Wedlock

I enjoyed this movie, but then I always enjoy a good Rutger Hauer movie, or even a bad one for that matter. This movie has him as a convict in a prison who was betrayed by his girlfriend and by his buddy during a heist. He is sent to this weird prison though that is quite different from most. Here there is a mix of male and female prisoners...they even get to have a night a week they can get together. Water must be conserved, and the prisoners all get cute collars which are linked up to another prisoner and if these two get to separated they explode taking off the wearers head. Yes, only mild differences to be found here, eh? So after awhile at the prison, our hero ends up escaping said prison and must do certain things in order to find the loot that was hid and to keep themselves together or their heads are going to be blown off! So you get your differing ways for them to get separated and at times they have to get creative in keeping together. The flow of the movie is rather fast, and the ending to me was just perfect. Though one has to wonder if the exploding collar idea came from an earlier science fiction action movie "The Running Man"?

Rutger Hauer's movies tend to be better than one would expect from genre pieces, often because of a special feel for atmosphere and quirk. Deadlock was one of the first movies to feature the newer, heavier Hauer, who uses his heft to the advantage of his characterization, creating a slightly ridiculous figure (who goes from a ludicrous pony-tail for his duel-to-the-death to a sort of swami outfit to something that looks like it ought to be upholstering a chair in a whorehouse) who is not quite up to the circumstances he finds himself in, but perseveres anyway. Smart, but hardly a criminal mastermind, his Frank is teamed with an especially charming Mimi Rogers. Hardly surprising that they go from insults to clinches, but it is appealing that the main thing keeping them apart (their abysmal track records in romance) is what, thanks to empathy, helps bridge the differences between them. The sci-fi gimmick here is really beside the point. What counts is the presence of several skillful actors and their deftly drawn characters. Stephen Tobolowsky is especially amusing, and he has the movie's best line: "You nonconformists are all alike."

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I thought it was a clever premise with interesting, off-beat characters. An "A" B-movie. The pacing is relentless; the action set-pieces are uniquely thrilling; the dialogue crisp and witty; and Richard Gibbs score is perfectly haunting. Joan Chen is a great villainess and has all the best lines. All in all: a small gem, a rousing thrill-ride with lots of surprises.

I love Rutger Hauer. He is a cool and funny actor that isn't afraid to get his hands wet and try anything out of the ordinary.

Wedlock isn't one of his stranger ones, but it is definitely one of his best!

Set in the near future, Rutger joins Mimi Rodgers at a new top security prison that straps bombs to prisoners necks (much like Battle Royale) so they can't escape.

Each prisoner is 'wedlocked' to another so that if one blows, the other soon follows!

With Mimi by his side, Rutger and co-star go on an adventure that sends them in search of the object that got him imprisoned in the first place... $25 million worth of diamonds.

With the bad guys hot on the heels, things start to go a little 'Fletch' at times with some great action scenes, hilarious one liners and more.

The film is great entertainment and one I had wished I watched earlier!

After a successful robbery nets approximately $25 million in diamonds, "Frank Warren" (Rutger Hauer) is then shot and left for dead by his fiancé, "Noelle" (Joan Chen) and best friend "Sam" (James Remar). Unfortunately for his accomplices, not only did they not kill him but he also managed to hide the loot before being double-crossed. Complicating matters even further, after Frank's recovery he is then sent to a special high-security prison which contains both male and female convicts and uses a state-of-the-art collar known as a "wedlock" which is electronically linked to another prisoner whose identity is unknown. As long as both prisoners remain within the perimeters of the prison they are safe. But if either of them venture beyond 100 yards from each other their collars emit a warning sound giving them just seconds to correct the situation before exploding and killing both of them. As is so happens, however, a female prisoner named "Tracy Riggs" (Mimi Rogers) has discovered that Frank is her wedlocked partner and after informing him they manage to escape the prison with several people-including Noelle and Sam-following closely behind. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a fun futuristic movie which benefitted from the brisk pace and fine chemistry between Rutger Hauer and Mimi Rogers. I especially liked the dry sense of humor exhibited by Frank throughout the film as well. That being said, I heartedly recommend this film to any viewers who might be interested and have rated it accordingly.