After seeing this version of Get Carter and the original, I think they are both good in their own way. I don't think you can hate the new version and like the old version. They are both so similar that you can't hate the new one. You can prefer the old to the new though. Personally I like the new Get Carter more. I thought the original was good though. Michael Caine was good in his way. Sly Stallone was good in his own way.

The Stallone remake of Get Carter could've been a lot better. It is really the director's fault if it was weak. You can blame the writer too. Some lines were pretty lousy. I think it is safe to say that the directing and writing wasn't very good. You can blame them, but you can not blame Stallone. He did the best he could with what he got. I think he was perfect for this kind of Jack Carter. Not a dark one, but a good one. Stallone's Carter is one that is trying to do something right for once in his life. All his life he was a bad guy on the wrong side of the tracks, but now he's going home and he's trying to make things right. Like Caine's Carter, he's not leaving until he finds out who killed his brother. No matter what, he's going to make sure they pay.

Then when he finds out what happened to his niece that really sets him off and drives him even further. Everyone responsible for the murder of Richie and rape of Doreen is going to pay. I found that scene on the rooftop with Jack and his niece to be very touching. He was telling her how it wasn't her fault and Rachel Leigh Cook really did come off as a girl that was raped.

People have a problem with Jack living in the end of this one. But what they don't realize is, Get Carter is like a western. The stranger rides in to town, makes the bad guys pay and then rides off into the sunset when his work is done. It makes you feel a lot better knowing that Jack made all of the bad guys pay and finally found redemption in the end. I hated the ending to the original because of how it just came out of nowhere. It made no sense. It was almost like they put that in there because they were forced into it. Michael Caine's Jack Carter did wrong and he still had to pay for it. Michael Caine did show in one scene that his Jack did have a heart. When he sees Doreen being raped in that porn film, you can see him shedding tears. Stallone did not shed tears in the new version, but at that point he was angry and out for blood. He did get a little emotional on the rooftop with Doreen though. In the Caine version he never does see Doreen again. There was more of a relationship between Jack and Doreen and I liked that. In the new version you also got to see where Richie's wife and daughter were coming from when Jack shows up after years. I never did get that feeling in the original. I liked this movie and I think if people give it a chance they will like it too. The director and writer did almost ruin it. If not for the whole foundation of the story and for Sylvester Stallone, the movie wouldn't be good. Personally I like Sylvester Stallone. When you see his wonderful Rocky movies you can tell the guy's got some heart. I never will forget him for making those Rocky movies that I grew up watching and loving. Some day I would like to meet Sylvester Stallone.

By no means is this movie as good as Stallone's classics. But it is almost as good as his decent action movies that came out in the 90's. This movie isn't up there with Rambo IV. But if Sylvester Stallone had directed this movie and wrote it, it could've been a hell of a lot better. Stallone has been approached to star in and direct a Death Wish remake. You have no reason to worry if it happens. Stallone will be in the director's chair this time. Not Stephen Kay.


I remember the 1971 version of "Get Carter", well this version of it I would say I like the best. At both versions have one thing in common, Michael Caine. Unlike the first one, Sly Stallone is the main character, Jack Carter. His look for the movie is way cool, and I like the way he handled things. When the details were of the underground world, no one handles the problems the way Carter does. There's plenty of car chases, shooting, and of course killing some, Carter does all that. In this version of the movie Michael Caine plays the character Cliff Brumby. I think it's fair enough that the original star should have his place in a remake. I know why the critics put down this movie so hard. To me, I wouldn't let get to me, for the way I see it, I enjoyed it very well. Making the promises is always something for everyone to keep, Carter doesn't back out or down to anything. This is one remake I think is very good, I see what I like, and everything else is good entertainment. Rating 4 out of 5 stars.


Sylvester Stallone's career took a turn for the worst here with "Get Carter," a dry action film about revenge. Jack Carter returns home to his brother's funeral and decides to solve the mystery surrounding his brother's death. Perhaps the only thing interesting about the film is the friendship made between Jack and his niece, but even this is marred by a plot twist that's handled with such discomfort that it doesn't seem to belong in a movie with the Italian Stallion. Also starring Michael Caine, from the original "Get Carter," and the ever-so-versatile Alan Cumming, I really expected more from this movie. But the film loses its steam after the opening credits.


I saw the original on TV years ago when I was a kid. The movie had to be edited down for TV viewing, because some of it was too graphic. The film was dark, noir and a bit Avant garde. Caine's acting was creepy and strangely sadistic and evil. Yet it was a bit hard to accept Caine as a tough guy.

Stallone rebounds in this thoughtful remake. He's a different kind of actor than Caine, perhaps not as eloquent, but definitely more convincingly tough. Sly's Carter has a heart, soft spot so to speak. Caine's Carter was a sadistic pig with barely any redeeming quality. Both versions work in their own way, however. But I'm glad Sly chose this project. See both versions for yourself and decide.


Great for this kind of movie - Stallone wasn't invincible & did some fine acting - His introspection choosing humanity did not come off as corny & I felt his character was very likable.

Mickey Rourke keeps alive the question of whether he is crazier on screen or off - Will he grow up & become Christopher Walken later in life?

Miranda & Rachel both get A's for acting outside the stereotype - I'd like to give the little French girl a bite at her spot of specification - The film's dialogue was better than usual as was all its writing.

No gaffs, major or minor - I enjoyed this remake more than its original, which was also worth viewing in my opinion but just didn't get my involvement or support as much as this one - I'd stay up late to watch this one again.


When the movie starts, you hear pretentious music. Sylveser Stallone is on a funeral with his classy sunglasses and his designer suit. This all wants to look full of promise. It is already way to obvious. The director is still in the conviction that he can move his audience with these simple and obvious tricks. This does not work, at least not with a critical public that has seen some more movies.

Sylvester Stallone plays the part of Jack Carter, performed before by Micheal Caine who stars in this movie as well. Jack Carter is mad because his brother has been culled by either Jeremy Kinnear (Alan Cumming) or Cyrus Paice (Mickey Rourke). He wants of course, as it behooves a real hero, immediate retaliation. He is going to scare Jeremy and Cyrus. Our stalwart fellow gets in his beautiful Cadillac, puts his gun in his pocket and drives to the victims he is going to take care of. Actually that is what the story is about. We should not forget the girl, performed by Rachael Leigh Cook.

Almost everything about this movie is bad. The story is as shallow as a baby tub, the dialogs are awful and the acting is brazenly bad. Sylvester Stallone plays his worst part ever. Stallone must be either Rambo or Rocky, but not Jack Carter. This man is not able to express emotions. Throughout the whole movie he plays the tough guy, right in the middle however he is this sensitive man who can cry as well. I can't even remember why he actually cried, but it was about something silly. Stallone is a strong man who can run after bears and shoot with bazookas, but he is absolutely not apt to play a normal human being with feelings.

The dialogs are horrible. It goes approximately like this: Doreen: Why did you leave when your mother died? Jack: Just because, what is your favorite color? Doreen: Pink, yours? Jack: Blue. Doreen: Why? Jack: Just because.

The dialog is as thin as paper. When something is stated, the actors just do not go any deeper. The questions are answered briefly and then the dialog continues with another silly question.

Mickey Rourke does, except for his muscles, not add anything to the movie. His dialog is shallow as well, he is the tough guy who should be removed by Jack 'the man' Carter.

Of the actors are not culpable of the bad dialogs. It must be terrible to star in a movie which is directed by such an ignorant director. You must earn your money however, otherwise there will be no bread in the cupboard.


This action-drama is never really a thriller. That's because the mostly predictable storyline revolves around one man's desire for revenge. Jack Carter (Sylvester Stallone), a trained killer, spends a third of his journey using violence to learn the truth of his brother's death. The other two thirds he spends inflicting death on those he deems responsible for the younger Carter's demise.

The dynamic between Carter's niece, Doreen, and Jack does play out beautifully. But more of the screenplay could have been devoted to this relationship. Instead, the writer makes sure that it's just enough to justify Stallone's gun-toting or fist-wielding ways.

I began to question the realism of this film early on. For one thing, we never hear a police siren until the final seconds of the movie. Enough people lose their life in this film, that this makes Carter's ho-hum killing spree seem pretty unbelievable. That makes the rest of this flick come tumbling down, since old-fashioned justice is the point of the film.


From Stephen T. Kay (of "The Shield" fame) comes a Get Carter 're-make', but viewers shouldn't treat this as a re-make of the film - rather a modern re-interpretation of the book "Jack's Return Home" (1970). The basic premise is the same, an injustice followed by revenge - but this film is an excellent work in it's own separate right. The limited connections between the films are the book, the film title and a few references to the 1971 film (and Caine's presence in both). There is a lot of "film snobbery" out there about Stallone and it's true that he's had his fair share of c*** films, but this isn't one of them. His acting would put a lot of people to shame, in fact it's a superb performance (also see "Copland"). His presence dominates his scenes, only Caine and Mickey Rourke's presence competes. The supporting actors are very good too and the storyline is such that if you blink you'll miss the thread. People who say "I didn't get it", frankly just need to see the film again. It definitely deserves multiple viewings. Also, look how many comments the film has - always a good guide as to whether a film has made an impact or not - twice as many as the original and 2/3 as many as Taxi Driver.....

Not to mention the film is beautifully shot, brilliantly edited and has a Greeaaat soundtrack!


Because the original, with Caine as Carter, was so good, I thought that this would be an interesting update. Change the country to the U.S. and Seattle becomes the city "up north."

Stallone mumbles his way through the movie. Plot is impossible to follow. No need for the teen-age daughter to have her dark secrets. Evidently the story is supposed to lead us to a Bill Gates type. Not good.

Good to see Michael Caine though.

I own the original. Would never watch this again. In the original Caine was shot for his troubles. Stallone should be shot for botching up a terrific idea.


.... But that`s probably because I was expecting the worst movie ever made . This remake of the classic Brit thriller is far from being the worst movie ever made but it is rather substandard . Director Stephen Kay seems to have been influenced by MTV and this shows up in his directing , a funeral scenes is accompanied by a Moby song , a punch up is accompanied by Rush Holme With Love by Mint Royale ( A track that seems to be to film soundtracks this decade what Voodoo Chile was to film soundtracks the last decade ) while the final sequence closes with a track from Grove Armada . I do confess I do like MTV but if you don`t you`ll hate this directing style .

There`s two aspects to the script that I disliked . One is the dialogue that tries to be super cool with lines like " Hold on there slick , all of a sudden you`re the f***in` good guy " and " We`ll take it to another level " which sounds false and unconvincing . The other is changes made to the original 1971 movie . I won`t spoil it for you but nearly everything from bleak original has been changed to a completely inferior story . If you liked the way everything worked in the original you`ll dislike the way everything plays out here

The cast are very uneven and strangely for a thriller it`s the female cast members that give the best performances especially Rachael Leigh Cook and Miranda Richardson . It goes without saying Sly fails as a violent anti hero while Alan Cumming is very annoying and camp . Mickey Rourke spends the entire movie posing , John McGinley seems to be on speed while Michael Caine makes little impression .

This remake isn`t as bad as some people have made out though it`s not nearly as good as the original . I give it four out of ten


What a waste of time! With a cast like Stallone, John C. McGinley, Alan Cumming and Michael Caine, it seemed a shoe-in to be a great movie. Instead, it's slow and pretentious, while at the same time directed as if it were Charlies Angels or The Matrix, with clip-and-snip editing and messy camera work. Everything about this movie is garbage. In fact, I have wasted enough time watching, I shall not waste anymore writing about it.


The fact that this movie was remade, that is. There are only two simple facts for this: either this movie is one bad remake or the first one just sucked to start with. I won't know until I see the original will I, but, presuming the story is pretty much the same I have trouble getting why the later was so infamous. There were no real surprises, everything was obviously clear from the start. The only thing this movie has going for itself is Stallone's cool beard, some nice chicks(Rhona Mitra is breathtaking) and some cool music. The rest is a puzzle of mostly boring action, bad story pace and one liners Stallone's character has to use twice just to show how dumb and uninventive he is. Oh, also a really bad performance by Alan Cumming and some scenes which include Stallone's love interest that have no sense and point to them or the movie at all. 4/10


Why can't Carter live his own life instead of being barked at by his sister in-law about not being home to hold his brother's hand over the past years? That was an early annoyance on his hectic quest to find his brother's killer. Also: why can't a grown-up women (his niece) who chose to take drugs and have sex with a man and another woman settle for what she had done? Actually, she took that decision better than Carter; cause Carter, being a professional thug, and not being open minded on the matters that women are fickle, had to take the action she participated in as a rape; which he then took action against the man he considered a rapist. He took action against his colleagues from Las Vegas who had trailed him to Seattle because of his own intervention with adultery. (It's okay for Carter to involve himself in bad decisions but anyone else). Eventually he gets to the man who killed his brother, and has a vigorous fist fight to his hearts content. (Which was not too bad of a scene. Better than a shootout). Unfortunately, Hollywood being as it is nowadays, cast a geek as the billionaire who is indirectly involved with the brother's murder; but other than that particular miscast the other characters were in form. Not really too bad as a remake. My personal choice though would have been to have Mickey Rourke as Carter.


How bad is this film??? How bad is Chinese water torture or the Spanish Inquisition. The modern day equivalent to these beauties would be forcing someone to watch 'Get Carter' over and over again. It was terrible from start to finish and I cannot say a single good thing about it except the ensemble cast was interesting and one or two of the cast did their best to salvage the wreck. 2/10


The writing wasn't bad. The direction and editing were. Camera tricks to simulate the surreality of the events was gratuitous, gimmicky, and simply didn't work. It just came across as cute. It interfered in the flow of the movie by interjecting technique over substance. Too bad, it could have been much better.


When I went to see this movie, part of me was expecting an hour and a half of Bush bashing. That can be fun every once and again but what surprised me about this movie was the fact that it looked at both sides of the election. The Kerry/Edwards campaign was represented and so was the Bush/Cheney campaign. No one side was made out to look like it was perfect. Faults were shown on both sides and high points were shown on both sides.

As far as cinema goes, I thought this was a great film. When I left the theater, I was physically tired as a result of what I had just watched. The viewer gets so much information in this relatively short span of time. The film itself is well organized and well constructed, without too much bias (would it really be possible to have a film be completely without bias?).

Whatever your political stance, this is a film that can be appreciated for the questions it raises: questions about political strategy, specifically. Because it does not take a pro-Bush or pro-Kerry stance, it can appeal to everyone.


Very entertaining. It's clever, lots of good personalities on camera, the editing is witty.

As a Democrat, a bitter pill to swallow.

While I appreciated the focus on campaign strategy, it was impossible for me to sit through this without thinking about the murkier questions surrounding this event. I left feeling that the filmmakers had to turn a blind eye to those questions in order to get the story they were after. I suspect it would be a deeper film if they had explored the chaos created by the surprises of the campaign.

line 10


This is a fascinating political documentary that focuses on the 2004 electoral campaign, in which one wealthy patrician convinced the electorate that he would be more fun to drink a beer with than the other wealthy patrician. The most revealing parts, however, come towards the end of the film, when we see massively long lines of African-American voters waiting to cast their ballot whilst Anglo voters waltz into the polling place and vote within seconds. There's also an intriguing clip that passes without comment: a group of white college students wielding Bush-Cheney signs chant 'O.J. was guilty' at a group of black college students. Nothing could sum up the unspoken truth about American 'race relations' and the national predominance of the Republican Party better than this fleeting scene.


The film attempts to show the cutthroat decisiveness of one of the last vestiges of electoral battling in the 2004 Presidential race between Senator Kerry and the incumbent, President George W. Bush. The film follows the tales of three "characters": Miles Gerety-a carryover political activist from the 1960s movements, Evan-a 26 year old college student who believes that he can be a force of change in the political machine, and Leslie-a grass roots activist who takes the election to heart and gives the campaign everything she has. Miles and Evan have the majority of the screen time, and are both Democrats. The concept of the film is the reigning political philosophy that the heartland of America is the truest test of the fabric of the American public consciousness. The title of the movie is in fact, a variable of a political stance that exemplifies that theory"As goes Ohio, so goes the nation." The filmmakers therefore follow the three campaigners across the state, from Cleveland to Cincinnati and even to the small, aptly named town of Middleburg, located in the heart of the state. Through documentary style footage, news footage and interviews, we are led through the tension and struggle that was the 2004 election. The film spans only 12 days prior to the election, yet traverses far more issues and miles in its travel. Stern and Deo attempt to work the documentary genre into an entertaining piece of work. The intention is to follow in the footsteps of the great political documentaries that came before them. Unfortunately however, the editing choice to attempt to bring the project to a level greater than the sum of its parts leaves the film feeling far more like a rallying cry for the Democrats than a non-partisan expose of the door to door and hand to hand politics of other film. Nation attempts to find the middle ground between the gritty realism of Street Fight with the intensity and drama of The War Room. There are indeed moments of rallies, door to door campaigning and even the occasional shouting match, but the overall effect of the editing is more Fahrenheit 911 than a true documentary. The fact that Michael Moore is featured speaking at a rally for the Democratic Party does nothing to dispel this notion. Much of the films actual campaign footage focuses on "guerrilla tactics" that the Republican Party used to entice those registered with their party to vote "appropriately". Those who fail to agree to vote with the party line are set up to be "revisited in a few days". The film is biased not only in its presentation of evidence regarding the electoral process of 2004, but even in the amount of time given to each party, or "character". While Miles and Evan's work receives lengthy screen time, Leslie's campaign activities on screen can literally be measured in seconds. The film is distinct, clear and focusedon its own agenda. Whether the filmmakers set out to make a rally cry for the Dems or simply made honest editing mistakes remains to be seen, but Hillary and Obama should certainly add this film to their volunteer packages for 2008.


Story of the 2004 Presidential Campaign between incumbent President GW Bush and Democratic challenger John F. Kerry which, in the opinion of many political observers, Kerry and the Democratic Party let slip right through their fingers and ended up on the losing end of the vote.

The film follows John Kerry's winning the Democratic Party's nomination for President in Boston in July to his self destruction over the next four months when he blew a double digit lead in the polls against President Bush to end up losing in the November elections by 50.7 % to 48.3 % of the popular vote! Thus legitimizing Bush's 2000 victory in which he won the electoral but lost the popular vote to his Democratic Party opponent for president Al Gore.

Despite Kerry's outstanding, to Bush's non-existent, military record in Vietnam the Republican strategists, headed by Karl Rove, actually used it against him in falsifying it by claiming that all his medals were somehow fraudulent especially Kerry's three Purple Hearts! Kerry reacted to these false charges by mostly ignoring them which lead many voters to feel that they were actually true which they weren't!

This "swift boat" smear campaign by the Republicans had Kerry going on the defensive for the remainder of the Presidential Campaign as his lead in the polls evaporated together with his claims of being a genuine war hero! John Kerry who was a hero in Vietnam now turned out to be a first class wimp, by letting Bush & the Republicans step all over him, when running for the highest office in the land.

On Election Day 2004 it looked like Kerry was going to pull it out and win the Presidency for the Democratic Party with him, for once, leading in a number of key states that he needed to win the White House. The most crucial state being the Buckeye state of Ohio with its 20 electoral votes. It was also Ohio that the Republicans targeted with a massive get out the vote campaign which the Democrats failed to match. The Republicans-who politically controlled the state- also bottled up a number of key Democratic precincts, with disruptive poll watchers and a lack of voting machines. As it turned out the final results in Ohio mirrored the elections total 50 state results with Bush besting Kerry, after being behind in the early voting by as much as 28%, 50.7% to 48.3%.

What the film "So Goes the Nation" made crystal clear is how the Democrats blew an election that they were sure to win by smugly trying to take the high road in winning it. Politics is a dirty business and to win in it you've got to pull out all stops in pounding your opponent into submission just short of ending up, like Richard M. Nixon, breaking the law.

The Republican strategy was to attack Kerry's strong points like his service in Vietnam and have him defend it as if it was detrimental not positive in him getting elected president. The Kerry people let Bush off the hook in defending their candidate's brilliant war record while Bush who did everything to avoid serving in the war ended up getting a free ride.

These attacks on Kerry had the public, especially in Ohio, overlook the downturn in the economy and the disastrous Iraqi War which if brought out by Kerry and the Democratic Party would have easily given Kerry the Presidency! In the end the clueless, in how to win a Presidential Election, Democratic Party proved that famous saying "Good Guys Finish last" which they by trying to be goody two shoes, and letting themselves get kicked all over the place, totally turned the American public against them! All these political miscalculations by Kerry and the Democratic Party had GW Bush voted in for a second term by the majority of the American voters which in retrospect turned out to be against, for most of those who voted for him, their best interest!


The movie fails to transcend the screen, and stays simply as a piece of film, a point in history.

The movie focuses on a group of people attempting to change the outcome of Ohio in the 2004 Presidential Election. The film presents, in the beginning, the views of exclusively democrats, but gradually things open up.

The movie's true fault lies in the fact the only take aways one has from the film are factual and concrete, no ideas to be applied to other situations. But in documenting the lives of these individuals during the 2004 race the movie succeeds.

So Goes the Nation is movie for the truly politically motivated or those interested in the 2004 Pres. Election. 7/10


This show was a family favorite when I was growing up. As much as a TV show can, it influenced my perception of the grown-up world in general and of New Yorkers in particular.

Seen today, it is like an American time capsule. Its nonstop parade of personalities of all types amounts to a wonderful snapshot of what America was like at the time. It is still greatly entertaining, but has acquired the additional virtue of being a sort of history lesson. What's My Line and To Tell the Truth provide some of that that too, but they don't compare to this crazy freeform show where anything could happen.

Its format, or lack of it, was a perfect match for Steve Allen, and the later shows where he was the host are every bit as much fun as the Garry Moore shows, in my opinion.

If you have any interest at all in what entertainment was like for previous generations, you should include this show in your travels.


Vet Hard, the debut of the 25 year old director Tim Oliehoek, is a definite thrill. Throughout the entire movie, you will be bombarded with nasty, but pretty effective jokes, loads of one liners and all sorts of other fun n weird stuff.

The characters are also pretty wacky, ranging from a fat woman hating tough guy, to a necrophiliac serial killer. Even though we do not really get involved with these characters, its hardly an annoyance, as the movie is pretty much focused on the action scenes. These scenes have been done very well, especially for a dutch movie, some might even say that a certain chase in this movie, has the same sort of excitement level, as amsterdamned once had with the speedboat chase. Again, even though there is a lot more heavier stuff coming from Hollywood, for dutch standards, its pretty wild.

The story isn't very original as well, yet its brought with such enthusiasm and you can see that the actors all had a great time. The little cameos of a lot of dutch celebs is fun as well, and are guaranteed some laughs.

I definitely recommend this film, as it is one of the better dutch comedies and features some great and hilarious (action) scenes.

Regarding the director Tim Oliehoek, i think we will be seeing a lot more from this guy!


I went to see Vet hard (or as it is called in Belgium 'volle gas' ) with expectations that weren't too high. My experience with former dutch attempts at action movies, especially the ones as far back as the 'flodder' movies and other dick maas attempts like 'amsterdamned', were not too good. And the trailer of vet hard did not promise any improvement.

What a sigh of relief I could breathe when I watched the movie! The story is erratic and makes no sense at times, but the movie does not aspire or pretend to be a feat of high story telling ability. Instead it focuses on it's best assets; fun action sequences which are exhilarating at times, despite the limited budget, and slapstick-like humor provided by a fantastic Jack Wouterse in the role of 'Bennie' and Peter van den Begin as 'Vuk'.

The acting overall ranges from adequate to excellent, the best being provided by Kurt Rogiers who portrays a necrophiliac serial-rapist in a way that he is almost likable. Jack Wouterse plays a convincing and extremely funny overweight Bennie and carries the role of the main character well. I wasn't too exited by the acting of Bracha van Doesburgh however, who looks great, but, as a fist timer tries her best to portray her character as believable as possible but fails in doing so at times.

All in all Vet Hard has it's weak points, a lot of them actually, but it is easy to forgive them. The movie was made with love and care and it is clearly visible the cast had a lot of fun making it.

An 8 out of 10


"Vet hard" or "Volle gas" as it is called in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium (don't ask me why they changed the title, we speak exactly the same language as in Holland, so why shouldn't we understand it?) is certainly not the most original movie, but it is great fun for a night out with some friends. If you are a fan of the French movies Taxi, Taxi 2 and Taxi 3, than this is definitely another movie that you should see.

In this movie we follow Bennie, a fat, women hating snack bar owner who has been in jail for a failed robbery on a jeweler's shop. When he gets out of jail he finds out that his foster father Mast is dying and that there are only two options to save him. One is the liver of a person with the same blood type or even better a relative, the other option is an operation in Bolivia, but that will cost an enormous amount of money.

Mast tells Bennie that he has a son of his own called Koen, who has to spend his time in a Belgian jail. It is his last wish to see him once again before dying. This gives Bennie an idea. He'll get his half brother out of jail, kill him and bring his liver to the hospital so his foster dad can be helped with it. But when the time has come to kill Koen, Bennie can't do it anymore, because he started to like Koen too much. So now they have only one option: commit some crimes to raise money and save for the trip to South America.

The acting is OK. The Belgian as well as the Dutch actors all did a very good job, even though I never expected to see some of them in this kind of movie (for instance Kurt Rogiers an Peter Van den Begin). The story is nice, although it sometimes fails a bit when it wants to offer "too much story". This kind of movies doesn't need as much story as it needs action and jokes and that's where it sometimes went a bit wrong. And you better don't expect to see the most original movie either, because than this will be one big disappointment. This movie has been made with only one intention and that is to make as much fun as possible and to keep the audience laughing at regular times. And that's exactly where this movie has succeeded. It does make you laugh, especially during the car chase (In my opinion that's one of the most hilarious scenes in the movie). I really liked what I saw and I give it a 7.5/10.


"Vet Hard", a remake of the Danish movie "Old men in new cars", is one of the very few action movies to come out of the Netherlands, and because of this it was received quite enthusiastically by the Dutch press. For once, the Dutch press was actually right. While it certainly isn't very original, it's a lot more fun than the somewhat awkward Danish original, and it's a great action comedy in its own right.

The story of "Vet Hard" revolves around ex-con Benny, who, upon getting out of jail, discovers that his friend and mentor Mast is terminally ill, and can only be saved by a new liver. Together with Mast's necrophiliac son and a girl who takes the term "femme fatale" a little too seriously (she constantly tries to kill herself) he tries his best to obtain the precious organ to save him, which leads to lots of car chases, random destruction and slapstick violence.

This kind of thing has been done dozens of times before, but not often this well. Just about everything works in this movie. First of all, it's very fast-paced, with the action sequences and jokes succeeding each other rapidly. The action is decidedly over-the-top, with lots of cartoony violence, people getting crushed under falling objects, etc. It all works perfectly since the movie fortunately doesn't take itself seriously at all. There are lots of very politically incorrect jokes (hey, it's a Dutch movie, what did you expect) that some might consider tasteless, but somehow the vast majority of the jokes work, and the amount of real "toilet humor" (as often seen in American comedies) is kept to a minimum. As an added bonus, many celebrity Dutchmen/women appear in cameos, and often meet their end in gruesome and hilarious manners.

On top of that, the actors all do a very good job. Jack Wouterse is great as the main character Benny, Bracha van Doesburgh makes a great debut as the suicidal girl, and even typical soap/teen movie actors like Kurt Rogiers and Johhny de Mol do a decent enough job. The funniest character, however, is eastern-European handyman Vuk (Peter van den Begin), who constantly manages to short-circuit, immolate, or blow up things (or people, for that matter). It's not sophisticated, but it works.

Well, what else is there to say? This certainly isn't a deep or thought-provoking movie, or one that you will remember for years, so there's really not that much more to talk about. Suffice it to say that "Vet Hard" succeeds marvelously at what it attempts to do, and while it lasts its damned fine entertainment.

***1/2 out of *****


This is , for me, the best comedy ever from Holland!! Its really funny and strongly entertaining, you will not believe what you see sometimes... Our neighbors gave us many many hours of good movies, i also like "Amsterdamed" or "Flodder" but this is very Good. Its for a bunch of people sitting around your TV and drinking beer or something like that... I don't know this original Film "old men in new cars" so...don't think twice if you can catch this movie in a videostore!!!! I hope to see many more films from this young dutch guy. Maybe Hollywood need some more dutch people like Verhoeven or DE Bont?? Great actors, great camera and very very unique characters what do you want more?


Well, I read in some of the reviews here that the story is not really highly original and that is indeed true. However, it is not that strange, since this movie is a Dutch re-make from the Danish movie "Old Men in New Cars", something most viewers seem to have missed. Not having seen the original I can't compare the two and maybe that is for the better, because often a re-make loses it from the original, simply for that is not the original.

Vet Hard is a good debut from new Dutch director Tim Oliehoek. It doesn't have any pretensions, other then to just simply entertain and that it certainly does. Jack Wouterse is perfectly casted as Bennie, the main character and also the rest of the cast is adequate. The movie evolves around some nice action sequences and slapstick humor and all in all this makes for an entertaining experience. Not a top 250 of all time movie, but good enough for a nice and relaxed evening.


My God, what a rip-off! Dutch comedy at its lowest level, with your fair share of unfunny slapstick, simplistic misogynism and very stupid jokes. Even Luc Besson has not ever sunk to this level...

Can you blame the actors? Well, no second-rate soap actor would of course refuse a part in such a blockbuster, but I must say that I was disappointed by the fact that Jack Wouterse (who was magnificent in Temmink) accepted his part. Is it so hard to get a decent role these days? Or did he just misread the script?

The only reason why I give this movie 2/10 instead of 1/10 is the aircraft scene, which was quite spectacular. So just watch the aircraft scene and move on to some thing else.


I bought this movie on a DVD. After a big promotional campaign and not that bad scores on IMDb (normally quite accurate)I felt it would be worth the couple of bucks this would cost.

O my GOD. It is not even worth one cent.

As so many times before in dutch TV and Cinema the old trick of casting some young soap actors and/ or (local music television) presenters has been used to promote this movie. Mostly they have no talent what so ever. Take Johnny the Mol. He is the Dutch Torry Spelling. Father is a billionaire TV producer. But he can not act to safe his live. As a fact I have not ever seen any talents in this kid what so ever. Still he is very popular with young girls and some young boys I am sure.

So someone is pushing the right buttons.

I must say that this also did work for this movie. It has been all over the press. -Must be some good PR team for this one, maybe the same as Johhny?.- Anyway. The story, the actors, the dialog the, plot, the effects, the directing is all so cheesy you will not believe. I could not bare it for longer than an hour.

If you buy or want to watch this movie anyway. Be prepared to be disappointed. For this will happen. "Vet Hard" zelfs and that's a guarantee.

If you do watch this movie. And hate it, as I did. Please help to spare others the disappointment and vote. Also give input for the reviews that are honest and not from the producers and other makers.

For in my mind there is no other possibility than this for some of the good reviews up here.


Stuff like this makes you want to ralph big time. It's unbelievable how people invest money and time in a project like this. The acting is abominable, it's a disgrace how actors like Kürt Rogiers even make a living, and trust me, they are well off! By making crap like this they sustain the low level of B-movies being produced in Belgium and The Netherlands and then they wonder how come Belgian films aren't that successful or aren't being appreciated... The director is an utter moron, the plot stinks; it's not even funny to a five-year-old. For those of you who read a review that this film is enjoyable for those who enjoyed Taxi(which is the only reason I watched this piece of crap), forget it. It is nothing like Taxi, movies like this should never see daylight, I'm ashamed to be Belgian when I see this horrible piece of filth. A complete and utter waste of time. Unbelievable how this gets funded, how this gets a 6,5 average on IMDb, if this were a non-paying service, everyone would be able to vote and it's score would be sub-zero.


I quit the movie after 36 minutes so one might think it is unfair to judge. Its just that by that time the Dutch team got so far behind the Danish original ("old men in new cars") there was no chance to make up the deficit. I did not know that I'm going to see a remake from the beginning so I just felt a little uncomfortable when Vuk was introduced. But soon they made clear whom they are going to challenge. From now on I couldn't help but to compare with the original. All of a sudden the actors appeared to be amateurish impostors. You might have experienced the situation someone's telling a joke that is not only well known but also badly presented. What a shame. Such a disgraceful defeat should not be published.


This movie is horrible, the dutch film industry should be ashamed for producing crap like this.

The acting is horrible, the story is horrible, the jokes are horrible and not even close to funny, every ingredient in this movie is horrible and it's only getting worser throughout the movie.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the IMDb rating! If there was a number below 1.0 I would have voted that, because even a 1.0 rating is very overrated for this 'movie'.

Watching this movie is throwing two hours of your life in the trashcan, so don't go see it or be very disappointed.


I went to see this movie, expecting to see a nice humorous action movie, but I was VERY disappointed when I left the cinema... They tried to make a funny movie, but the jokes were sooo easy even a 5 year would understand them and that's not my kind of humour. The first half of the movie didn't really contain a story, which can be OK (see "Dude where's my car"), but in the second half they suddenly tried to make a story, in which they failed big time.

Everything that happened in the movie was so obvious that you could see it coming 10 minutes in front, so after a while everything that happened started to annoy me. I was like "I hope they won't let this happen" and then a few seconds later it happened, bummer... for me, cuz some people seemed to enjoy themselves, which was even more annoying

Conclusion: don't waste your money on this movie or, if your going to see it anyway, have a lot of beer before entering the cinema, it might work....


This was a well-written story that had the essential plot twists and honest truth about our public school systems. The pessimistic view portrayed by the main character made me think about the numb existence many of our school teachers actually have. This story could be expanded to develop the characters and "surprises" in the plot.


Junk Drawer was an excellent portrayal of modern life in a special education classroom. The trials and tribulations of the students and the teacher seemed so real to me. What might have ended on a terribly low note was elevated to personal success when the teacher was allowed to see some positive results o all her hard work. It reminded me somewhat of It's a Wonderful Life with the ending. The entire production was well done and the story weel written. Hope it gets made into a full length movie. Keep up the good work.


Unbelieveably realistic. I had the same students in my school and they did nothing for four years except stand beside me at graduation. I have seen many teachers leave the profession under these same circumstances. But every one of them knows that in some way, large or small, a person has been helped because of them. Frankie Talbot was well played. The story itself was great. Hats off to all involved!


"Junk Drawer" was a well- written story. Although, I felt that the movie did the ending no justice.

The movie could have more effectively portrayed the cleverness of the story's ending.


Very well written story which portrays life as it actually is as compared to TV renditions of it. Reyner has done an outstanding job on this effort. Produced by an entire cast of plebecites, the outcome was polished and powerful.


Never mind the Matrix and the influx of Jackie Chan and Jet Li films. As far as martial arts films go this still has the best fight sequences outside of Hong Kong. The fights are amazing and capture the essence of Hong Kong chop socky flicks.

Merely having great fights wouldn't be enough, this has quality in terms of look and sound that a lot of Hong Kong films don't and it is minus the cheesy dubbing. What it also adds is a genuinely funny, if wafer thin script. It is of course just a series of events that give excuse for elaborate fight scenes.

Mark Dacascos stars in the lead and really shows his stuff. He moves like a cat, and really shines in the fights. The version you have to see of this film is the directors cut, the studio completely hacked away any sort of plot or character development. In the studio version we see Toby Wong (Dacascos) as merely a mercenary, but Wang's cut gives far more insight into his motives and gives the character an extra dimension. We get the chance to see Dacasco's acting abilities as well. He shows that he is an action star with more talent than most on all levels. You compare him to bigger money earners like Arnie, Van Damme and Seagal and he can out act them all as well as being even more impressive with the physical acting. Kadeem Hardison co-stars as Malik, who is initially Wang's hostage but they turn out to be best buds, cliché yes, but hey this is an action movie. Kadeem is hilarious, most of his lines are ad-libbed and you can see the other actors trying not to burst into laughter. Also Brittany Murphy is a scream as Deliverance a rather wacky motel owner, who is extremely randy and has the hots for Malik. The three of them together have amazing chemistry and it really adds to the humour. John Pyper Ferguson is also very funny as one of the bad guys. He comes out with some great lines, and also some hilariously cheesy lines such as `look its my favourite cheese eating, dick monkey' WHAT?!!

The film is pure mindless escapism, it's fast, it's funny, there's genuine chemistry there, and to hell with plot in a film like this, which features some jaw dropping fight scenes. Overall this is an action classic to savour. 8/10


The straight to video action genre must be the fastest expanding percentage of the home video market I swear not. So these days with so much out there, it's hard to figure out what's worth your time, money and what's best left on the shelf for eternity. More times than not, most movies aren't worth either, but we're all suckers for something especially "us guys". Yes it may be a stereotype that guys like car crash movies, guns 'n babes flicks and any movie with the words "death" "kill" "gun" or "action" in it's title, but it rings sorta true. It's on this simple premise so many movies come out each year with titles that you expect to know what you're getting. The box naturally trying it's hardest to win you over too. Let's take a hypothetical situation. There's three movie boxes in front of you. All action titles.

(1) First one stars a familiar face or two, but nobody special. The movie's box is predominately pretty plain looking (cheap). Two guys on top of a car firing guns right at us. The title screams "boring". The kind of box you've seen a hundred times before on your local video shelves.

(2) A pair of sexy blonds (dillinger in stockings: optional) stand off to the side of the b-movie star holding a silenced handgun. In the background, an overlay of a building blowing up and a helicopter whistling through the air with a man hanging out. Title sounds action-like, the box is suggestive and the art sells it.

(3) Box displays a fallen Hollywood star now resigned to doing B-movie leads lying in the grass in full cameo fatigues with a sniper's rifle. A sexy brunette assassin in the background showing ample cleavage and a mighty sharp blade. Off to the side a cobra gunship firing from the air and all this is surrounding by one large red rifle sight.

The visual creatures we are, chances are you're thinking about (2) or (3) or maybe you're getting nothing from these choices. Alas in my deepest hopes of saving you from another disappointment, I recommend Drive.

An absolute gem for all of us action movies junkies - the kinda flick that makes up for the twenty or so dog piles you've gone through previously. It's quite the action experience for direct-to-video fare, the fight choreography is great, Dacascos is at the top of his form and is better than anyone I've seen in the kick-kick genre of late. The explosions work, the acting is surprisingly decent for this sort of nonsense and the start, middle and end are entertaining. Yeah the story is somewhat of a test pattern, but everyone involved makes it work and god it's about time. Finally a buddy/action movie that's both action packed and funny too. Kadeem Hardison and Dacascos put together some funny stuff and if this is low budget it's not showing. The production values are crisp. All except maybe that fake, prosthetic arm.

This is definitely one movie I could live with a sequel from. It deserves one because it overcame the odds. Do yourself a favor. Rent this. You heard me. If you're a fan of DTV action fare and you want it tight and refreshingly done then this is your meal ticket. Oh yeah and before I forget ... remember that hypothetical situation with the movie boxes? Drive was (1). The irony.


They sounded like someone was playing some shoot-em-up game! Toby is trying to get away from Hong Kong and with some sort of a turbo mechanism built in his chest making him quite invincible he manages to escape through a lot of plots in order to reach some buyers in USA wanting the turbo-drive machine. Some poor idiot named Malik is sitting in a bar thinking his life can NOT get any worse and then Toby just pops by to make him realize he thought wrong. Excellent action scenes, good comedy and I don't think I have seen Mark Dacascos ever been in so many great fight scenes before. Worth a watch 8 out of 10!


I thought that this movie was excellent, I watched it after a recommendation from a friend.

After a slow first ten minutes when we get introduced to the main characters Toby Wong (an excellent Mark Dacascos)and Malik Brody (equally as good Kadeem Hardison) the action gets under way and doesn't stop until the closing credits.

The jokes come quick and fast throughout and the film only gets better with the introduction of the fantastic but pretty unstable motel worker Deliverance Bodine (Brittany Murphy).

Overall I give it 8/10


I saw drive after a friend recommended it to me. I blindly bought this film with lots of curiosity, and not much else. What I was presented with was quite a surprise. I was treated to a film that, in spite of its low budget, managed to shine and show the viewer some of the best action sequences I've ever seen. Kadeem Hardison shows his comic talents as a Chris Tucker type (without the effeminate voice) who's been kidnapped by enhanced assassin Toby (played by Mark Dacascos). This feels a lot like a more violent, foul-mouthed version of Rush Hour, but in a good way. In fact, it pre-dates Brett Ratner's Rush Hour. I guess the plot's reasonably important; super-soldier enhanced by implant in his chest escapes from Hong Kong to San Francisco, but bad guys chase him and want him back alive. Super-soldier is forced to kidnap bar fly/wise-cracker for a ride and the two soon form a friendship and make their way to LA where super-soldier will get loads of cash for implant. This film has heart, it has humour, it has action. It's probably director Steve Wang's best work and it's thoroughly enjoyable. The actors all work hard and it looks far more expensive than it actually cost. However, I will say this; avoid the version that was edited for TV, get yourself a copy of the Director's Cut. It's far superior and doesn't have it's heart and soul ripped out. If you love action, and you love humour then definitely see this film! Dave's Rating ***** out of *****


I was sceptical at first because straight to video martial arts films tend to scream 'rubbish' from the front cover all the way to the final credits. But this film is certainly different. The story is beautifully basic and uncomplicated, yet never seems too simplistic or rehashed. A biomechanically augmented ex-assassin and wise cracking bar-fly hardly seem the most likely pair yet this film manages to pull it off as it follows them running from bounty hunters, police and various explosions alike. The star of the film is certainly Dacascos who demonstrates such physical ability on a par with the likes of Jet Li and Ong Bak's star Tony Jaa. Due to the low budget - which adds to rather than detracts from the style of the film - there's no CGI and wire work is clearly minimal. Kinetic, frenetic and beautiful are certainly words that describe the fight sequences in this film. Dacascos fits the part of an enhanced fighter with a speed reminiscent of Bruce Lee, and the varied and stylised arenas complement the action no end. I cant believe Hollywood didn't target Dacascos for the biggest projects, save Cradle II the Grave. Kareem Hardison is hilarious at times but also sometimes a distraction from Dacascos but his improvisations and ability to carry the story between the action cannot be overlooked. This film has everything you could want from a martial arts flick and smacks of Chinese influence despite being an Amercian project. The main reason this film is probably unheard of is that it was released at the same time as Rush Hour which was a big budget version of this film, in the sense it is an action comedy with African American/Chinese protagonists. I strongly recommend this film to anyone who has seen Dacascos before as this is surly his finest film, and also to anyone that is intrigued by an American martial arts film that can hold its own against its Chinese counterpart.


Considering that "Drive" is a low-budget and fairly unknown action flick from 1996, it has surprisingly amassed a small cult following in the years it's been on the home video after-market.

Mark Dacascos, who was the main villain that was most recently seen duking it out with Jet Li in 2003's "Cradle 2 the Grave," has starred in a number of action movies throughout the '90s, but has yet to achieve any stardom.

His character, Toby Wong, in this 1996 action thriller (that's straight out of Hong Kong, as is Dacascos' "Wong" character) apparently swims all the way to the United States, where he's forced to take an innocent bystander, Malik Brody (Kadeem Hardison), hostage. Toby must make it to Los Angeles to meet a courier and Malik is along for the ride.

What Toby neglects to tell Malik in the haste of the moment when they first meet, is that he is an enhanced human, with a powerful bionic booster implant on his heart. This in turn opens up the door for many wild, frenetic action scenes, with Dacascos doing a number on the assorted villains hot on his trail.

The movie hurtles from action sequence to action sequence, with deft direction from Steve Wang, who has yet to achieve mainstream success. This is by far the best show of Mark Dacascos and his martial arts action.

10/10

P.S.: Also, be on the lookout for a rather humorous supporting performance from Brittany Murphy as a bored, easily-excited teenager who is also brought along for the ride.


I stumbled upon this film about 7 or so years ago in the video store, and on a whim picked it out. I must admit to being fairly entertained with what I saw. The fight scenes are gloriously over the top and well choreographed, so much so I think I was laughing at several points during the film.

The plot is about as complex as a glass of water, but forget that for now, this is a film you watch for the action, for the cheesy comedy factor, for the hyper-kinetic, lighting quick scenes of martial arts mayhem. The fight scenes come frequent enough and do not disappoint. There are killer ninja robots, gun wielding assassins who burst through windows on stunt bikes, and a large supply of hapless henchmen who couldn't shoot a barn door at 3 paces.

Marc Dacascos shows of his talents in the lead role as Toby Wang, the hero and scene stealer of the film, Kadeem Hardison is on hand as Malik, the out of luck barfly who gets caught up in the ordeal, then there is Brittany Murphy in one pre-famous roles as a the ditsy daughter of a Motel owning couple.


Ah, now I saw this film whilst browsing as you do, and thought I'd make a comment as this is a favourite of mine.

Now it's no Oscar winner and the plot is ridiculous really, straight out of a comic book. But lets face it, this film is all about the action. The kung-fu sequences show you in this film what a wasted talent Mark Dacascus is. He never gets the credit he deserves, and whilst not a great actor, he is very likable and a talented martial artist. It's such a shame we don't see him in more enjoyable movies; If you only ever watch Mark in one movie, make it this one. There's a great cast, who seem to be having a lot of fun, the film pays homage to Jackie Chan movies at points plus the fight choreography is well thought out.

The fight sequences are filmed in a very unique way, with the camera moving at very sharp, precise angles, which gives it a unique style. You never miss a move and the fighting does go at a fast pace. At the end of the day, a kung-fu movie lives or dies on the strength of it's fight scenes. Although not the best scenes you will see, the combination of humour and good action direction, really show off the skills on offer here.

So if you're a martial arts movie fan, and not seen this, give this it a whirl! It might just pleasantly surprise you.


Mark Dacascos stars as Toby Wong, a genetically altered soldier who escapes from the Chinese corporation that built him and is on the run from thugs looking to return him back, also on board is Kadeem Hardison who becomes Dacascos' hostage and partner while top notch martial arts action ensues. Drive is certainly a fun movie, filled with non-stop martial arts, kinetically staged shoot outs and a good performance from Dacascos in the role. What really hurts Drive is its far too jokey tone which is just too much to take. The dialog and would be humor is too obvious and the movie really only comes to life when Dacascos springs back in action. This of course isn't that much of a problem, as it's not much of a problem that the villains are underwritten and the movie is often vague in its science fiction elements, Drive is a very enjoyable B.movie, certainly among straight to video movies, however this could've been easily a four star movie had it just not strained so hard to be funny. Don't let me get the wrong idea that this is not a good movie, it is, in fact it's a great B.movie it's just a flaw that sort of bothered my otherwise pleasing viewing of Drive.

* * * out of 4-(Good)


this martial arts/comedy is packed with fun. mark dacascos is just an excellent fighter and he should do more films similar to this one!! good story line and great fight scenes. one of my favourite films to date. the acting may not be Oscar winning but it sure is entertaining. the special effects are noting special with the explosions for example. i would recommend this to anyone who likes action and a bit of humour. its a good film. it starts of with probably the best fight scene in the whole movie but don't worry there are plenty of fight scenes right the way through it. kadeem provides the comedy for this film as he is always moaning. i'm going on too much so just watch it. maz


If you are looking for a film that is a proper action film with non-stop action, stunts and fights scenes then you have come to the right place. The action is quality, especially the ending and the stunts are brilliant and they look so dangerous and crazy. But the fights scenes...WOAH. They are amazing. The choreography is brilliant. The moves Mark Dacascos are breath taking. You might think he used wires to do some of it but no he didn't. He did all his fight sequences on his own. Kadeem Hardison and Mark Dacascos are good partnership and they add Britney Murphy in to give it some more comedy in which she does. This film will blow you away with it's amazing fights scenes. It is a must see for action fans with great action.


This unknown movie maybe one of the best action movies I have seen! To my surprise everything works! Mark Dacascos is great! Kadeem Harrison isn't annoying in the supporting role and even Brittany Murphy performs well! The action is top notch! MD delivers on this front like he did in "Crying Freeman"! For a low budget production the movie looks great! The plot is adequate and provides a good background for the main characters. (At least it was in my version: director's cut)! The action is done in Hong Kong style which is always good! The martial arts sometimes is used in combination with wires! But it is not obvious! In this way it intensifies the action scenes! I must admit that the climax: fight between MD and other "super" man could have been much longer but still it is great finale! Once again it is a mystery to me that a gem like this didn't get the publicity it deserves! This B movie is far superior to crap what has been made by Hollywood studios! If you get the chance to rent it or buy it! You won't regret it!


This is great B movie fun, that deserved a run in theaters in my opinion, with wonderful fight scenes and fun performances!. All the characters are really cool, and the story is a lot of fun as well, plus Mark Dacascos and Kadeem Hardison are simply amazing in this!. It's also a great "Buddy" "Buddy" flick as well, and it's very well made and written as well, plus I was lucky my friend recommended this to me, otherwise I would have gone thinking it was just another straight to video Action film!. A lot of it works dude to the wonderful chemistry between Dacascos and Hardison, and the fight choreography was also fantastic, plus the guy in the white coat at the end looked awesome and was very cool. Brittany Murphy does great in another kooky role, and I thought the ending was great, plus it has some very sly humor as well. The opening gets you into the film immediately with a fantastic opening fight sequence, and Dacascos is a really gifted martial artist! plus this is one of the best straight to video films I have seen!. This is great B movie fun, that deserved a run in theaters in my opinion, with wonderful fight scenes, and fun performances, I highly recommend this one!. The Direction is great!. Steve Wang does a great! job here with very good camera work, excellent angles and keeping the film at a very fast pace. The Acting is a lot of fun!. Mark Dacascos is amazing here, he is full of charm, is extremely likable, kicked that ass, had wonderful chemistry with Hardison,looked really cool, had a great sense of humor, and blew me away with his singing at the end, I loved his performance! (Mark Rules!!!!). Kadeem Hardison is also amazing here, he was very funny, and worked so well with Dacascos, what a great unknown find here, I really hope him and Mark make a sequel together!. John Pyper-Ferguson is quite menacing as the villain I dug him. Brittany Murphy is very cute, and does awesome in another one of her kooky roles she had lots of spunk!. Rest of the cast do fine. Overall I highly recommend this one!. ***1/2 out of 5 (almost a ****).


Mark Dacascos became one of my favourite action stars after I watched this movie, but then unfortunately no other film with him in was any good (much like Rutger Hauer - see Bladerunner and Split Second).

So anyway, the story is just right for this type of movie - they set up the plot: Mark Dacascos on the run from the Chinese government 'coz he's got a prototype bio-engine in his body that increases the flow of adrenaline or something ("A fire engine?"); he meets Malik Brody, a loser-wannabe-musician, and kidnaps him and his old car ("This ain't the Batmobile, it's an old car") so he can get to some other guys who'll pay him a million bucks to remove it.

And then it's just all action, baby!

Two low-lifes (who steal the show) chase him down but are unsuccessful; so the Chinese bad guys send a newer model bio-engine experiment to beat the crap out of him.

They drive, meet Brittany Murphy in an empty motel, Mark sings karaoke badly.

The new guy is hard, but eventually Mark Dacascos, through sheer willpower and thirst for freedom, defeats the baddie when the guy's heart overloads and kills him.

The story is such a perfect vehicle for the absolutely incredible martial arts action. If Mark Dacascos had played his cards right he'd be where Jet Li is right now. The one-liners are brilliant, and the bad guys are two of the most eccentric characters since the Bond movie henchmen Oddjob and Jaws (see the amazing genius frog?!?)

P.s. The DVD has commentary with the two lead actors and the fight coordinator which is almost better than the movie itself.


SO many people out there have words about Drive, saying it's just a knock off of Rush Hour. Nope. Drive was made first. Not only that, Drive has been referenced in a bunch of movies, as far up as THE MATRIX (Agent Smith's glasses cracking in 1/2 - that scene was shot the same day that production peoples met with the action supervisor of Drive... where the same thing happens!) It's too bad that people on the money side had to mess this film up. I saw the regular release, and liked it enough to go out and buy it. It was a better than average action film, and could have done OK in theaters, I think... it didn't need to be a direct-to-video movie. Recently I saw the director's cut and DAMN IT'S GOOD! This movie would have been huge in theaters I think. Unfortunately someone on the financing side decided to cut the movie down and change the soundtrack, so the 117 min cut became the 100 minute cut and lost it's buzz... and was eventually relegated to the direct-to-video market. This is a shame, cause the directors cut is awesome.

Great action, great witty dialogue, the first (that I know of, correct me if I'm wrong) "cattle prod/electric baton" fight scene, and the main char.s name is TOBY WONG. If you don't get the reference, think about it... if you still don't get it, this movie's probably not for you anyway.

This is a great movie, hopefully we'll see the director's cut eventually get a DVD release... until then the 100 min version is pretty damn good.

Directors Cut: 9 out of 10 Video Cut: 7 out of 10


Okay, Okay, this is a shocker, especially considering who the producer was, but Drive is a wonderfully entertaining film. The action set pieces are great, the pacing is tight (well, with two small exceptions), and the special effects aren't asked to do too much. The plot is thin, the characters thinly written, and the end seems a little rushed. BUT, that's okay. Dacascos and Hardison do a great job of fleshing out their characters and adding zip to the dialog. Pyper-Ferguson transcends the limitations of his role and Tracey Walter is, well, as quirky as ever. Also surprisingly good was Brittany Murphy as Deliverance, the nutty hotel clerk.

While no awards will ever be sent its way, it is well worth a rental and, maybe, a re-viewing.


So that might sound like damning with faint praise, but in fact i really like this movie. The fight scenes are easily the best i've seen in a pre-Kill-Bill western movie (and that includes Jet Li and Jackie Chan's Hollywood efforts) - Mark Dacascos is really amazing, the choreography is spectacular, and the editing for once allows us to appreciate it.

That alone would be enough for me to recommend this film, but the bits inbetween are an unexpected pleasure as well. Dacascos is likable enough (though i don't understand why he pulls his trousers up so high) but Hardison steals the show with some great lines. I don't know why he hasn't made it bigger. As for Brittany Murphy, i can't figure out if all that stuff was in the script or if she's making it up as she goes along, but again it's pretty funny.

Overall, a likable, unpretentious film with great action scenes and more than it's share of laughs. Recommended.


I was really disappointed that this was rated on IMDb as high as it was. I decided to take a chance on it because of that...and it was a big disappointment. This is a waste of time and film! I could barely make it through it...and was only waiting for the appearance of Brittany Murphy who, delightful as she usually is, couldn't even come close to saving this film.


So many other comments have already been made that I would have included in my comment here, so I will make this brief: I love this movie. I rented it from Blockbuster because one of 3 favourite actresses is in it: Brittany Murphy, and because I'm a martial arts fan, and I'd just started reading up on Mark Dacascos. This movie is just so darn cool and fun and amazing. "Drive" is the only movie to have challenged the long-standing position held by "Drunken Master 2" as my favourite action movie of all time. The only gripes I have about the movie are these: I don't like the title. "Drive" is a inappropriate title for the movie. I recently saw the movie "Road Rage" and thought that "Drive" would have been a good title for that movie. Anyway, I also didn't like Kadeem Hardison's character; I get so tired of stereotypical Black/African-American (whichever term is proper this month) character's like his, especially in action movies. The only other gripe I have is the "hanging from the fan" scene fromt he barroom fight. That's it. Just a really cool, fun movie. I recently got the UK DVD of this movie, and it's so full of neat extras. Get it on DVD if you can.


What more can be said? Wonderful stuff, MUCH better than the hundreds of films etc jumping on the HK bandwagon after the success of The Matrix.

Dacascos deserves much better than the dross he's been in up until now - hopefully Brotherhood of the Wolf will net him some more major roles.

Finally, if you can play it - track down the UK (region 2) HKL/Medusa Director's Cut DVD - it's the full, much superior uncut version of the film with the original soundtrack. Plus there's a ton of great extras and a hilarious commentary track.

The only way to watch Drive!


I love Drive. It's one of the best American Martial Arts films of the past decade (not saying much, I know), being one of the first films to mix Hong Kong-style action with an American film.

Mark Dacascos' work is top-notch, and he and Kadeem Hardison play well off each other. Brittany Murphy nearly steals the show as an ever-so-slightly deranged (but not quite Bates-deranged) motel owner, and John Pyper-Ferguson makes a good villain.

Whilst definitely a no-brainer, Drive is slick, funny, and bursting at the seams with ridiculously complicated action choreography. Tongue-in-cheek always beats po-faced seriousness for action films.


Wow! What can I say about this masterpiece. I have never seen a film before that when I first watched it, it completely blew me away - something that has never happened before. If you love high-impact action movies strung together with comic interplay then you'll love this. I bought the special edition, director's cut version with the extra 15 mins of film on video - and all I can say is it is much better than the TV version. Mark Dacascos and Kadeem Hardison (who are both my favourite moviestars) both shine as their characters and so do all the other stars. The on screen partnership is one of the best around. I have never seen martial arts action as good as this before - move over Jackie Chan - Dacascos is after your crown if this is anything to go by. The great thing about this film is that you will never get bored with it - I've watched it over 50 times now and it still doesn't let up. On a scale of how great this film is compared to others my 10 votes is probably too high but among all the great action films it fully deserves 8 votes. It has a great soundtrack (which I can't find anywhere), a decent plot, good acting, good characters, passes expectations and it certainly didn't win two awards for nothing!


This is one of my favourite martial arts action films. It's a fun, entertaining buddy/road movie that is guaranteed to leave a smile on your face. It also showcases Mark Dacascos perfectly. Far too many of his films fail to capture his grace and athleticism, not Drive. Kadeem Hardison is a also a great talent. I hate making comparisons, but this came out before Rush Hour and is funnier, more emotionally involving, and sorry Jackie, but the kung fu is streets ahead.

If you get the DVD, play the hilarious audio commentary, featuring director, fight choreographer and the two stars. It really sounds like four guys on a sofa talking trivia about a favourite movie, and it's great. It's also amazing to learn that some of the best lines and coolest moves were ad-libbed, or choreographed without a wire.


This movie shows that Mark Dacascos is a very overlooked prospect. Drive showcases the talent that he is capable of (and he is VERY capable). As I mentioned, this movie has moves borrowed straight out of Drunken Master 2 (or Legend of Drunken Master to the newer U.S. audience), but is definitely better than half of the crap you see released in the theater. Supposedly, Brotherhood of the Wolf is going to introduce Dacascos to the mainstream. He deserves to be in better than straight-to-video films. Rent it, it's definitely worth repeated viewings. 8/10


This isn't great film or anything, but it entertained the hell out of me. I stumbled across it on USA and stayed because the guy from that Crow Stairway To Heaven show was in it, and I always felt he was a decent actor on the rare occasions when I watched that show.

The plot is thin. Mr. Crow is supposedly a former operative of some kind of Chinese top secret intelligence agency or something, and they implanted a machine in his heart which pumps up his adrenaline and makes him super-fast and strong. He's trying to sell the gland to an American company, and the Chinese have hired a mildly amusing redneck assassin to go after him. He happens upon a generic wise-cracking black sidekick, and they high-tail across the Western US to California. The bad guys follow, and there's a showdown between Mr. Crow and a new, more advanced bio-implanted freak. Not exactly Memento, but it suffices.

The action scenes were pretty kick-@$$. I don't know if they were as good as some of the other reviewers were making them out to be, but they were certainly above your standard Van Damme and Chuck Norris fare. I think the whole bio-implant thing was an excuse for the Crow to get away with all the super-human stuff he does.

What set this movie apart from the rest of the crappy B-movies was the dialogue. I remembered 2 jokes falling flat, and the rest of the movie was pretty damn funny. Harrison is pretty funny, and his lines are well-written, and he and the Crow seem to have good chemistry. The redneck assassin is pretty funny, although his character tries a little too hard to make us laugh sometimes. And there is a pretty funny appearance by the fairly attractive Brittany Murphy as a pretty crazed teenager. I must admit I was kind of hoping for her to show up at the end unexpected, but that was one of the B-movie tricks the filmmakers left out.

Funny dialogue, inventive and fast-paced action scenes, and just a solid fun atmosphere gives this movie a solid 7.5. Of course, if it was supposed to be a blockbuster, it would be a 6 because of the plot, but that's forgiven here because it is a low-budget film. If you go into this with B-movie expectations, you are in for a treat.

Adios


This is the only American made film in the whole list. Why? because unlike every single other martial arts American movie this film actually seems like it was made in Hong Kong. It is that good. Directed by Chinese-American Steve Wang this film was the first film to use film and fighting techniques later used by such films as The Matrix. The fight choreography is absolutely amazing just like a Hong Kong movie. Credit must go to the brilliant Japanese martial arts choreographer Koichi Sakamoto and his Alpha Stunt team for their ingenuity, Mark Dacascos is amazing in this film and proves that he could cut it in Hong Kong movies if he wanted too. Kadeem Hardison is brilliant as the wise cracking sidekick unwillingly brought into the thick of things by Mark Dacascos. Brittany Murphy is also a revelation here as a (very!) sexually hormone charged teenager. In fact the scenes with her, Kadeem Hardison and Mark Dacascos are probably the funniest in the film, although it is a shame she wasn't in the film for longer.

Also this film is also very very funny at times. And Mark Dacascos even makes Jet Li look a bit slow with his brilliant acrobatic ability. In fact this film is so good that it sweeped countless film awards across the world and even beating Jackie Chan's Drunken Master II to a film award. For a film released in 1994 it is very hard to find. But trust me your patience will pay off when you watch this film. This film deserves to be re-released in the cinemas. It was only a flop because the studio didn't promote it at all! Although it is now regaining cult status for martial arts fans as a fantastic piece of film. This is how modern martial arts movies should be. At the end of this film it will have you crying out "more please!". It is that good. This is a classic no doubt about it.


Lets face it, b-movies are a load of s**te. Well, not all of them, because Drive is one of those cheap (around $4 million) movies with relatively unknown actors (Mark Dacascos, anyone?) - but its actually quite good!

The story is a run-of-the-mill near-future plot: A bio-enhanced hero on the run from a gang of hitmen hired by the corporation that created (and wants back) the device inside him (which makes him stronger and faster) teams up with a lonely black man whose life gets worse by the minute and goes on a journey across the US of A to find a corporation that can remove the device inside him.

Plotwise, its nothing spectacular, but with the well-choreograped martial arts action, you forgive the cliches of the story and get sucked in by the entertainment value.

The actings not bad either. Dacascos (who is, I've discovered, a king of straight-to-video movies) outdoes similar actors (Van Damme) where the acting is concerned, and is also a great fighter. Hardison also shines by adding humour to the fray and Pyper-Ferguson has a certain charisma and presence as the bad guy.

Drive definitely puts many major action blockbusters through its paces... 8/10.


Why didn't this movie get released properly, after watching all the extras on the DVD, this is exactly what you feel.

But probably the greatest injustice is the Studio's cut. 16 mins cut out, and that is the version which is showed on HBO and stuff, not just the 16 mins, but the soundtrack is different. Listening to the excellent commentary on the disc and watching the extras, you really can feel for Steve Wang, as well as everyone else who worked on the picture.

But for them it seems they had a lot of fun making it, and it shows on the screen, it was such a FUN film, but it wasn't just amazing martial arts action, it had good characters, and the 'talking' bits don't drag the film down, the opposite in fact. This film has virtually everything you'd want from an action comedy, plus the Hong Kong influences, one shot fight sequences, etc... and the fights are amazing. Jackie Chan fans will love this movie, seeing as the crew site him as a major influence in their lives.

This is also a funny movie, Kareem Hardison, follows in the steps of Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor, a comedian/actor whose ad-libs are always fun to watch.

This is definitely worth watching, i never got bored the whole way through, and if you like action comedies and love really good martial arts fighting, and if you are into DVDs then i urge you to buy the disc.

AND PLEASE make sure you watch the Director's Cut, if at the start the main character is looking at a girl on a small video screen, then you are watching the right one. EXCELLENT


Drive was made for a negligible budget, to a brutal schedule, yet the efforts of the cast & crew clearly show and the result is better than a thousand films that cost 10 times the price.

The action is clearly the star, with all parties expressing a clear love for Hong Kong cinema. They have produced an excellent homage containing obvious Jackie Chan and Jet Li influences all executed with grace by Mark Dacascos.

The script is pretty weak, though there is some good interplay between the characters, but as it is really used mainly as a framework from which to hang the action it does its job.

The UK DVD is a fantastic effort from Hong Kong Legends (abbreviated to HKL for this release), containing a wide array of extras such as interviews and out-takes, as well as restoring the original soundtrack and 16 minutes of footage. This important footage was inexplicably cut by the production company, and probably explains why they then decided to release straight to video.

Overall - film and disc are highly recommended.


The last traditional kung fu movie i remember is Tai-Chi Boxer from 1996 with Jacky Wu again in that movie. I've been looking forward to seeing more from the bad sighted wushu expert, and here it is a comeback from shaw brothers of all people.

The name was promising for a start drunken monkey. So you immediately think that its gonna be a sort of mix between Lau Kar-Leung's Drunken Master 2 and Mad Monkey Kung fu, although its more the monkey though than the Drunk. Its great to see that Lau can still hold a kung fu fight sequence after around 40 years in the business. Jacky Wu also shows how he has progressed since Tai-Chi Boxer.

The story keeps with the traditional kung fu themes, its great fun to watch and reminds one of what the Hong Kong film industry earned its name from. I really hope Shaw Brothers releases more.

Its the most enjoyable Hong Kong movie i have seen for along time. I recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys kung fu movies and martial arts in general. If you don't it may not be your cup of tea but you could give it a chance anyway.


Whilst the action scenes are first class, as one would expect given Lau Kar-leung is the man behind the film, sadly the rest of the film doesn't really hold up.

The story tone jerks about a lot, which means you go from one extreme to another. For instance, the opening twenty minutes or so, which are somewhat dark and violent, are followed by some broad, over-played comedy scenes (see the rather attractive, yet highly annoying, Mother). If you've seen The Scorpion King/Operation Scorpio (with Lau Kar-leung) and Tai Chi Boxer/Tai Chi 2 (with Wu Jing), that scene may look familiar. Sadly, those films are about 10 years old now. The comedy plays like in a Wong Jing film.

Only Wu Jing is shown really training, which means you have to trust that Lau Wing-kin has been training as well as painting, as he manages to fight against the odds at the end.

Also, Shannon Yao appears to be there as (admittedly gorgeous) eye candy, as she's given nothing else to do. She also doesn't appear to have the same level of ability as Lau Kar-leung and Wu Jing which, like with Lau Wing-kin, leaves you a bit sceptical that she'd last long against the villains.

However, as I mentioned earlier, the action scenes themselves are stunning. Gordon Liu and Chi Kuan-chun expertly add to mix in their respective good guy/bad guy roles and, despite being around 68 at the time, Lau Kar-leung can still wipe the floor with many of today's young pretenders.

In all, provided you can stomach the rather bad comedy scenes, Drunken Monkey is worth watching. Hopefully Shaw Brothers can come up with something more consistent next time. Not bad for their first big martial arts release for nearly twenty years, but a big "could do better" seems appropriate.


Although this gets some heat for being sort of bland at times, it is still great to see Lar Kar Leung show us even as he ages he can still move around like he did 20 years ago.

Although the comedy will sometimes fall flat on its face, the action alone makes the film worth seeing. Wu Jing should be getting more roles after last years Sha Po Lang, and his skills do not disappoint here either. It's great to see Kuan Chun Chi as the villain. I remember him from Eagles Claw (Tai Seng released this and is also a fun kung fu film), and even thirty years later the man is still ripped!

It isn't 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, but Drunken Monkey is an entertaining film, but not up to the standards of Lau Kar's earlier Shaw Bros works.


As a big fan of Lau Kar-Leung, Gordon Liu, and Wu Jing I absolutely loved this movie. Wu Jing will be a face to watch out for in future action movies and it's good to see the old timers still going at it.

The story is a standard Kung Fu tale with signature dumb Asian comedy thrown in. In all actuality I could go without the silliness but it doesn't degrade the movie at all. The title may lead some to believe that this film will have many drunken fights in it but this movie focuses more on the monkey style without so much drunkenness thrown in. Drunken Monkey really feels like the old Kung-Fu films of the 70's and 80's and that's a welcome surprise. The last action scene of the movie (that last like 30 minutes) is simply amazing and this movie is worth seeing for it alone, although the movie as a whole is great too.

Overall this is a very enjoyable Kung Fu film with some old and new faces throughout. I'm glad they're still making old-style martial arts films.


It's a very good and rare old style kungfu movie with a slightly slow start after the first fight scene with Lau, but gets a lot better very quickly. Lau Kar is a real kungfu practitioner for many years with knowledge and experience in this particular style of kungfu, so you will see rare footage of fight scenes you've never seen before and more realistic than a lot of other good movies. With funny bits that actually make you laugh, and a variety of scenes all splashed together to make a very good movie, But most of all, everyones in it for the fighting scenes if you like kungfu movies I guess, and thats the reason why it's one of my favorite's. it's more traditional and I would recommend it to any persons collection.


After watching Drunken Monkey the first time, I wasn't all that impressed, and rated the movie a 6.

But in hindsight, I have to say the action was really good, the kung fu was superb, and the story almost epic - not so much in its content, but in the way it was presented. The movie looked really good in a graphic and cinematic sense, and many scenes are quite memorable. While the plot structure and most of the characterization weren't fantastic, the comedy was after all fairly effective most of the time, and the movie also managed to maintain the serious story quite well.

I have now amended my rating of Drunken Monkey from 6 to 7 - if it wasn't for some very silly things (like, why is the "young uncle" suddenly considered head of the family??), it could have gone as high as 8 (edit: which in fact it now has). The production values were consistently great.

Edit (may 10, '05): Having seen the movie again, I am now up to an 8 rating. Man, these guys take kung fu seriously! The silly things no longer strike me as all that sillly, and I'm growing much more fond of the characters. What a crime that the fabulous Jacky Wu has only done three movies. All three are great; the two others (Tai Chi Boxer from '96 and Legend of Zu from '01) have both earned a 9 rating from me.


Set in the 1930's, the movie is about the head of a delivery guard service who faces the challenges of survival in more "modern" times in Canton, China. Man Bill (Man Biao?), a master at Monkeyfist kung fu, confronts Man Pao, a relative about his lifestyle and different vision for the company.

A young heir and his great uncle, a family betrayal, a government agent, drugs and foreign influence are all interwoven into the plot filled with old fashioned kung fu action and humor.

I wanted to watch this movie because of the director, Lar Kar Leung a.k.a. Liu Chia Liang, whose film credits include: "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin", Chen Kuan Tai's "Executioners from Shaolin" Jet Li's "Martial Arts of Shaolin" and Jackie Chan's "Legend of the Drunken Master". I enjoyed the movie.


After looking at the 5.9 average rating for this movie I gave it a try. Good grief! After ten minutes, I told myself I'll give it another ten minutes or so. I couldn't take it after around 25 minutes. Believe me when I say I love movies and I like all sorts. I don't watch TV - I only watch movies on DVD. There have been very few movies that I simply could not justify wasting my time watching the rest of it. As a matter of fact, I couldn't name one now if you asked me. I admit that by not finishing the movie, I don't have much of a leg to stand on. But I wanted to warn those after me to not waste their time. The acting and story is simply horrible. At first I thought it might be a comedy - they were exaggerating the acting on purpose. My conclusion was that they were serious and that was when I took the DVD out.


It is true many movies from Hong Kong are strange if not awkward in the humor department. But holy crap man, this one takes the cake. I have seen hundreds of martial arts movies, and this one is among the worst.

There are many reasons not to watch this. However, because Lau Kar Leung(Legend of Drunken Master),Gordon Liu(Kill Bill 1&2), and Jacky Wu(The Legend of Zu) are in it, some will watch anyway. But understand before watching that the plot was ridiculously stupid at best, and despite the martial arts talent in the movie, the fights aren't anything to brag about.

And for you martial arts enthusiasts out there, who heard this movie is the first movie made by the re-opened old Shaw Bros studio- you're right. And to all those who heard this movie was a throwback to traditional Kung Fu in movies- you will be sorely disappointed; while they do fight in a traditional style they use wires so much, it seemed like it was caught in limbo between a Shaw Bros movie and a Tsui Hark movie.

Damn this was a disappointing movie...........seriously, go rent Legend of Drunken Master instead.


Well, where to start? This film is an absolute must for all Ninja movie fans. Totally outrageous in every sense, but also totally superb! Eagle, Superb! What a guy, insane sword action, brilliant dubbing combined with outright craziness does'nt even begin to describe him. My hero. He's a man on a mission and nobody will stop him, no henchman is good enough, no boss tough enough. Then you also have Boris, and Leon. Both Ninjas, caucasian of course, with bright colored outfits and little headbands that actually say "Ninja" on them, fantastic! These two have a sort of vendetta thing going and only one will live to tell! Hordes of henchmen are sent to stop Leon, but he's just too damn good. But not as good as Eagle. Along with these main characters you have some ancient mystics, monks and a little bit of romance for Eagle. There is not much more I can say to describe this gem of a movie. So I leave you with a taster of possibly the best film I have ever seen. If you see this anywhere, watch it, hire it, buy it. Whatever, just watch it.


This was one of the last of the cut and splice ninja movies to be made by our old friends Joseph Lai and Godfrey Ho.

Alas-genre regular Richard Harrison is no where to be seen having by this time presumably escaped his contract with the aforementioned cinematic crooks (in fact Harrison reportedly felt so sullied by his experiences with Lai and Ho and their deceitful film making techniques that he more or less retired from the industry)

In his honoured place however steps forward Pierre Kirby (who also appeared in the demented classic that is 'Zombie vs Ninja', aka 'Zombie Rival-The Super Ninja Master') who actually does many of his own stunts and martial arts.

The ninja segments in this are as usual, quite hilarious, with the protagonists milling around proudly in their brightly coloured attire and sporting headbands with the word 'ninja' emblazoned in big letters upon them. The acting/dialogue as expected, is also a hoot - is there really anyone out there who can keep a straight face as the characters in these films interact with one another?!

Added to this, the original film into which the ninja segments have been edited is also actually very good in it's own right and involves a skilled swordsman called eagle in a tale of violent retribution.

All in all this is tremendous (and somewhat insane) fun!


This isn't just a bad movie; it's two movies edited together by a director notorious for wasting good fight footage by slapping it onto an unrelated plot(s). The far-more-interesting story involves a vengeance-seeking man, Eagle, who battles every manner of treachery to pay back the ruthless warlord who destroyed his family. Had Ho left it at that, he'd have had a decent movie on his hands--but no, not Ho. Instead, he cobbles onto that a laughably inept waste of celluloid involving two caucasian (French? French-Canadian?) "ninjas" (you know they are because their headbands read "Ninja!") also carrying out a vendetta, but the events leading up to that are offscreen. So what does this have to do with the other? NOTHING! But you do get to chuckle at the site of pink- and purple-clad "ninjas" (who look like dropouts from hair-dressing school) play-fighting with each other. Only the guy who made a mess of the other "Angel" series (the nonsensical trio, not the HK classics) could get by with something this atrocious. If you're a real fan of martial arts movies, don't waste your time and money on this stinker.


Possible spoilers contained within.

I just finished watching this movie with my wife. She is a health care professional - a nurse - and a former military medical professional. I'm also former military - an NBC specialist - so I know way too much about this stuff in real life.

After watching about half an hour of this movie on FX, the first comment we made to each other was that this is entirely too realistic. The second comment after about an hour was that this movie is scarier than any slasher flick that we've seen.

The premise behind the movie is simple - a terrorist infects a small population in New York City with smallpox, which, with modern travel, is able to go around the world during the incubation period and eventually kill millions around the world.

We did not particularly care for the ending - it is possible that a terrorist might have not had his identity discovered. It is highly unlikely that the nationality of the terrorist would not have been found, though. One thing that we both found to be incorrect was in the burying of the bodies. That may have been the only thing to do in third world countries. However, the only real way to insure that the bodies do not continue to be breeding colonies would be cremation. So in this case the film makers missed the mark.

By not using well known actors, the film makers made this look just like real documentaries that play on the History Channel. The voice actor that impersonated President Bush was very good as well, and including Al Sharpton in a cameo made for a nice touch as well.

I did find it interesting that there were no comments in the film about infections in the middle east. Perhaps this was a deliberate attempt not to mention Iran, Libya, North Korea or any other country where such biological weapons have been known to be made. Another note is that such an event was covered quite nicely by Tom Clancy years ago as a prelude to a military action.

One comment by the Russian scientist - these are not weapons of mass destruction, just mass casualties - is true to a certain extent. The film makers did not cover - perhaps wisely - that if this had been found to be the result of action by a nation state, that the response of the U.S. is to respond in kind. And the U.S. considers gas to be a bug to be a nuke - so while we don't have massive stocks of nerve gas or bio-weapons, we do have plenty of nukes available.

The last few minutes of the movie seemed quite rushed. I think this one could have lasted about another hour, and been fleshed out MUCH more - instead of going from day 31 to day 91 so quickly.

All in all, a 10 for realism, a 5 for being rushed, and an 8 overall. Very scary stuff, when you really think about it. It would have only taken a bit more for the pandemic to have killed many, many more people around the world - and that should have been covered.


The FX network broadcast this film on January 2 with little fanfare, and that's too bad; it deserves a wider audience. The movie is very realistic and, with few exceptions, the actors don't come across as actors. They look as "real" as any of the other experts that pop up on innumerable documentaries that pop up on U.S. cable channels today.

The plot revolves around a strain of smallpox that appears in April 2002 in New York and, by the fall, is the cause of death for 60 million people on Earth. (That's summarized in the first 100 words of narration, so it's not a spoiler.) It's produced in the basic docudrama style of what happened, the cause, personal anecdotes and the summary. Stock footage of civil disruption and disasters are woven into the new footage that gives the movie a realistic look. Reports are also interjected from the BBC, SkyTV and New York's WNBC with familiar news readers.

The ending is a bit rushed, with the last 20 minutes going by in a "boy we have to wrap this up" flurry of connecting loose ends. The terrorist's identity is also left vague, which is one of the movie's few letdowns. (Others may see this as a realistic plus.) One small correction on an earlier review -- the person doesn't travel around the world spreading the disease (that's the plot line of "12 Monkeys"). The infected person only appears for one morning in downtown and midtown Manhattan, which may be scarier than someone criss-crossing the planet with a biological weapon.