.There are a few flaws with the story: a couple of parts are confusingly edited and I still cannot work out the bit about the cars. I would also have liked to have seen the priest rewarded for his good deed.But these are minor quibbles. This is a very good film, curently very underrated. If you like it, spread the word, maybe we can change that!

Rowdy Herrington's 2001 film The Stickup fools you, or tries to, and is fun to watch as the story unfolds. It begins with the cops chasing a bank robbery getaway car. As we used to say, it starts in the middle and goes both ways. There are flashbacks, and the story is told first from one person's point of view and then another's. There is a surprise around every corner, and each time we get more information we see the bank robbery with new eyes, as it were.The Stickup is a comic adventure/romance/mystery complete with cops, robbers, more cops, a newly-fledged FBI Special Agent, a pretty woman(Leslie Stefanson as Natalie Wright), Our Hero(Spader as John Parker), and two enigmatic Indians. If you happen to see it in the video store, I highly recommend it—it's loads of fun, and despite a couple of plot holes (suspend your disbelief at the door) is ultimately satisfying. The positive vibes from this movie far outweigh the negative. The high speed car chases appeal to the men, and the boy-meets-girl story is for the girls, and the inscrutable Indians are for everyone.The Stickup's low budget does not interfere with its fast-paced story and Spader's wonderful acting—is he a good guy or a bad guy? The mood-setting soundtrack begins as bang-bang stick'em up robbery music over the menu and segues into brassy, 1940s film noir blues as background to the sporadic encounters of Our Hero and the pretty woman ), each more tantalizing. "Damn Right I've got the Blues" plays over their first encounter in the bar, and again over the credits. Original music credited to David Kitay sets the mood throughout.John Livingston, as FBI Special Agent Rick Kendall on his first case as Agent-in-charge, is hilarious in his delight with his first bank robbery and real dye packs. "Wicked!" he says, and "Cool!" He takes such joy in his work, and as the case draws to a close, he is seen talking on his cell phone to his mom.

Although the idea behind this movie is not particularly original, it still has merit - it's a tried and trusted formula which can work well if done correctly.Unfortunately, it doesn't really succeed this time around. The cast tries hard and they all give creditable performances. The directing is competent enough with the action moving up or down in pace at a reasonable level that doesn't throw the storyline around in an unbelievable fashion. The flashbacks are handled well, bringing everything together in a tidy, coherent fashion.But ultimately, the movie fails to really hold the viewer's interest and it makes the cardinal sin in a movie of this type; it fails to produce characters with whom we, the viewers, can identify. Each of the characters is just a little too perfect.However, it's worth watching the first 15 minutes simply for the joke about the Irish guys ;-)

Parker (James Spader) meets Natalie (Leslie Stefanson) in a bar and has one night stand with her. On the next day, the local bank is robbed and Parker is chased and wounded by the police. The FBI rookie agent Rick Kendall (John Livingstone) is assigned for the case. This low budget movie was a great surprise for me. With a screenplay with lots of plot points, and two excellent lead actors (James Spader and John Livingstone), is a very worthwhile entertainment, recommended for fans of police story. The plot is great and the location were this film takes place is very beautiful, with wonderful landscapes. My vote is eight. Title (Brazil): `Perseguição Implacável' (`Implacable Chase')