Truly Dreadful Film

Brilliant and touching

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

I think most viewers have missed the point in this very funny serio-comedic 'heist' film. It has a great cast of characters, some very well-done stunts (especially near the end), and had me rolling with laughter in my recliner during most of the film with the dialogue. The comedic lines alone are enough to give a serious viewer moments of hilarity. It was a gas, gas, gas movie and I highly recommend it to viewers with a sense of intelligent humor. If you're very dumb, don't watch it...you'll get confused. Sidney J. Furie, director, and writer Bart Madison, collaborated to produce a genuinely entertaining film in spite of it's low rating. Some of the special-effects are a little over-blown, and sometimes the stunts are often 'relieved' of their actual efforts. Nevertheless, this is a cleverly-done film, with enough action to stir even the most reticent viewer - and enough funny-lines to extract a 'guffaw' from almost anyone who has the guts to watch it.

Good-looking production values here; obviously this thing had a middling decent budget, well used by an efficient, professional director (Sidney J. Furie). Unfortunately, nothing - and I mean NOTHING - here seemed completely new or original. EVERYTHING is a recycled cliché of the crime / revenge drama genre. Disgraced ex-cop (Weller) looking for answers among the crooks who framed him arrives in Las Vegas. He is also trying to reconnect with his estranged ex-wife (Carrere). Did I mention the crime boss who has a grudge against him (Hopper)? The problem isn't any one of these elements, it's all of them. There is just nothing new here. Peter Weller can carry a picture, and Tia Carrere makes a gorgeous object of desire and longing, plus Dennis Hopper makes a good villain, but we have seen them all do that before. The script gives them no new business, and over-familiar character types to work with. Every plot twist has been used before, every segment has a familiar feel to it. Las Vegas looks great and is well used visually as a setting, but I already mentioned that this is a professional, slick looking production. I found myself almost shouting at the screen to give me something I hadn't seen before. Didn't happen. Tia Carrere's cheekbones were the only things that kept me watching all the way to the end.Not bad at all, but unless you are completely new to the crime drama genre, you will be hard pressed to find anything much entertaining here.

There was something missing in this movie. Cheesy script, slow moving story, coupled with big budget effects and a cheesy ending. It could've been just the right kind of mindless shoot-em up action that Peter Weller and others in this film are perfect for. But, it wasn't.This is the story of an ex-convict being released from prison the same day he and his wife are driving to Vegas to get a divorce. Unbeknownst to him, she's been in a relationship with an arrogant (but seemingly nice) casino and hotel owner who's casino is ironically being robbed (and not very well) of millions on the same night. This heist seems to go on forever and with a mounting body count of both the perpetrators and those trying to stop them, and once the owner's sidekick gets wind of it and the feds get involved, Peter Weller (1/2 of the soon-to-be-divorced spouses), who just wins a slot jackpot and wants to put the winnings in his wife's name, becomes a convenient scapegoat. Thus, this unbelievable cat-and-mouse chase beings. Only, the things that follow always seem just so convenient and without any real suspense.The ending, of course, was the most laughable part with Weller, Carrerra (who plays his wife), and Hopper (who plays the owner) all duking it out on the wall of the Hoover Dam.

Ex-cop Ray Mercer gets released from jail and is picked up by his estranged wife Rebecca. She is now seeing casino boss Charles Atlas and they stop off at one of his casinos on the ride to a cheap hotel for Ray. When in the casino Ray idly plays the games with his last few dollars and wins the jackpot. However before he can collect his money the casino is robbed – leaving Ray not only trying to get his prize money but mistaken as part of the gang. With double crosses and shootouts all over the place, all Ray wants is his winnings.This promises much – look at the cast to see the potential. However what it delivers can be summed up buy it's weak plot. The story essentially sees Ray Mercer put in lots of action scenes – using the thinnest of excuses to keep the story moving. For example Ray jumps onto an armoured car and hangs on the roof, the truck then crashes and drives through a huge explosion – but Ray is unharmed. Likewise, we have the bad guys who do the robbery spend the whole film running round the hotel killing everyone looking for a way out – but yet the armed police on the ground floor cant seem to catch them!To be fair, the spectacle is good – but it's bangs without substance. The action is OTT – does no one ever run out of bullets? The action has no real tension or excitement to it and is really dull – if you just want guns then you might like this, but really it's a poor action movie.It's a shame because they managed to get a great cast on board. Weller and Tia Carrere are OK names and give OK performances. But add to that names like Dennis Hopper and Joe Pantoliano and you've got a good cast. Unfortunately none of them have anything to work with at all. The support cast also has plenty of familiar faces but again they are little more than cardboard cutouts who are there to get shot at or shoot people. These include Tagawa (from Mortal Kombat), Kove (Karate Kid, Cagney & Lacey), Peter Coyote (Sphere, Patch Adams).Overall this is really daft plotting at it's worst. The action fails to ignite any interest and the whole think flops badly. What a way to waste a great cast – the director has been making films since the 50's – has he learnt nothing in all that time?