Pressure Point - Im Auge des Terrors

I am watching a very enjoyable movie starring one of the most underrated actors in history. I say that because Don Mogavero has been in Jekyl Island and I also enjoyed that one but I can't find it anywhere. Mr. Mogavero made just three moves and disappeared. What happened? There has got to be someone who knows why he disappeared since I really think he could have gone a lot further. It appears that he was also a good writer and obviously had success attracting experienced actors to work with him. Another good job, Mr. Mogavero.

Easily one of the most hilariously awful movies I have seen in a very long time. Bill Murray look alike Don Mogavero's brilliant performance was the one redeeming aspect of this film, and I was shocked to find out that he was neither nominated nor awarded an Oscar for his tremendous acting effort. For a man with such an obvious and visible affliction (male pattern baldness), this performance was truly revolutionary. The female lead really brought this movie down, and probably was the reason the film did not fare better at the box office and in VHS sales. The special effects were mind blowing and the action sequences did not disappoint in this tour-de-force.

After CIA operative Sebastian Dellacourt (Don Mogavero) botches an assassination attempt, he's tried and sentenced to jail. Sometime later, one of Dellacourt's old bosses offers him a chance at freedom if he'll complete one last mission - bust up a dangerous militia bent on destroying the US government.

I think I've rated every movie I've seen from Edgewood Studios a 3/10. For Pressure Point, there are so many problems I could point to that it's really not worth the time and/or effort. The screenplay, the dialogue, the acting, the fight choreography - it's all so hopelessly pathetic. I suppose, however, that one of the biggest problems with Pressure Point is lead actor (and writer) Don Mogavero. He's pretty much the antithesis of an action star. No offence meant toward the man, but Mogavero looks more like he should be playing an accountant rather than a CIA hitman. He's got a dad bad, a disappearing hairline, and all the athletic grace you'd expect from a middle-age white dude. Now that i've written that, I realize he doesn't sound that dissimilar to me. Hey, maybe I'm an action star and I just don't know it!

There are many, many little things about Pressure Point that left me scratching my head. Things like: What's up with the total lack of security at that maximum security prison? I think I saw a total of three guards - and two of those were on a smoke break. Or, where is this film supposed to be taking place? Vermont? Delaware? Who knows? Or, is it really that easy to steal a helicopter from a group of law enforcement agents? It's like taking candy from a baby. Or, could Dellacourt's prison escape have been any more awkward looking? He can't run very fast, he has all the jumping ability of a walrus, and he's wearing a prison outfit that's about three sizes too big. Smooth it ain't. Or . . . well, you get the idea. From an empty six-pack of Diet Coke used as a weapon to sticks of dynamite in a microwave, there's a lot here to ponder.

Finally, I want to mention two things in Pressure Point that I actually enjoyed. First, Steve Railsback easily acts circles around everyone else in the cast. He also makes a fantastic baddie. The movie might have been better had he had more screen time, but i'm sure they didn't have the budget for that. Second, it was "nice" spotting Matthew Bruch in a small role. If you're a "fan" of the Edgewood Studios' classic Time Chasers, then you're all too familiar with Bruch. Go Castleton!

3/10

Action thriller. A CIA agent aborts his mission but serves life for murder anyway. He is sprung from the prison to do one more job... Don Mogavero is excellent. Everything is good about this film except the wife's acting. Thankfully, she is not there long enough to spoil this film. Not terribly original but all the familiar bits are nicely put together, the result is highly entertaining.

With modest budgets, Edgewood Entertainment's action films do manage to entertain. They're paced well, by and large. The action is what they can afford. Something blows up in every movie, and sometimes three or four somethings blow up. That's why people watch action films, and there's plenty of action in this one. There's generally a one-dimensional bad guy (JK Roberts, Rolland, the wonderfully bald Bruce Campbell terrorist), and this one has the cliche gang of small town thugs (none of these films are exactly advertisements for moving to Vermont, but Edgewood is not the Tourist Board, after all) and one more complicated and subtle bad guy.

There's always a B-plot romance, and the one in here is quite tepid, more a mild flirtation. I like the female character and actress, but if you're hoping for an R-rated sex scene, nope. Not in this one.

These films get skewered by the MST/Rifftrax guys, whom I'm a fan of, but these films are far and away above what they usually skewer. If you can't see that, it's because you are judging not the film, but the insults in riffing, like being a bully laughing along while a smarter kid makes fun of the kid in class who might just grow up to become Bill Gates. Quit doing that.

While it's true that this is a bit of a dorky-looking action hero, he's a good actor. And I just watched 2 years worth of Jack Ryan Amazon TV shows with the dorkiest looking Jack Ryan I've ever seen (and dorkier than I could have imagined), so that's hardly specific to Edgewood. In fact, I think that makes viewer identification with the hero easier. Hey, look, it's an average looking Joe, that's me, says the male viewer. I think it's a smart choice.

I could rate this higher to bring up the average rating, but I honestly think 4-5 stars is about right. You're never bored. It's interesting enough to keep me from playing video games while I'm watching the movies. The mystery in this one is pretty well done. Crap blows up. You spent 90 minutes being entertained. Isn't that the whole point?