Wrong Turn at Tahoe

Thoroughly agree with Wizard 8; a tidy and unpretentious little gangster flick with solid performance from all the players. Miguel Ferrer does indeed hold the screen as a hard man living by a set of questionable principles, but Cuba Gooding is no slouch as the right hand man approaching a personal crossroads in life. The legendary Harvey Keitel just has to turn up on this one. The plot is fairly simple, the dialogue punchy, and it just moves right along. Not for the kids please – too violent - but it certainly deserves an adult look. It doesn't pretend to be Godfather Part 2 - what you see is what you get. Good flick.

Small time gangster takes on Big time gangster the story has been down countless times before, but when its done well as here, makes for a good watch. Small budget and reflected in a fairly low profile cast, CG-Jr and Ferrer along with Keitel all make sound convincing performances. The violence is brutal and the characters harsh but convincing, certainly seen worse big budget examples of the genre getting their shot on the big screen. Don't expect anything ground breaking plot-wise but fans of the gangster flick wont be disappointed with the gritty realism, slick action sequences and unobtrusive soundtrack.

I'm not a big fan of Cuba's but he was believable in his role. Miguel Ferrer certainly commanded attention and, in my opinion, was a better overall performance, but Cuba pulled off his character well -a loyal, hardened, right-hand man to Miguel "Vincent".

While it is more of a typical gangster style flick, it does offer something a little different; which is what I think makes this movie work.

I would recommend this movie on a rainy day or if someone asked about it, but I wouldn't call someone to tell them to go pick it up... Possibly good enough for the big screen, but certainly not a let down for DVD.

WRONG TURN AT TAHOE is a straightforward low budget crime thriller boasting a decent cast, lots of action and incident, and a familiar but well-worked storyline. It's about a small time crook who accidentally bumps off the wrong person and subsequently finds himself the subject of a vendetta by a big shot crime boss.

Such story lines are ten a penny, but WRONG TURN AT TAHOE does well with the material by focusing on the nuts and bolts action of the piece. There's a whole host of well-shot violence here, and a short running time that means the film never outstays its welcome. Plus, the casting of the underrated Miguel Ferrer (ROBOCOP) in a lead role is an inspired one, as this actor gets far too little screen time given his undeniable talent. Okay, Cuba Gooding Jr. is acceptable at best, but Harvey Keitel has fun with a small but grandstanding role.

If you have kept an eye on Cuba Gooding Jr.'s career over the past few years, you probably know he's been churning out awful direct-to-DVD movies after being branded box office poison. Having seen several of these movies, I initially had no plans to see "Wrong Turn At Tahoe". I only decided to give it a whirl after reading a positive review of it at another web site.

I was surprised by what I watched - this is a pretty decent drama. First, the production values are very strong for what was reportedly just an $8 million budget. It looks slick, while at the same time having a moody look that's appropriate for the nastiness that happens. As for Gooding, he is for once believable in his role, successfully showing a hard edge for his character. However, it is Miguel Ferrer who steals the show as Gooding's boss - he really commands the screen when the center of attention is on him.

The dialogue is good, colorful yet not in a show-off manner. The characters are believable in their actions. And the movie travels at a relaxed pace (though not TOO relaxed). Some younger viewers might find it too slow, but I thought the movie kept interest despite its slow pace.

The movie is not perfect. The decision to show part of the end at the beginning somewhat spoils things. The hand-to-hand combat at the climax seems out of an action movie, not a serious drama. And the "twist" at the last minute is somewhat silly; I could not believe the revelation would have stayed hidden for so long. There are a couple of other flaws I could mention, but overall this is an engaging movie that could have played in theaters.