200 Degrees

"200 Degrees" delivers a premise with potential: a man trapped in a kiln-like room, facing rising temperatures and moral dilemmas. Unfortunately, while the concept is intriguing, the execution leaves much to be desired.

The tension never quite reaches a satisfying peak. The acting, while adequate, struggles against a script filled with predictable twists and lackluster dialogue. Eric Balfour does his best to carry the film, but his performance feels constrained by the limited scope of the story.

Visually, the movie makes good use of its confined setting, but the pacing falters, often making the 91-minute runtime feel longer than it should. The psychological aspects are underdeveloped, leaving the viewer disconnected from the protagonist's plight.

While "200 Degrees" has moments of suspense, it never fully capitalizes on its premise, resulting in a thriller that feels more tepid than scalding. It's watchable, but not particularly memorable.

Be prepared to spend 90 minutes on the edge of your seat. With excellent production, great casting, and a clever but nerve-wrecking plot, 200 Degrees will have you biting your nails on pins and needles. This thriller is chock full of suspense with twists and turns you will NEVER see coming. Balfour and Cochell give excellent deliveries that will have you anxiously sweating bullets and really feeling the heat.

Anyone else bothered that he didn't try to call 911 right away? it's just ridiculous that he has a phone but doesn't use it at all.

All I can say is that if the protagonist had been female, she would have almost immediately been stripped down to her underwear. This guy removes his jacket at the start and then remains fully clothed (socks and shoes included) all the way through. I can't get over the blatant double standards here - and before anyone thinks I'm being overly sensitive, we actually (completely unnecessarily) see tits! Incredible. The guy is in insane heat, gets soaked so is not only absolutely boiling but humid, and keeps all his clothes on. Then we see boobs because...? The woman could have had a bra on and we still would have known she was a prostitute.

I'm so incensed by this aspect of the film alone that I was too distracted by my ire to concentrate properly. Relatively interesting concept ruined by unabashed hypocrisy. Points for the setting as I really hate the heat so it did make me go "oooooooo" quite a few times (of course followed by "what kind of absolute cretin wouldn't take some of those clothes off? Oh yes, one who's not being objectified").

This movie is not a waste of time but can't win bronze medal either. Starts like it might be a new taste in "kidnepped and will be tortured till we finally learn why" movie, then it ends like a really bad theatre scene played by their family members.

The end is way beyond bad. And the end throws the rest of the movie in to a trash bin. But! But it would make a great phone and phone network advertisement. I would definitely buy that phone. Damn.