17 opiniones
Detectives Tucker (Bill Paxton) and Flynn (Lindsay Frost) individually stumble upon an out-of-this-world case when they both spot a deranged woman chasing down a young boy with her car and then shooting him dead. Things get messy when the Department of Historical Research boss Villano (John Hurt) shows up and takes the woman away (according to the screenplay, he has a higher security rating than the President) from police chief Mac (Lou Gossett, Jr.). Naturally, two curious and rule breaking detectives won't be having any of this and begin to investigate. But the bigger question is will these two cantankerous cops get along?
Folks seem to peg this as an X-FILES ripoff, but that is hard to swallow because it was filming before that show debuted. It is more LETHAL WEAPON with aliens. Director John Eyres and screenwriter Stephen Lister had some marginal direct-to-video success with PROJECT: SHADOWCHASER so Shapiro-Glickenhaus maybe wanted a piece of that. It is nice seeing Paxton getting a film to carry on his own at this time (he previous did with THE VAGRANT), but the budget just isn't there for this one. Introvision handled the FX and some of them are really rough. It is a shame because I could totally get behind a "LETHAL WEAPON with aliens" film (well, I guess I have THE HIDDEN, which this closely resembles). John Hurt appears to have only done a day or two on this as his scenes in the last half have him isolated in shots (even including his major role in the finale).
Folks seem to peg this as an X-FILES ripoff, but that is hard to swallow because it was filming before that show debuted. It is more LETHAL WEAPON with aliens. Director John Eyres and screenwriter Stephen Lister had some marginal direct-to-video success with PROJECT: SHADOWCHASER so Shapiro-Glickenhaus maybe wanted a piece of that. It is nice seeing Paxton getting a film to carry on his own at this time (he previous did with THE VAGRANT), but the budget just isn't there for this one. Introvision handled the FX and some of them are really rough. It is a shame because I could totally get behind a "LETHAL WEAPON with aliens" film (well, I guess I have THE HIDDEN, which this closely resembles). John Hurt appears to have only done a day or two on this as his scenes in the last half have him isolated in shots (even including his major role in the finale).
- udar55
- 23 abr 2013
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Very likely John Eyres' most ambitious movie to date. A sci-fi/action/horror/thriller hybrid populated with good folks like Bill Paxton, John Hurt, Louis Gosset Jr., gorgeous B-vamp Musetta Vander and Lindsay Frost (who somewhat comes across as the wisecracking tough blonde acting equivalent of Yancy Butler). A secret government agency has been fooling around with an alien entity. Of course, the thing gets loose and starts to run amok in the city. Well, "running" isn't exactly the right word, since it's more like some form of alien energy that possesses the bodies of humans (that eventually do all the running). It's up to Paxton, Frost & Gosset to figure out what is loose in their city and try to stop it. The plot kind of looses itself along the way, not really knowing where to aim things and eventually not bothering to explain itself anymore. The film ends ridiculously, but before that we do get to see some nifty alien set designs. The SFX are pretty decent at times. For fans of Jack Sholder's "The Hidden" (1987), this might be another amusing watch (though Sholder's film is much tighter & better).
- Vomitron_G
- 28 feb 2012
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Mix"leathal weapon" and a Roger Corman movie and you have an idea what you are in for.
- bnotej
- 22 dic 2018
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The reference to Starsky & Hutch by another viewer is brilliant. This movie has no story, but, instead, seems to have been pieced together with bits and pieces pulled from Hollywood's vast supply of garbage cans. Bill Paxton does his usual out-of-control-but-I'm-really-hurtin'-inside schtick. Lindsay Frost's hair stays miraculously manageable, despite her being blown into a pool, shot at on a high-rise terrace, and (why do they subject us to this schlock?) diving into sewage. Both actors serve as the other's straight-man to hackneyed one-liners that are as predictable as the victims. Just who or what this alien with eyeballs that shoot fireballs is... or wants... is never explained, nor do we have any idea what the goon scientists have been doing with/at it all these years. I paid 20 cents for the video of this film on the streets of Seoul. I think I was ripped off.
- katpbennett
- 28 ene 2002
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I tend to cut SF more slack than other genres, simply because there is so much more setup work to be done in establishing a believable reality in which the story takes place. It is also my favorite genre. That said, this movie was one of the worst I've seen (I've seen a lot and own over 1000), which was very surprising considering the star power among the cast. Every, and I mean every, scene was stereotypical of some previous movie (cop buddy, action, etc.) done countless times before. And these worn out scenes strung together do not a plot make.
I kept dully pawing the remote in a futile search for some way to lower the frickin movie music volume somehow. It was just relentless! The "smoky sax", the "distorted guitar", the "ominous strings", etc. Someone got their hands on the latest 1993 synth and was wearing it out - and me too. It was often louder than the dialog, telegraphing the "mood" of every boring scene, removing even the possibility of anything unexpected happening in this dog.
An what's up with the name of the movie "Monolith"? I was expecting some large structure ala 2001 to appear at some point. No one even mentioned the word. I don't get it.
I'd rather watch the space saga Albert Brooks was editing in "Modern Romance".
I kept dully pawing the remote in a futile search for some way to lower the frickin movie music volume somehow. It was just relentless! The "smoky sax", the "distorted guitar", the "ominous strings", etc. Someone got their hands on the latest 1993 synth and was wearing it out - and me too. It was often louder than the dialog, telegraphing the "mood" of every boring scene, removing even the possibility of anything unexpected happening in this dog.
An what's up with the name of the movie "Monolith"? I was expecting some large structure ala 2001 to appear at some point. No one even mentioned the word. I don't get it.
I'd rather watch the space saga Albert Brooks was editing in "Modern Romance".
- jaded_viewer
- 8 oct 2003
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As fledgling film maker myself, I think a lot of people don't understand just how damn hard it to make a movie. But yeah, it could have been better. I think the overall story was ok and yeah I'm sure more money would have helped. Some of the 'green screen' scenes are well...I can do better in my lounge room with my equipment and a laptop these days but remember this is from 1993 and things were a lot different then. I think without the actors they somehow got into this it would have been ever worse, they obviously thought it was worth working on but I wonder how much they got paid?....anyway 4 stars, for trying while it probably only really deserves maybe 2....
- anywheretrev
- 27 nov 2018
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This film really caught me off guard. IT had a close to A list cast, looked great on the video box when I rented it (Circa 1994 I think) started off with promise but rapidly became a mess.... It sorta has the feel of an unfinished and un-post produced mainstream scifi action flick.
Terrible editing and f/x. Uninspired dialogue and generic plot. What the hell was Paxton and Hurt doing in this? Even Gossett jnr was a pull around this time.. Did the director have some juicy info on them all to get them to work on this dross? Thankfully for him Gossett shows some good judgement (watch and it'll make sense)
I see the same director did Project Shadowchaser, A video staple of rentals in the uk during the early 90's. That had Martin Kove and the Android to hold it together. Here the stars just seem to be trying to battle thru to the end and forget they were involved lol
Terrible editing and f/x. Uninspired dialogue and generic plot. What the hell was Paxton and Hurt doing in this? Even Gossett jnr was a pull around this time.. Did the director have some juicy info on them all to get them to work on this dross? Thankfully for him Gossett shows some good judgement (watch and it'll make sense)
I see the same director did Project Shadowchaser, A video staple of rentals in the uk during the early 90's. That had Martin Kove and the Android to hold it together. Here the stars just seem to be trying to battle thru to the end and forget they were involved lol
- MCal27
- 21 may 2009
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- denieuwehoorspelers
- 3 ene 2016
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- exctidal
- 10 sep 2018
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A couple of lively, prototypically querulous L. A. Cops, Tucker (Bill Paxton) and Terri (Lindsay Frost) fatefully discover the terrifying truth behind the sinisterly shapeshifting exploits of an alien in this enjoyably noisome 90s Sci-actioner. This neglected time killer has a golden cast, slam bang action, goofball buddy Cop badinage, mild weirdosity, healthy schlock elements and a thunderous climax, giving Monolith some viable B-movie heft. I can appreciate why some disparage Monolith, and, hopefully, they might also do me the same courtesy and regard my earnest enjoyment with comparable equanimity. You say Tomato, I say Clamato, what cooks your goose don't do much for your Gander etc. Etc. Etc. Patently Low brow, not quite monobrow, Monolith is less compelling than The Hidden, yet the cosy familiarity of the Twilight Zoned text kept me tuned in. Hey!!! No one in full command of their mental faculties will ever claim this specific Monolith is responsible for the evolution of man, but I'm more of a devolutionist, anyhoo!!!
- Weirdling_Wolf
- 23 ago 2024
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- idontneedyourjunk
- 9 ago 2019
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- MasterFantastic
- 23 jun 2014
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- 1bilbo
- 22 abr 2010
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Monolith (R) - MCA Universal Home Video: Low-budget hack John Eyres (PROJECT SHADOWCHASER), a director whose penchant for making bubbleheaded B-action scripts seem like high-concept A-list product without the subtext stymies him time after time, lends his flashy, contrived visual style (mostly achieved through lighting and heavy FX work) to this hokey, logic-free sci-fi actioner about two stereotypically mismatched cops (Bill Paxton and Lindsay Frost, bad quip traders to the end) who encounter creepy research guys, assorted walking dead, monster gun battles, and a hefty serving of explosions as they track a body-hopping alien entity to the source of its power. While PROJECT SHADOWCHASER ripped huge chunks from TERMINATOR and DIE HARD, MONOLITH's inspirations seem to come from a plethora of Big Action Flicks, as its alien beastie - bereft of motive or, apparently, physical form - proves little more than a MacGuffin to allow Eyres to show off his remarkable-for-this-budget action and FX sequences, particularly a boffo climax. In between these, however, we get grating, failed attempts at comedy and hero banter so stale a chainsaw couldn't cut it. However, if you go in expecting a full wheel of cheese with the FX wine (in this case a nice Mogen David), then you'll be less disappointed. I give it a 4
- BrianThibodeau
- 10 ago 2004
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I watched this movie in the 1990s, and decades later it remains one of the absolute worst movies I have ever seen. It is not even bad in an Ed Wood kind of way. Just bad. Consider yourself warned if you see this review and still watch this abomination. I read a positive review for this movie before watching it and then wondered whether that reviewer had simply imagined a better movie. The dialogue is hackneyed, the story is dumb and somehow bland despite its subject matter, and nothing about the technical work is especially interesting. And the cast includes actors who you might have seen in decent movies, so I blame the script.
- zacharyjsmith-86824
- 9 feb 2024
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Well being that I actually got to be on the set of this movie for a time, while it was being filmed in my home town.. I have to say it was an excellent adventure. The time it takes to do each scene and the work that goes into it is time consuming and to be honest very fun. That said, Bill Paxton and Lindsy Frost were very nice and they treated me like a part of the crew while I was there observing.. I even got to help out with setting up some things for the movie... I was not credited for what I did, as it wasn't a whole lot, but to be invited on the set by the director, to learn how things are done to film a scene was the best time in my life.. and it wouldn't be the 1st Movie set I got to visit over the years.... Man how would you feel to have been there for that Opening scene of Lethal Weapon 4? Well I was and it was also an Exhilarating adventure.
- diamondldy69
- 4 jun 2010
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Another good idea poorly executed with pot holes in the story line, improbable action and one dimensional characters. Thoughtful Lindsay Frost (Hutch as a woman) and hard case Bill Paxton (Starsky as a man) stumble onto a zany murder (pretty, vulnerable and distraught, young Russian scientist tries to run down and then succeeds in discharging a firearm into a little boy). Evil Fed agent John Hurt takes custody of the murderer from police Captain Lou Gossett. Shortly thereafter, havoc ensues as discreet portions of Los Angeles are terrorized by the evil of the Monolith (the term is not used in the film so one assumes that Monolith refers to the evil or its source). Starsky & Hutch pursue the invincible evil being--continuing to shoot at it even though they discover early on that it is invulnerable (but everyone in the movie seems to shoot at it as well--to no avail). John Hurt is 100% bad--including his acting. Bill Paxton has greasy dark hair. Lindsay Frost has really skinny jeans for a cop. Lou Gossett and the Squad Room could be recycled into another movie--any other movie. Perhaps this was originally made for TV and commercial breaks were integral to the plot.
- mrarchiegoodwin
- 2 jun 2001
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