L'équipée infernale

They should put a warning label on this one. Movies like this are puerile by concept but they can be fun provided everyone plays it right. This turd does not. It's not fun or funny and the action is worse than the worst episode of The A-Team. The characters are all annoying, played with a complete lack of skill by the cast. Michael Dudikoff's work in the American Ninja movies is like Brando compared to what he's doing here. Avoid this at all costs. Any movie that opens with close ups of Stephen Dorff's armpits should have all copies burned.

"Rescue Me" was one of Cannon Pictures' last movies to get a theatrical release. It was a small and low key release, and upon seeing the movie it's easy to see why Cannon didn't give it much of a push. To be certain, it's not a complete waste of time. All of the cast, from leads Michael Dudikoff and Stephen Dorff, give appealing and likable performances. And for what had to be a low budget, the movie looks pretty good thanks to some expert cinematography and some well chosen locations. However, the movie all the same is more often than not a somewhat hard slog. Some plot details and character development seem to be missing, whether it was edited out or simply missing from Mike Snyder's screenplay in the first place. And while the movie was made in the 1990s, it has an odd 1980s feel, from the music to the clothing. The biggest problem, however, is that there is very little spark. The movie moves at a sluggish pace throughout, and this slow feeling also extends to the scenes of comedy and action; the comedy (though thankfully not strident and in-your-face) is lame, and the action sequences simply aren't exciting (or well accomplished) at all. It's too bad the movie doesn't work as a whole, because it had a pretty good and original premise. Remake, anyone?

I saw this years ago on our pay channel, and loved it, so ever since I've been collecting glamorous titles with pretty actresses, I've been trying to find this, without success. But I've forgotten most of the details, and mostly just remember the shower scene at the beginning of the movie, the two young protagonists preparing for dates. And the hot pursuit, on a motor cycle, of the baddies. Recently downloaded the trailer, and when you take a look at that, it is hard to understand why there has been no DVD release, because this sure looks good. But a search for RESCUE ME just reveals the darn TV series, perhaps I should search for STREET HUNTER next time? And I promise to write a decent review if I ever see this movie again, but sadly, I won't :( Suffice to say that having seen it once, say far more than twenty-one years ago, I just know that I'd really love to see it again, so that is saying something.

News update! News update! Yesterday, May fourteenth, 2021, I finally finally finally got a download. I'd been peeking at YouTube, but we all know you couldn't download, so I was just bummed. A contact has an app, though, so finally...! Bribe involved, of course. Watching on a cellphone is not my preferred medium, but I'm busy doing that, and posting quotes. I am surprised at just exactly how weak the setup really is. But take it as slapstick comedy and all is well.

Seems I at long last at least (kinda) realized this objective. Notice given that this entry here on IMDb will undergo major updates!

Michael Dudikoff stars as Mac, a Vietnam vet(Isn't Mikey Dudikoff too young to be a Vietnam vet?) who is blackmailed by a high school nerd(Dorff) to help track down the kidnapped girl of his dreams (Ami Dolenz) in this low budget effort. I remember actually seeing previews for this on late night TV, naturally this didn't do all that well in theaters. I think the problem is that Rescue Me often times feels like a sitcom rather than an action/comedy. There are some moments between Dudikoff and Dorff but mainly any depth is betrayed by the mindless antics here.

*1/2 out of 4-(Poor)

Red alert from the first frame of the titles: Fraser (Dorff) and the cheerleader he's after in lengthy shower scenes. It's so exploitive, it's obvious the studio decided "well, this picture's a turd, throw in some young skin." Though the amount of Dorff's armpit you see nearly defies belief. Also, Dorff looks somehow strange in this movie. Maybe his eyebrows are too plucked/defined?

Kind of seems like they had a possibly decent movie here, and some of it clicks in the buddy buddy area, but even that comes off half baked. Partly, it seems unlikely Dorff's character is still a virgin, but the bigger problem is it seems like they're missing half the story or something. Maybe they ran out of money and didn't shoot numerous scenes? They go for a lot of depth in the buddy buddy stuff, far beyond what's justified by what we see. And Fraser breaks down crying when he sees the ocean? Why now?

Mac waking up to Fraser firing his pistol is kind of funny.

The kidnappers and their motives? Uh, whatever.

The movie looks pretty good- they picked some great locations.

Actually, after reading another review where they saw it when they were a young teen and liked it, it could be you have to see it pretty young. Some movies like Stand By Me or what have you may hold appeal to younger and older audiences, but some don't.