Mindstorm

There is not a single redeeming feature for this misguided effort. I don't even want to give it the credit of calling it a movie.

The story centres around a plot that would have been turned down by the makers of Knight Rider, and that's saying a lot.

The acting is appalling, although perhaps some of them could be forgiven as English is apparently not a language they understand. It looks as if they have just learned their lines phonetically without actually understanding how bad the dialogue they are partaking in is.

The special effects are definitely not special and only barely qualify as effects.

My only saving grace is that it wasn't me who chose this at the video store. Apparently the girl who chose it was impressed by the cover. I haven't yet seen the cover, but looking at it for 90 minutes would be infinitely preferable to having to sit through this loathsome tosh.

I only hope that the people rating it 10 out of 10 here are either being ironic or are multiple votes from Judge Reinhold trying desperately to keep this off its deserved place at the bottom of the IMDB charts.

Please, for the sake of your own sanity, do not ever give into the temptation to watch this movie. It makes Porky's 3 look like a masterpiece. Yes, it is that bad.

Have a hammer? Crack yourself good across the knuckles a few dozen times - that would be less painful that watching this stinker.

Don't believe me? Well imagine a movie with video game special effects and you would have, yeah! Mindstorm.

I mean bad is bad but did they have to make a messiah out of this turkey? Aaahhh, God let it end, let it end!

Really they did make this up as they went along, no one could actually script this stuff, could they?

Did I mention...God let it end, let it end!

In case you forget - God let it end, let it end!

OK, here are the two biggest problems with this movie: Judge Reinhold and the sibling sub-plot. Nothing against Judge Reinhold, he's a decent enough actor when it comes to lighter fare like fathers inhabiting their sons bodies or flinging coffee into a robbers face but in this film we're expected to believe that Judge Reinhold is an ex-Black Ops Officer? Sorry, no. Knowing that Judge took this role to pay the rent and get a free trip to Bulgaria makes it a bit more forgivable from his point of view, but the casting director really should have gone for a younger, more athletic B-movie actor, like Antonio Sabato Jr. Sorry Mr. Reinhold, no hard feelings.

Also, what was with the sister?! Her accent was waaayyyy too thick (to the point that I couldn't understand what she was saying and with the lack of subtitles written into the DVD...) and her character was useless save for the fact that she provides a way to end the movie. Why not make Jerry an only child and develop a love interest. Same actress (dubbed over of course), different character name, and an extra ten minutes spent on explaining how/why they hook up. The ten minutes could easily have been lost from the "map" chase scene.

Even the fact that most of the aircraft featured in the film were CGI didn't bother me as they did a decent job on their surely shoe-string budget.

All in all, I'd have to say that this movie wasn't so bad. If USA still ran their "Up All Night" showcase of B-Movies I would have watched it and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Definitely not a high budget movie, but filmed on location, Eastern Europe, and conveys a sense of place with a few beautiful churches and monasteries. Judge Reinhold carries this movie with understated authority and maturity that is miles away from his old comic persona. No comic scenes. Good character development of an appropriately cynical agent, but scenes without him are flat.

Plot pretty simple, but great to have a low impact action movie for once, without all those chase scenes, computerized monsters, and frenetic characters. Interesting Eastern European music seems to fit the movie. Much like a made for TV movie short of production funds. Not for everyone, but Judge Reinhold fans will like this role.

This film is confusing at first, but it later becomes clear who is who, and what the aim of the characters is. Judge Reinhold, whom I admit I hadn't really noticed before, is obviously the well known name here, and although he actually doesn't get much screen time, he makes a big impact. The characters are sympathetic, and really, there are no 'bad guys'. There is, however, plenty of suspense. I found myself really cheering for the main characters - all they do, some of it pretty gruesome, is for good reason.

The setting is beautiful, and unusual, and the ending appropriate to the established concerns of the principals.