Beyond the City Limits

I am one of the few outside of the Philippines who actually owns a copy of Beyond the City Limits. It's too bad this movie hasn't been released more widely, since it's not a bad movie. It's sort of a low budget clone of oceans 11, but with female lead characters.

There's nothing really unexpected or exciting about the film, the acting is above average, the editing/directing is slightly below average, and the plotline/script are average. It's worth watching, if only to see the gorgeous Alyson Hannigan. It's also pretty funny watching Alexis Denisof talk in a Russian accent. Quite different from his role as Wesley the Watcher in Buffy/Angel.

If you get a chance to see this movie, I say go for it, especially if you're a fan of Alyson Hannigan.

Ok, I just want to say, if Gaston wanted a Russian accent, why didn't she get a Russian person? I mean, I know that it's ok sometimes to change for a role, but Denisof's accent sucked. I am normally a fan of both him, and Alyson Hannigan, but please! The movie was a waste of time. I watched it twice, just to reassure myself that it really was crap and I didn't look over some hidden meaning in every scene.

I know that the same POV the entire movie gets boring, but how many times did the editor's have to change it? None of the scenes make much sense, either. I literally didn't get the point of half of them, unless they were there just to confuse the audience. I just hope that when I start directing, my movies won't get as many horrible reviews as this one did.

Let me say that I like B-movies, straight-to-video-movies, etc. I search for them, and most of them I enjoy very much, better than the commercial stuff put out that you pay $10 to see in a theater with cell phones ringing... This movie is a different animal. Simply stated, I turned it off after an hour of torture. It is one of the worst, most boring, most worthless videos I've ever seen. It is a bad-plot-porno movie without the porno! I am surprised to see the lovely Jennifer Esposito absolutely wasted in this abomination.

Lame Canadian heist flick will be of interest to Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans since it stars not only Allyson Hannigan (Willow) but also features Alexis Denisof (Wesley on Buffy and Angel). The movie seems like it might have been inspired by Bound, but it's unconvincing and dull. Of the three female leads Hannigan comes off best by far, bringing a touching vulnerability to her part. Jenniffer Esposito, on the other hand, is dreadful. You never believe her for a second and are always too aware that you're watching an actress play a part--and a not very good actress at that based on this movie and Backflash.

Beyond the City Limits or Rip-It-Off, more like just rip-off, is supposedly a heist movie featuring surprising backstabing. However the only backstabbing I detected must have been done to the writer, because they were unable to finish the script. There is time spent on character development but it is wasted. No back-story is revealed, we have no idea how the characters know each other, and minus one character you (I anyway) have no desire to know them. The acting is akin to that you would perhaps see in your child or siblings kindergarten play. Minus the performance of Alyson Hannigan who plays a smack junkie who can't kick the habit giving her character a least a reason for empathy. I see that the guidelines for posting a review say no spoilers but with this plot (if you call it that) it is next to impossible. Consider this a P.S.A. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!