Hot Seat

Interesting plot of the film, it is tense. The acting is quite cold and theatrical, but ok, it's not that bad, unlike the others, Mel G. Did it superbly as always. The story is tense and interesting in parts, the recording and sound are nothing special, let's say it's a passing grade. Some characters (secondary characters) are quite generic, so it's not fun at all. The action is actually interesting and does not go too fast or too slow, it just goes as it should. My overall impression is that I am actually negatively surprised because when Mel Gibson is in the movie, I expect much more from the movie. All in all this is just a mediocre time killer.

IN A NUTSHELL: The low-budget cyber-thriller is directed and produced by James Cullen Bressack. The movie is based on a story by Leon Langford and Collin Watts.

THINGS I LIKED: Mel Gibson's involvement in this movie is why most people will be intrigued. He's always a pleasant addition, and he certainly elevates the stature of this movie. I've been a fan for years. He even has some funny lines in the movie to add some comic relief.

Other cast members include Kevin Dillon, Michael Welch, Sam Asghari, and Eddie Steeples. I really enjoyed seeing Shannen Doherty too, especially since she has been going through cancer treatments. I thought she did a good, believable job, and I wish her health and happiness.

I've always liked single-location movies.

Fun fact #1: They shot the movie in only 7 days.

Fun fact #2: Kevin Dillon admits he's terrible with computers and that they had an IT expert on set who was available to answer questions.

It's hard to think watching a man typing on a computer frantically would actually be interesting or cause enough tension and suspense, but it works well at times.

Sleight of hand is mentioned early in the story and then demonstrated in several ways in the plot. The plot features a mystery of who the bad guy is.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Unfortunately, the movie doesn't fully utilize the talented Mel Gibson. Like Bruce Willis and Liam Neeson, I worry that more and more of these movie stars who were hot in the 80's, and '90s are now just cashing their name in for small roles in mediocre movies.

There are quite a few bad acting moments. Most of that can be contributed to a cliched script.

The granny voice sounded like a cartoon voice.

A lot of details are wrong or missing.

People's reactions to events seem off. For example, if you were on a morning jog and saw a bomb go off near your neighborhood, would you just shrug and keep going? Would you still go to work if it were your day off and your daughter's birthday? There didn't seem to be urgency for him to actually be in the office.

Very little character development.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Profanity, including F-bombs Some bloody violence Weapons of various kinds Explosions People die.

THEMES: Family Workplace honesty Computer hacking skills Co-workers

YouTube channel.

Even with his resume full of filmmaking experience, director James Cullen Bressack still keeps giving us amateur C grade boring films. Once again he failed to direct his cast properly, especially Doherty. Only Gibson and Dillon (barely) held their own without cast direction. Then Bressack just kept giving us long dragged out and mostly unnecessary scenes. The writing by Leon Langford and Collin Watts was cliched, stale, inept, predictable and boring, especially making the normally comfortable 99 min film feel much longer with the slow pacing and constant computer screen garble. Don't get me started on the plot and technical issues that riddled this mess. You will lose your patience waiting for the ending credits that offer zero reward. It's a very generous 4/10 from me, mostly for the pity that Dillion and Gibson had to endure to get through this one.

The acting is so bad The dialogue is terrible The hacking and computer terms are wrong

Even the story is very shallow

It could be executed way better Total waste of time.

Why Mel Gibson took part in this film at all is beyond me. The movie has a lot of flaws and is bad. I laughed several times when I shouldn't have, and when I should have, I didn't. That says a lot. It's a shame because the movie could have been much, much better, it has potential considering the plot.