Sacrificio

I am always interested in a Cuba Gooding Jr. movie, as his personality can carry even crappy plots. I feel bad for Cuba as the last few films he has made have been TV movie dramas at best.

This movie is no exception as the film work and writing are slow and dull. Though there were a few good scenes, such as the scene when Cuba visits the snake man.

I would advise against watching this movie, it is a drama/action film, but is missing the action and drama to keep you interested beyond the first 20-minutes.

Though I was able to watch the entire thing, I do feel it was overall a waste of time and I wish I had not seen this film.

It reminds me of a late night HBO rerun movie that you might watch if you have nothing else to do, and even then you probably won't walk away from the film even remembering that you saw it or anything interesting in it.

Though I love Cuba's acting, and I hope he hits a few more home runs in his career, this is not one of them.

The plot: A cop on the edge tries to protect an informant and his young sister after they turn on a dangerous drug lord.

Cuba Gooding, Jr, Christian Slater, and Kim Coates have been making direct-to-video action movies for a while now. Although none of them have reached the rock-bottom depths of Michael Madsen's career, it's still kind of depressing to see them toiling in such derivative, low budget B movies. This is the first time that I've seen any of these fine actors actually take on a project that seems more appropriate for Michael Madsen.

If anyone in the world is the proper demographic for these kinds of movies, it's me. I have a fondness of gritty, low budget exploitation, and I'm capable of lowering my standards to levels that most people find intolerable. I don't care overmuch about budgets, I'm fairly forgiving of plot holes, and I don't mind a bit of bad acting or bad special effects. However, movies like Sacrifice test even my patience. This is not the kind of movie that's going to give Christian Slater or Cuba Gooding, Jr a comeback. In fact, it's just going to reinforce their "has-been" status.

I know that most people don't like Cuba Gooding, Jr's recent output, but I thought some of them were quite underrated. Shadowboxer, for example, was a good movie. Hero Wanted was flawed, but it was certainly enjoyable enough for a direct-to-video release. Sacrifice makes Hero Wanted look like pure genius. I'm beginning to think that Cuba Gooding, Jr has simply given up, and he doesn't even care any more.

Sacrifice is for Cuba Gooding, Jr die-hards only. If you have a strong tolerance for B movies, you'll probably find it tolerable, but the only real draw are the B-list leads, who are rapidly falling down into the C-list territory.

Can you have a second chance to stop a tragedy? After losing his wife and child, undercover cop John Hebron (Gooding Jr.) is struggling to forgive himself for not saving them. After a similar crime takes place he is given a second chance. After watching Cuba in "Ticking Clock", which I really liked, I had high hopes for this one. I was a little disappointed. The idea of the movie is very interesting, but the execution is lacking. A plot that has so much potential ends up being slow moving and never given the push it needs to make it as interesting as it sounds. This is not a terrible movie, but definitely not one of Cuba's best. It would be nice to see him get out of the Seagal, Kilmer & Snipes-like direct-to-video movies though and back into main stream movies. He has the talent for them still. I give it a C.

Would I watch again? - I don't think I will.

Wow, what a trainwreck. Where to begin...I suppose by this time you have more than recognized Cuba's downward spiral but teaming him up with Slater is an even more embarrassing turn for both actors. Slater has been pawning off his creepy yet campy style for years now and occasionally pulls of an entertaining performance (Dolan's Cadallac, He was a quiet man), but here he just swims in the dreck. Horribly miscast as a priest, he can do little more but smirk at the camera and look at his shoes. Devon Bostik is laughable as a drug dealer - I mean really, Wimpy's kid's big brother is now a tough guy? Just a total mess and a shame for all involved. I had hopes that Cuba would rebound at some point, but he seems determine to join Wesley and Steven Seagal in the DTV "worst of" series. Seriously, don't waste your time or money on this, bad bad bad.

This movie tackles the theme of cops against drug dealers, a theme that has been seen hundred times a year in movies, and I don't think this movie made any significant contribution to this worn out subject. The cops are always good, but have their problems, and the drug dealers are always bad guys who must be brought to death, before they ruin the whole world. We really don't care so much about the characters in the movie, it is like we already know what will happen to them, because the story line is very predictable. I've seen another better movies about it, and I think this is a very cliché movie without any reward to the viewer, a mere pastime, but there are better ways to waste your time. I recommend it only to the big fans of this threadbare genre...