Die Rap-Gang

Trespass is an action movie. No doubt about it. But to judge it accordingly would be a mistake. Walter Hill, one of the best action directors ever, is at the helm of this movie, which automatically makes it worth a look.

The movie concerns a couple of hick fire fighters (Bill Paxton and Bill Sadler, in great roles): one a classic hick, the other a borderline psycho, chasing treasure in the ghetto. They eventually cross paths with some big-time G's (gangsters) led by Ice-T and Ice Cube.

The story still sounds familiar, and for Hill it is a return to certain familiar territory. Like many of his pictures the movie centers around machismo and male posturing, but not since Hill's 48HRS had he done a film that contained some subtle social commentary on race relations, and paranoid stereotyping. There are fierce gun battles as expected, and the story is never boring. "Die Hard in the Ghetto" , may have been an equally suitable title.

The movie is tense , funny and great, and sadly, was ignored at the box-office during its' Christmas 1992 release. Fortunately, it has been immortalized on home video and DVD.

Wow. It's been said that Walter Hill is a masterful action director and this does rank as one of his best films. Working from an air tight script by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, he sure does make it all work.

Here we have the story of a couple of Arkansas firemen who stumble across a map to...you guessed it, buried treasure. They load up their Bronco and take a little road trip up to East St.Louis to grab the loot. In a rundown building, where the treasure is supposedly hidden, they find a little more than they bargained for and things pretty much go downhill from there. It's now a battle of wits and bullets. It rocks.

Bill Paxton, I think, is one of today's best actors and he does his thing well here as the naive Arkansas boy. William Sadler also does his thing as the likeable, hot-headed psychopath and Ice T pretty much plays Ice T. The action is fast and the absurdity of the whole thing will keep you glued to your sets.

It seems that it is impossible to have a movie that is completely action orientated, yet be highly intelligent.But Trespass has done this very well. It puts together a group of characters in a difficult situation with which you get to see them react to their circumstances in a fresh and realistic way.

I was very impressed with Ice-T who gave an extremely convincing performance as the leader of the criminals.

This film is excellent and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who would like to see an action movie done right!

Looking at the cover of 'Trespass' it would be easy to overlook it on the shelves, thinking it was just another one of hundreds of generic action movies that clog up the video store shelves. I know I did for quite some time. Bill Paxton and William Sadler are dependable character actors but seeing the pictures of both Ice-T and Ice Cube hardly inspires confidence. As rappers they are without doubt very talented, but apart from Cube's surprisingly good performance in 'Three Kings', neither has impressed me as an actor. In fact having Ice-T in the cast of a movie is invariably a sign that it sucks big time. No disrespect intended to T, but he seems to have made some lousy career choices when it comes to motion pictures ('Tank Girl', 'Mean Guns', 'Below Utopia', 'The Alternate',etc.etc.) closer inspection however reveals that 'Trespass' is directed by Walter Hill. That's Walter 'The Driver', 'The Warriors', 'The Long Riders' Hill. Even more interesting is the fact that the script is by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis of 'Back To The Future' fame. Well I'm glad I finally gave this movie a shot, because while it isn't one of Hill's best, it's a very effective and tense thriller. It's a siege thriller, and I love that style when it's done well e.g. 'Straw Dogs', 'Assault On Precinct 13'. Paxton and Sadler play firefighting buddies who come in possession of a map which reveals hidden treasure, looted from a church fifty years earlier. When they journey to an abandoned factory to find it they witness a murder and find themselves trapped. Outside is gangsta King James (Ice-T) and his gang, including hotheaded Savon (Ice Cube), and inside they have James' junkie "brother" Lucky (De'Voreaux White) as a hostage, and an old homeless man Bradlee (Art Evans). Okay, I'll admit that there's not much new here (the movie is deliberately modeled on John Huston's classic 'The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre'), but the acting is above average, especially from Sadler, a most underrated actor, and Hill manages to sustain the suspense right until the very end. Definitely worth a look.

I thought this movie was very well done and didn't recieve the attention it deserves. I saw it a long time ago and have asked my video store to get it in stock on DVD so I can again rent it. I can't even find it for purchase through Columbia House! Great movie!