Beyond the City Limits

Let me say that I like B-movies, straight-to-video-movies, etc. I search for them, and most of them I enjoy very much, better than the commercial stuff put out that you pay $10 to see in a theater with cell phones ringing... This movie is a different animal. Simply stated, I turned it off after an hour of torture. It is one of the worst, most boring, most worthless videos I've ever seen. It is a bad-plot-porno movie without the porno! I am surprised to see the lovely Jennifer Esposito absolutely wasted in this abomination.

Lame Canadian heist flick will be of interest to Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans since it stars not only Allyson Hannigan (Willow) but also features Alexis Denisof (Wesley on Buffy and Angel). The movie seems like it might have been inspired by Bound, but it's unconvincing and dull. Of the three female leads Hannigan comes off best by far, bringing a touching vulnerability to her part. Jenniffer Esposito, on the other hand, is dreadful. You never believe her for a second and are always too aware that you're watching an actress play a part--and a not very good actress at that based on this movie and Backflash.

Beyond the City Limits or Rip-It-Off, more like just rip-off, is supposedly a heist movie featuring surprising backstabing. However the only backstabbing I detected must have been done to the writer, because they were unable to finish the script. There is time spent on character development but it is wasted. No back-story is revealed, we have no idea how the characters know each other, and minus one character you (I anyway) have no desire to know them. The acting is akin to that you would perhaps see in your child or siblings kindergarten play. Minus the performance of Alyson Hannigan who plays a smack junkie who can't kick the habit giving her character a least a reason for empathy. I see that the guidelines for posting a review say no spoilers but with this plot (if you call it that) it is next to impossible. Consider this a P.S.A. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!

This film has absolutely no direction. I was a little skeptical of the concept but saw that it could actually work. But the story and dialogue just got lost and the film got muddled into the second act and fell apart from there. Any comedic or dramatic elements of the film got in the way of each other.

I am one of the few outside of the Philippines who actually owns a copy of Beyond the City Limits. It's too bad this movie hasn't been released more widely, since it's not a bad movie. It's sort of a low budget clone of oceans 11, but with female lead characters.

There's nothing really unexpected or exciting about the film, the acting is above average, the editing/directing is slightly below average, and the plotline/script are average. It's worth watching, if only to see the gorgeous Alyson Hannigan. It's also pretty funny watching Alexis Denisof talk in a Russian accent. Quite different from his role as Wesley the Watcher in Buffy/Angel.

If you get a chance to see this movie, I say go for it, especially if you're a fan of Alyson Hannigan.