Freejack

In my mind Freejack has always merged with other 90's sci-fi movies like Johnny Mnemonic and Chain Reaction. All of these had cool poster images that were seen in magazines, but other than the posters I pretty much missed out the actual movies.

Another thing that comes to mind is that the phrase "Freejack Soundtrack" is a thing...maybe even more than the actual movie. That's because I had a phase when I was a huge fan of the band Scorpions, and I remember noticing that the song "Hit Between the Eyes" was featured on the soundtrack album of this movie. So I always thought that someday I'm going to see what this Freejack actually is.

Third notion is that this is the gimmick film with Mick Jagger as an actor. I feared that if he happened to be a bad actor, then that would explain why this movie seems so forgotten. Maybe it was a flop?

All right then, let's take a ride to the danger zone and see does Freejack hit between the eyes or miss completely.

The story is original and interesting. A supposed-dead guy is hijacked to the future to be used as a new body for a dying businessman. But the body accidentally escapes, and right there we have a recipe for an action packed chase adventure.

The cast is interesting. Antony Hopkins is probably the best actor in the film but he doesn't have much screentime so it doesn't make much difference. Then we have of course the rocker Mick Jagger as a tough leader of the bad guys' army. Even though Jagger isn't a seasoned actor he looks good in the role and acts decent enough. The hero is played by Emilio Estevez. I've never really liked him. I always thought he's like a poorman's version of Michael J. Fox. But in the end Estevez redeems the role. He manages to use his blank face to create a puzzled character lost in time. The female lead is played by Rene Russo who's always got class.I just like her whenever she's on the screen. One more mention: Jonathan Banks (Mike Ehrmantraut from Breaking Bad!) is in this movie too. That's awesome!

The budget is not enormous but it's big enough and used effectively. I really like the comic book vibe of the visual style, the "futuristic" vehicles that actually just are some army jeeps painted red but... hey, it works! The coolest machine is Jagger's techno-truck that unforrtunately is not seen that much.

Overall Freejack might not be a cinematic masterpiece if judged by indiviudyal acting performances, or if you're looking for some deep message that will change your life. But as an action movie it's really entertaining and stylish, and has an diverse cast of actors that just feels...cool. More than the sum of its parts I'd say.

Oh, and last but certainly not least: you can bang your head and play air guitar during end credits when one of the hardest rocking songs from Scorpions starts playing. Yeaaah!

There are good films and there are bad films, but my favourite 'genre' seems to simply be 'entertaining' films. I'm sure most people won't be putting 1992's 'Freejack' up there with 'The Godfather' and 'Empire Strikes Back' and there are probably those (mainly professional film critics with no sense of fun!) who would describe it as 'bad.' However, I totally disagree. I enjoyed it so much back when I was a teen and I still smile at it now.

Emilio Estevez plays 'Alex' - a racecar driver who dies in an explosion during a lap in 1992, only to wake up in the (at the time!) 'far flung future' of 2009 where he's been plucked from his own time a split second before his death and now someone wants to use his body for, er, some nefarious purpose.

What follows could probably fall into the 'sci-fi/chase' movie where Alex in on the run in his new surroundings while being pursued by shady forces. Now, I should mention that Sir Anthony Hopkins is on the cast list. But don't get ideas of some great 'Hannibal Lecter' performance. He's pretty much just an extended cameo. We also have Rene Russo as the 'love interest' and, like so many roles, she is only really there for the romantic element and doesn't really get much in the way of character development. However, the best 'actor' is not one of these heavyweights.

The ever awesome Mick Jagger (yes, not really known for his 'acting') is the black leather-clad henchman, in charge of a small private army of futuristic goons hell-bent on brining Alex's body in for... you'll find out what. Now, he's no actor. And it shows. I'm not going to say his performance is 'fantastic,' only that you're guaranteed to remember it for all time. The film may actually be 'average' to most, but Jagger's swagger as the henchmen is pure cinematic gold. He steals every scene - sometimes menacing, sometimes comical, always brilliant and is worth the film's run-time alone.

Nowadays, I've seen 'Freejack' has developed a small cult following in the sci-fi community and many have put it in the 'so-bad-it's-good' category. That may be true to a degree (especially when discussing Mr Jagger!), but I think it's actually a good little action, sci-fi B-movie.

Don't be too hard on it and just enjoy the ride as it's very well put together and covers quite a few sci-fi concepts that are actually quite original. Plus, when I watch it now I also realise that I've been watching 'Mike' from 'Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul' in this film for all these years and I never realised.

I lap up anything with Emilio Estevez. I've always thought he was extremely underrated. Sometimes, he picks the silliest scripts. I did have some fun with this movie, but It's far from a good movie. The futuristic storyline has been done to death, and nothing really stands out about it. It has some entertaining action, good humor, and a great cast to keep you watching. As much as I love Emilio, he's not really the action star type. That being said, he managed to pull it off with his natural charisma. He borders on cockiness at times, but his charisma manages to keep him likable and easy to root for. Mick Jagger is terrible as the villain. He should have kept his day job, in lieu of dabbling into acting. Anthony Hopkins is here for a paycheck, nothing more. Rene Russo is classy as usual. She takes a one-dimensional part and makes it worthwhile. That's what genuine talent is able to do.

I enjoy it for what it is! Then again, I dig anything that is enjoyably cheesy. This movie falls under that category. They were obviously aiming for much more, but they weren't able to pull it off. Keep your expectations low, and you'll have a decent time

5.5/10

OK, I'm a sci-fi movie buff. So I'm the type of person who'd like this film.

But I do have some basic standards, and Freejack is just the right sort of campy flick, sort of a "Blade Runner" gone slumming. It's bad, but it's a good bad, if you're into cult classics.

Who should see this film:

-- sci-fi movie buffs, but don't go out of your way, oh and see Demolition Man too which is similar but better

-- nobody else

I enjoyed the film, but campy special effects and silly plot mean I can only give it a 6 out of 10.

"Freejack" has one of the more unique twists on time travel, with people of the present being snatched away from a certain death to the future. It also begins to develop a unique feel and look to it. However, it's slow in several spots and doesn't develop the imagery as well as it could.

Emilio Estevez didn't seem right for the part, he looked and came across as a kid playing in a role meant for someone older and wiser. Rene Russo is wonderful as always, and Anthony Hopkins does the best he can with his limited character, but both of them are spent on the sidelines.

The real surprise was Mick Jagger, who made a wicked villain. I wonder why he hasn't tried acting in more movies. "Freejack" has largely been forgotten, but it's still worth a look.