Undercurrent

This movie is misguiding, since this is not your brainless action flick Lorenzo "I have a father and a mother too" Lamas is associated with. The problem is that, instead, we get a boring, slow-moving, predictable "suspense" with a plot straight out of zillions direct-to-video movies, where Lamas' "interpretation" of his "character" sinks it to new depths (who ever asked him to be an actor anyway ?) The only good point for this turkey are the competent diirection and good cinematography - plus the fact that the French video wasn't pan&scanned.

Liked the story (James Hardley Chase type - likeable guy falls in trouble because of beautiful women and riches) and also liked the location. Brenda Strong was amazing!

Ending was a bit contrived though.

What is terrific about this film is that it is not a basic blood & guts Lorenzo Llamas story. Llamas actually does a very effective job as an almost naive nightclub manager in Puerto Rico, who soon finds himself in over his head in a cleverly plotted story filled with unexpected twists and turns. I love the photography throughout the film, and particularly the wonderful scenes shot in Old San Juan and the terrific seascapes that the director used as a backdrop. Brenda Strong is an exciting femme fatale and counterpoint to Llamas. You may remember her as "The Braless Wonder" on Sienfeld in which she had a recurring role. She is certainly more than braless in this film! I thought that the supporting cast all fit their roles perfectly: particular kudos to Christianne Gout (what a body); Frank Vincent (everybody's favorite bad guy from Scorsese film fame, e.g. Casino, Goodfellas); and my personal favorite, Daniel Lugo who played a Latin Columbo-type. Overall, the film exceeded my expectations from both story, photography, directorial approach and acting. Afterall, Hollywood doesn't make B-film thrillers like this anymore.

Puerto Rico provides a bright and beautiful backdrop for this dark Film Noir thriller which gives a modern twist to this neglected but classic genre.

Aside from a rather dark view of humanity, noir films rely on suspense, plot twists and relationships. This film cleverly utilizes all three.

Knocked for being a rather wooden performer, Lamas is well cast as the stiff, almost emotionless lead, making a strength out of what would in other circumstances be a weakness and Brenda Strong is effectively evil and always hot.

The plot has enough twists to keep from being predictable but builds slowly enough to keep from being confusing. The slowness of the story is counterbalanced and punctuated by action, violence and nudity.

This isn't a kid's film but then again Film Noir probably isn't a kid's genre.

As an avid fan of Lorenzo Lamas, I really enjoyed this movie. I liked the character he played and it wasn't over the top or over -acted. I thought they could have chosen a better female lead, however. I don't think Lorenzo fans will be disappointed.