From: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Subject: REVIEW: SNEAKERS
Reply-To: blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu (Brian L. Johnson)
Organization: ?
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 14:10:31 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.movies
Summary: r.a.m.r. #01596
Keywords: author=K.Johnson

                                 SNEAKERS
                       A film review by Ken Johnson
                        Copyright 1992 Ken Johnson

126 min., PG-13, Action/Comedy, 1992
Director: Phil Alden Robinson
Cast: Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley, Mary McDonnell,
      River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, David Strathairn, Timothy Busfield,
      George Hearn, Eddie Jones, Stephen Tobolowski, James Earl Jones

     Robert Redford is the head of a small business that breaks into
businesses to check their security.  The members are Redford, Dan
Aykroyd, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, and David Strathairn.  Each of
the members have an interesting past.  The National Security Agency
(NSA) requests Redford to find and bring them a black box, which is
being made by a mathematician.  The team finds the box and turns it over
to the NSA.  Redford finds out that the men from the NSA aren't really
from the NSA.  The fake NSA people try to kill Redford's team and the
team has to get back the box.

     SNEAKERS is an excellent film, which in some ways is like the
earlier film WARGAMES.  I highly recommend this film for everybody.
This film won't be in theaters for much longer, so I suggest seeing it
soon.  On a scale of zero to five, I give SNEAKERS a five.  SNEAKERS is
rated PG-13 for explicit language and violence.

     The cast for this film is excellent.  Robert Redford, who, believe
it or not, I have never seen in a film before, is superb.  He makes his
character believable without overacting.  Dan Aykroyd is great and not
in a slapstick role, as he usually is.  His character is magnificent,
and provides most of the comedy.  Nothing is ever made of River
Phoenix's character.  He isn't on the screen for all that long and he
doesn't have much of a speaking role.  His character also doesn't do
much.  Sidney Poitier is outstanding.  I have seen a few of Poitier's
past films and haven't been that impressed by Poitier (then again most
were old films and I am not generally impressed by old films).  In this
film though I really got into his character and enjoyed his acting.
David Strathairn was exceptional as the blind man.  His character was
also basically there for comic relief.  Ben Kingsley, however, I feel
was a miscast.  He tried his best, but I don't think that he fit the
role.  James Earl Jones was completely wasted in a cameo appearance.  He
has good acting talent, but hasn't been using it recently, having only
cameo appearances instead.  I hope that he will take a real role in the
near future.  Mary McDonnell was also not on for much time.  When she
was, though, she did a great job.

     The script and story were perfectly written.  The story moved along
smoothly and was interesting.  The characters, for the most part, were
well developed.  Nobody in the film had moronic lines that no real
person would ever have said.  The direction was excellent.

     This film is a great family film because there is no blood with the
violence and there is minimal profanity.  The story is one that will
entertain the young as well as the old.  All the stars work well
together and appear as if they are enjoying the whole film.  This is one
of the best films I have seen in a long time.

--------
Ken Johnson
blj@mithrandir.cs.unh.edu

Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews