Executive Target

The film is basically one extended car chase scene after another with a silly plot which I don't have any objections to. It's just that the film director Joseph Merhi appears to have taken his film's plot too seriously which is to kidnap the United States President played by Roy Scheider and utilizing Nick's stunt driving talents to drive the getaway car. Michael Madsen plays Nick James a stunt car driver by trade and a current California state prisoner who is busted out of prison so that a more evil criminal named Lamar played by Keith David can make use of his talents from his underground cave headquarters classified as Area 55.

Now Nick James would have preferred to complete his one year sentence in prison but when Lamar holds Nick's estranged wife Nadia played by Kathy Christopherson as his prisoner in his underground headquarters named Area 55 to ensure Nick does as he is told then Nick is left with few alternatives but to drive the getaway cars through the city of California with a couple of dozen police cars in hot pursuit, one crime at a time.

Lamar has two henchmen who keep Nick company and under control who are named Ray played by Joe Hart and Lacey played by the red headed model Angie Everhart. I appreciate that an actor can only perform as well as the lines provided to them so don't expect any quality acting from Ray or Lacey. Madsen's performance was done well for the material he was provided to work with.

Nick (Michael Madsen) ends up being the hero and the good news for the audience is that the movie ends at the 92 minute mark. Now lets see ...travelling at a rate of speed (on average) of 150 miles per hour that equates to approximately 228 miles of distance this films car chase scenes have travelled across the state of California. During the 92 minutes that the film elapsed I travelled to the fridge three times and enjoyed my snacks and drinks more than Executive Target. If you enjoy endless car chases and cars, trucks and buses that go boom then this film is for you. As for me this film went bust, as did my belly after my third trip to the fridge since this movie was not as captivating as I had hoped. I rate it a 3 out of 10.

This film's primary objective seems to be to test the viewer on how good they are at suspending their disbelief. Surprisingly, money WAS spent on this film, and there are enough car chase sequences to make even William Friedkin happy, but every time a car hits another car, it explodes immediately. Every time. Also, I got a hoot out of the closing sequence, where two helicopters are shot down, and then two different (read: cheaper) helicopters are shown on fire, hitting the ground. Different colors and everything.

Michael Madsen apparently sleep walks his way through this undemanding but nonetheless fun entry from the ever reliable guys at (the much sadly missed!) PM Entertainment.

Madsen plays a stunt car driver who is sprung from a prison bus by a shady government organisation who have hatched a dastardly plan to kidnap the president of the United States and are planning to utilise our hero's amazing driving adroitness in a daring bid to abscond with him. Well, if insane car chases are your cup of tea, then you'll love this for sure. Cars flip, spin, screech, explode and perform all manner of hair raising feats in this adrenaline pounding ride. Unfortunately, it has to be said that there is very little substance other than the aforementioned so if you are requisite of character development, a more abstruse plot and good performances then it would probably be wise to look elsewhere.

Whilst certainly not one of my personal favourites from PM's extensive catalogue, this is nonetheless worth a look for fans of automobile chaos and awesome GENUINE (as opposed to lazy CGI crap!) stuntwork.

The movie as a whole is hardly average, but I like Everhart's ice-womanish play, and Michael Madsen is always a good actor to see

The PM Entertainment Group Incorporated has created some of the best direct-to-video motion pictures ever. Their films, which concern primarily with action heroes battling impossible odds are lavishly exuberant and fun to watch. Though the PM team earns high marks for effort, EXECUTIVE TARGET is just not one of their more memorable classics...

Anyway, EXECUTIVE TARGET focuses on a stunt-car driver for action movies, Nick James (Michael Madsen), who is being transferred to a security prison in L.A. after being convicted for some minor, negligible offenses. He has one more year left of his sentenced term...but not so fast yet...

While riding on a prison bus, James and his criminal colleagues are ambushed by a couple of professional, anonymous assassins. James tries to escape via a convertible and wild chase scenes with the police ensue. James was considered lucky then to have fled from the cops, but unfortunately, the criminal masterminds have now kidnapped James' wife. They have forced her to partake in these schemes of Presidential proportions. James must abide by the villains' demands: to help kidnap the President of the U.S. of A...or else...they will silence his wife permanently...

Nick James has no choice but to help these bad guys kidnap the ye olde President of America...

Former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Angie Everhart and devious character actor Keith David are the main antagonists. Roy Scheider(!) (JAWS, BLUE THUNDER) is the main character, the imaginary pseudo-President of the United States, Carlson. At least, Mr. Scheider can look on the bright side, in this movie, he gets the privilege to play the President of the United States. How many actors in these days can brag about the opportunity to play the President of the United States of A-merica?

EXECUTIVE TARGET is sadly, prosaic material. The gossamer story-line does not help and the plot is as weak as hell. This film just barely survives the premise's implausibility, owning its gratitude to some well staged car chases, gun battles, explosions, action sequences, and just total carnage. If you love watching objects bursting into flames for no discernible reason, sit down and continue reading to find out more about this film! The action in this film is standard fare though. Lots of exploding helicopters are popular in this movie, police cars crash and conflagrations happen all over the place. Shoot-outs though are a bit less common in this film. To summarize about the pleasing action scenes of EXECUTIVE TARGET, their pyrotechnics are enough to mollify any adventurous fan's satisfaction. It will definitely keep your heart pulsating in anticipation!

As for the texture of EXECUTIVE TARGET, do not expect much. Character development is nonexistent, the sinister, hostile and diabolical villains' motives also do not make much sense either, particularly the reason why they would want to kidnap the President of the U.S.A. in the first place. Michael Madsen remained nondescript and wooden as the main hero. Angie Everhart stayed acerbic as an obstinate "lady venom," and Roy Scheider continued to be taciturn as the President who supposedly had a lot of notoriety. EXECUTIVE TARGET misses the mark in being original, but it has lots of action, colossal car chases, mayhem and frenzy, and corny humor. No melodramatic moments here, just straightforward entertainment that is diverting, if nothing else.

In this movie, my friend, do not expect anything within a proximity of novelty in this low-budget action film. Still, if you will learn to lock up your common sense elsewhere for a good 96 minutes, then maybe you will be appeased by this motion picture that's surprisingly average. My personal opinion though, about EXECUTIVE TARGET is that it is a more nominal effort from the usually talented Pepin-Merhi group, who are very good at making many explosive movies.

RATING: ** out of ****.