Terminal Velocity

Ok, so it's not Shakespeare. It was a serious Crash and burn at the box office, but I consider it to be my duty to defend this film. So some of the jokes are lame and the plot virtually non-existent, but you just have to remember one thing:It was really FUN! And as I see it, that's the only thing that matters. Charlie Sheen isn't exactly at home with the action hero thing, but he brings a good humour that the usual action hero hunks would have seriously over-looked, and in a film like this it's the humour that holds it all together. For a Wet Wednesday evening, you can't beat it. Go... Rent, buy, borrow, whatever you need to. I guarentee you'll laugh at least once, even the most surly among you. (And for those Charlie Sheen fans out there, this is one you should definitely see. Not as good as some of his other films, but definitely an important spot in his career) Watch this movie, and enjoy.

When Ditch Brodie takes a novice skydiver (Chris Morrow) up in his plane for lessons, she tragically falls to her death. Brodie loses his license and tries to live with the loss. However an closer look at a video of the accident reveals a second plane where a body was thrown to impersonate Chris. Brodie investigates and uncovers a plot to capture sensitive information and return it to Russia.

This is a really fun film. It's not meant to be a masterpiece or a deep political thriller. It is meant to be a fun ride through exaggerated characters and silly set pieces. The plot is almost pointless - it's just an excuse to hang the set pieces around. However what you do get is Sheen overacting, great action scenes - the best being Sheen skydiving after a car which has Kinsji locked in the trunk. You understand? - it's meant to be big dumb fun. Personally I think this is better than a lot of big summer films that have big special effects scenes and ridiculous plots but try to take themselves seriously. This knows it's all a bit unlikely but enjoys itself anyway.

Sheen is the key to the tongue-in-cheek approach. He doesn't play a character - he almost just plays himself! Even when he's in action scenes he's smiling - because he's having fun! and it makes me enjoy it a lot more. Kinski almost has as much fun in her role, but she has to carry a lot of the plot so she is more serious at time. A pre-Sopranos James Gandolfini is menacing in his small bad guy role and Melvin Van Peebles makes an appearance to show that it's not just his son that can do daft films.

Overall it's silly dumb fun. Sheen enjoys himself so why can't you?

It's a shame to see Deran Sarafian has ended up directing episodes of TV shows because he proves with this, his best film, that he's a very competent hand at the helm of a big action film. Admittedly he's helped by the two leads, Charlie Sheen and Nastassja Kinski, who have the C-word... Chemistry, not to mention the villains, James Gandolfini and Chris McDonald who have the B-word... Baddy?

The stunt work is both impressive and breath taking because you can see it's genuine – witness the nail biting scene involving a car in free fall – would it be half as exciting if it was done with CGI? With a script full of great comedy moments it all adds up to a very enjoyable way to spend 100 minutes. 7/10

This is one film that has not scored many good reviews, but honestly, I'm a little surprised why most movie critics has slaughtered this film all together. Myself, I think that's unfair, cause I found it absolutely enjoyable. OK, the story is a bit thin at times, but alot of films has had thinner stories than this one, and still received better reviews. Sheen doesn't act too bad in this film either, and Kinsky surprises as well. None of them are great actors, but they don't let the film down. In general, a fair action-movie, with some very spectacular skydiving-scenes. Not bad at all.

"Teminal Velocity", a B-level action flick with sky diving as the principle source of thrills, sticks Sheen and Kinski at the center of international intrigue with sundry bad guys chasing them around as they to manage to find ways to free fall through space and into love. Full of plot-holes, this typical commercial Hollywood product is a potpourri of stunts, shootouts, effects, pytotechnics, romance, etc. sufficient to keep the bleary-eyed channel surfer awake until the end. The flick has one really cool stunt near the end, goes easy on the sex, doesn't take itself too seriously, and is an enjoyable "ride" as long as expectations are kept low.