Gale Force

Granted, GALE FORCE isn't going to win any Oscars or even be mentioned in movie guide books years from now. But it's a fun low-budget movie for those looking for a film with at least competent actors and a hair-thin story. Treat Williams headlines the cast as a maverick L.A. detective (what else?) who reluctantly agrees to be a contestant on a SURVIVOR-like show in order to make ends meet. "Treasure Hunters" places a group of people on an island, and branching into two teams, they must follow clues and find the buried treasure before the other. When a group of mercenaries infiltrate the island to take the loot for themselves, the game show quickly turns into a deadly cat and mouse game of survival. Williams carries the film pretty well considering he didn't even want to do it, but had to due to contractual obligations. B-movie action star Michael Dudikoff does a rare performance as the bad guy, leader of the mercs, and displays a fair amount of menace that might have been more intimidating had the direction been tighter. Rounding out the cast is B-movie veteran Tim Thomerson as a rugged ex-Navy SEAL; Susan Walters, the girl with a name that rhymes with a part of the female anatomy from a classic episode of SEINFELD; Cliff DeYoung, in his stock weasel character; and Cliff Armstrong from the REVENGE OF THE NERD movies. The film also borrows scenes from LAST ACTION HERO, PREDATOR, and BAT-21 to save on cost and time. On the DVD commentary, director Jim Wynorski and the cinematographer joke about their usage of pre-existing footage and acknowledge the fact the film is dumb but fun. I wouldn't necessarily call it a dumb movie (I bought the DVD after all because I'm a Dudikoff junkie), but it's certainly not a great movie. The concept is definitely a great starting point, and though this film handles it decently, I can just imagine what a big-budget studio film could do with it.

I must admit to being disappointed with this film. Normally I very much enjoy films starring Michael Dudikoff but this was not up to the usual standard, perhaps because he did not play as important a role as he might. Scientifically the film was complete rot, particularly regarding the nature of tsunamis, and this stretched the imagination beyond acceptable limits and required too many allowances to enable one to participate in the film. Instead I found myself listing the errors within it. It's a pity, since although not by any means an original idea for a movie, there is still sufficient mileage in it for there to have been a good, exciting and enjoyable film. Alas, this is not it!

Give credit to writer Steve Latshaw for some memorable quotes in this masterpiece. For example, try this one on for size:

'It's our only chance!'

Who said Shakespeare was the bard?

This movie has been credited as being 'a good B movie'. Not even close. This movie is 'a bad Z movie'. It can't even make the end of the alphabet.

This is truly painful. It must have been at least mildly unpleasant for everyone except the writer, the director, and the money - who probably thought they had a winner on their hands.

Note the IMDb have no info on how much this blockbuster cost. Pocket change most likely.

But couldn't they have at least paid more money for a good screenplay? Or is that against the rules too?

Does a bad movie have to be bad through and through to really qualify as bad?

And don't forget to check out the filming locations for a really good laugh.

This movie does not deserve a review. I am writing this to warn anyone that is planning on renting it to STAY AWAY! Bad acting, bad writing, bad cast, bad direction, bad scenery. I must admit that the sound during the storm scenes was excellent. Bad, bad, bad and alright, one excellent.

Watch the first 10 minutes of this film and you realize that there are a number of scenes taken from Last Action Hero. I wondered why Treat Williams was dressed the same as Arnold and driving the same car. After watching these and other scenes, one had to wonder how much of this movie was actual new footage and how much had been taken from other movies.

Do not rent this movie. It's predictable (perhaps this statement is obvious since some viewers will have seen various segments before). It's a low Grade B movie at best.