Charlie Sheen stars as "Ditch" Brodie, a daredevil and skydiving instructor whose latest student is the eager Chris Morrow (Nastassja Kinski). He's horrified when she seems to perish on her very first jump, and he's soon plunged into international intrigue. Proving that he wasn't neglectful and that he didn't let her die will not be his main worry. He will have to dodge attempts on his life by crazed goons who are former members of the KGB.
The screenplay by David Twohy (future director of such things as the "Riddick" film series) is patently ridiculous. You have to shake your head and laugh, but the good thing is that Twohy and director Deran Sarafian ("Death Warrant") are clearly never taking themselves 100% seriously to begin with. It's too bad that Sarafian, the son of cult filmmaker Richard Sarafian ("Vanishing Point"), didn't enjoy more commercial success in Hollywood, because here he proved that he had the chops to handle a mainstream action thriller. The airborne stunts and various set pieces are quite fun, and there's always plenty of gunfire and explosions to ensure that attention spans are maintained.
Sheen is decent enough as our hero, a more or less average Joe obliged to help save the day. Part of whatever strength the movie has, though, rests on Kinskis' capable shoulders. She really gives it her all. (And, of course, looks very sexy throughout.) James Gandolfini has an early role here, showing off that screen presence that helped the late actor to become a star a few years later. Christopher McDonald is fun as a psycho villain, although he does admittedly look rather silly with that bleached blonde hair. It's also nice to see Melvin Van Peebles and Rance Howard in small roles. Margaret Colin appears unbilled as Jo.
This is the kind of thing that does entertain the viewer provided they don't want to think about it too much. It's basically B fare with an A level budget.
Seven out of 10.
The screenplay by David Twohy (future director of such things as the "Riddick" film series) is patently ridiculous. You have to shake your head and laugh, but the good thing is that Twohy and director Deran Sarafian ("Death Warrant") are clearly never taking themselves 100% seriously to begin with. It's too bad that Sarafian, the son of cult filmmaker Richard Sarafian ("Vanishing Point"), didn't enjoy more commercial success in Hollywood, because here he proved that he had the chops to handle a mainstream action thriller. The airborne stunts and various set pieces are quite fun, and there's always plenty of gunfire and explosions to ensure that attention spans are maintained.
Sheen is decent enough as our hero, a more or less average Joe obliged to help save the day. Part of whatever strength the movie has, though, rests on Kinskis' capable shoulders. She really gives it her all. (And, of course, looks very sexy throughout.) James Gandolfini has an early role here, showing off that screen presence that helped the late actor to become a star a few years later. Christopher McDonald is fun as a psycho villain, although he does admittedly look rather silly with that bleached blonde hair. It's also nice to see Melvin Van Peebles and Rance Howard in small roles. Margaret Colin appears unbilled as Jo.
This is the kind of thing that does entertain the viewer provided they don't want to think about it too much. It's basically B fare with an A level budget.
Seven out of 10.