The eXtremists

Hmm. You know, sometimes I wonder why we're screwed up as a species. I was watching Extreme Ops in the comfort of my home and suddenly the world fell silent, and a wave of emptiness fell upon me as a poorly matted Bridgette Wilson escaped a fake avalanche just in time for a ski jump to take out some excruciatingly recycled terrorists who were busy being evil for no other reason than because the script says to. I looked around to find myself in alien surroundings. My home was no longer my home, but a void of everlasting darkness in which no form of goodness, nor light, nor hope could ever be found. And from the belly of this neverending realm of pain and celluloid death could be heard the sound of English actor Rufus Sewell dismantling his once promising career with lines of dialogue like "Are you ready to know what it's like to ski in front of an avalanche?" Oh, the pain. Soon, all this agony ceased, and numbness set in. My world shrank and suddenly I felt nothing at all, and I realized that everything I had ever done was meaningless, and all I had was nothing at all so long as Devon Sawa continues to hang from a cliff and ask a girl out in the middle of a terrorist attack just before feigning suicide for "team sacrifice". My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

But then, something happened. The darkness parted, and the shroud of peril lifted and I awoke from my numbness to find that I was in deed at home. My furniture was still here and all my things were as I had left them. I wondered to my self, "What happened?" And then I looked to my television and saw credits rolling. The deed was done. And the darkness had gone. But only until the sequel. (Fat chance)

This movie sucks. I hate it almost as much as it hates me. 1/10

I couldn't resist with that one line summary above. Actually this film wasn't a total stinker. It had some good points, a lot of low points as well, but still some good stuff to be seen.

I thought the story was actually a rather interesting idea. It could have definitely been a great movie, with the right director. I did like some of Christian Duguay's work ("The Art of War" and "Screamers"), I'm not really sure what happened here. I want to blame the writing and the editor...but I'm sure that the director is also to blame here. Speaking of editing, there was some HORRIBLE editing in this film. There were a few scenes where I couldn't help but ask myself "What the heck was that?!?!"

The characters in the film were all pretty good ideas, just not executed correctly. The two characters that were supposed to be super adrenaline junkies were good ideas, but weren't done justice. I'm not saying the acting was horrible or anything like that, I'm just saying that some of the things they were doing didn't look "cool", just plain stupid!!! There were a few stunts that they did that were really cool though, so it wasn't a total bust. I did like the snowboarding off the back of the train, that was kind of cool.

The action in the film was actually really good at times. But, it was very often short-lived. I was shocked how short "the chase" in the film was between the terrorists and the good guys. At the end of the film, I was thinking "That's it???" ...And as for the actual final moments of the film...well, let's just say it could have been better.

Most of the actors did a fine job. Rufus Sewell did a fine job as always. Ever since I saw him in "Dark City" I've really liked his acting and tried to follow his work. Devon Sawa did a surprisingly good job, I usually don't like his acting, but did a pretty good job in the film. Bridget Wilson did a great job with her role and looks absolutely fantastic throughout the film. She is reason enough to watch the film. Jana Pallaske is a new face to me, she did an ok job with her role. I didn't think she was spectacular, but she did pretty good job given the material (and is quite the looker as well...her lips remind me of Angelina Jolie).

All in all, I can't in good conscience recommend you go see this film in the theater unless you just want to see some cool snowboarding/skiing footage. I strongly urge you not to pay a full price ticket, see this one at a matinee if you absolutely must. Otherwise, wait till video. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

This film is bad filmmaking 101. A commercial director (Rufus Sewell, who has certainly done better work elsewhere) assembles a group of extreme athletes (including Bridgette Wilson-Sampras as a Gold Medal Skier??) and lugs them off to a secluded area of the Swis Alps to film them outracing an avalance for a DV Camera commercial!!! Of course the same hillside out intrepid filmmakers choose is the hidding place of some terrorist leader, who thinks the bumbling and arguing film crew are actualy CIA Agents trying to nab him! Of course the first hour or so is taken up by inane banter among the athletes, including a raver chick (a dead ringer for early Angelina Jolie) who thinks Sampras gold Medal skier isnt hip enough to be in their crowd... Eventualy, after the obligatory Hot Tub bonding scene, we get to some action when the bad guys chase out heroes down the slopes in a helicopter! Of course the ending is so rediculous that you'll just laugh at the ineptitude of the screenwriters. This is a terrible movie from start to finish. GRADE: F

well, this movie is really some waste of time... maybe they put a lot of effort into it, but don't watch it if you have better things you can watch :)

it's not all that bad, the stunts are sometimes good, but the whole thing is just not credible, the action is coming and going, the plot is not good, the facts are wrong... Yugoslavia has no border with Austria, the Austrian after-ski parties aren't like that at all, you would actually get you as* kicked if you do that kind of thing in Tirol... lots of things don't add up... then the characters are badly built up - no personality... no idea why Ian talks to his g/f all the time... well, you'll see for yourself...

Oh, and if there's someone doing the stuff these guys do, and succeeding every time on the first try... well, I quit snowboarding :)

Will (Devon Sawa) is a Hollywood producer who excels at making commercials with some extreme sports fanatics on centre stage. When an opportunity arises to do a big-league advertisement, he decides to film it against an actual avalanche. He hires Jeffrey (Rupert Graves) as the director and heads for the Austrian Alps near the Yugoslavian border to film the spot.

His team consists of Ian (Rufus Sewell), Chloe (Bridgette Wilson) and Kittie (Jana Pallaske), three extreme sports connoisseurs who love staring the storm right in the eye. To film such a daring and precarious commercial they need an equally adventurous cinematographer, who turns out to be Mark (Heino Ferch). Together, these six individuals land up in an under construction resort. They start filming, unaware that the place is also the secret hideout of Slobodan Pavle (Klaus Lvwitsch), a Serbian war criminal who is believed to have died in a plane crash. Mark erroneously catches Pavle on tape who believes the six are actually CIA operatives. Pavle orders their execution lest they should blow the whistle on his whereabouts and his latest plans to wreak havoc. Thus begins a battle of survival as the protagonists use every trick and ploy they know to survive and bring down the evil Pavle.

From the story and the trailers, Extreme ops may sound like a flick for a selected audience. Although the movie does not have much of a plot or situations that are aesthetically appealing, the numerous incredible and ingenious action sequences ensure that one stays glued to the couch. The film can be enjoyed only if one watches it without any expectations!—