Past Perfect

'Past Perfect' was one of the many dtv titles I saw back in the day and I thought it made for a decent rental at that time. I wasn't looking for much beyond action and there's some okay pieces here. However don't expect too much from this Nu-Image flick shot in Vancouver with it's b-movie plot, cast. It's 'Minority Report' done on a dime before that film existed. Less about morality and more about some cheesy goodness.

Dylan (Eric Roberts) is a cop not beyond taking the law into his own hands when he sees justice go unserved. A trio from the future justice system headed up by Stone (Nick Mancuso) have come back to do just that. Take out the guilty before they can commit their worst crimes. As both cop, punishers go about tracking down a trio of misfit teens the question becomes is it moral / right to convict people for crimes not yet committed and can people ever change.

Roberts is decent as the head cop and Mancuso no stranger to playing the bad guy does the villain (of sorts) with justice. You might recognize Yee Jee Tso, Tygh Runyan (Anti-Trust) as two of the teens and Laurie Holden (X Files) plays Roberts cop partner. The future issue is only surface level and pretty silly by the end where it starts losing steam. There's some decent stunt work, but 'Past Perfect' upon second viewing never felt much more than merely average. Though it is the first flick I've seen a hero escape a fireball explosion sans pants.

Curious as a precursor to 'Minority Report', this action thriller focuses on a maverick cop who discovers the existence of policemen from the future who have been sent back in time to make the "past perfect" by eliminating future criminals during their teen years. It is an intriguing premise, and the film does well at only gradually divulging its sci-fi ideas. In fact, the first twenty or so minutes play out as a standard police detective action film before the time travelers emerge. And they are a creepy bunch at that, wearing synthetic skin and robotic arms; the first execution for future crimes is particularly eerie as we only hear it with glowing red light visible from a distance. The film trips up though when it tries to explain all its pseudoscience in greater detail with plot holes and inconsistencies in terms of the butterfly effects of altering the past and what happens when their bodies get exposed to air. There are also some crazy stereotype Neo-Nazi characters whose soul purpose in the narrative seems to be to provide an over-the-top chase scene through a restaurant kitchen (where else?). That said, the film does have some very novel chase sequences, including an extended one in which the protagonist has to work out whether he is driving through real dangers or merely holograms set by the future cops. It is generally an exciting movie too, filmed at an appropriately frantic pace.

To be successful, science fiction and science fantasy must rely, in whichever modes they appear, upon creation of a sense of wonder parented by imagination, with cinematic examples being legion, from THINGS TO COME to BLADERUNNER, but unfortunately films of this genre are too often devoid of imaginative structure. Such is the case with this low budget effort shot in and about Vancouver (representing Seattle) and featuring Eric Roberts, who has referred to himself as "the king of B movies", an infirm distinction at best, and in the event here nothing of which to be proud, with his co-leads seemingly being stunt and demolition performers. A rather disjointed plot is set in a present visited by three individuals from a near future (2023) who move into their past to eliminate crime at its source by executing criminals-in-the-making, and while one is soon aware that time travel paradoxes are rife, they are sublimated by a glut of vehicle chases, explosions, and lengthy gun fights during which injuries are scarce. There are so-called "special effects" a-plenty, not very well done, and obviously a misplaced expenditure of future resources for the lone purpose of eradicating a small coterie of four teenagers who are engaged in selling weapons to other teens, but they do provide rationale for countermeasures utilized by Seattle P.D. detective Dylan Cutter (Roberts) who moves from one crime scene to another in his personal older Chevrolet Camaro ( equipped with red light, etc.), a particularly notable feat since the car is totaled early on in a collision with an over-sized van. But then, such flaws in continuity and logic are fundamental when substitutes for imagination are wielded, as in this film that squanders talented performers such as Nick Mancuso and Saul Rubinek who are cast as two of the time travelers. Additionally, there is a hearty effort by Laurie Holden, who plays Cutter's partner, and who infuses her character with some depth. Finally, a viewer focuses upon the camera-work and lighting skills of cinematographer John Houtman as items of true imaginative quality.

I first rented Past Perfect because I had heard of Mark Hildreth before. After seeing it for the first time I couldn't get enough of it. I thought that the plot was great. I really loved the combination of a sci-fi/action movie. It's a movie I enjoy watching over and over again.

I viewed this movie late at night on a "premium" cable channel. The movie was horrible, not only was every scene poorly acted it was incredibly predictable. When I say poorly acted I mean to say the worst. The teen actors were unbelievable and delivered their lines horribly and could not have been anymore sterotypical in their manurisms and actions. The bad guys were unbelievable, what squabbling losers would produce crack or some other hard drug in North America far away from the raw supplies. Why would they have boxes full of guns, loaded no less, lying around for no use. If they have this hyper explosive crack lab setup one would think that security would be a little tighter. My suggestion: If you want to keep the Tipper Gore "save our youth" theme lose the action and melodramatics. If you want to make a late night action movie lose the crusade theme and add more of the following: sex, drugs, and action scenes. It'll be bad but at least not horrible. In a word it was chessy. It sent cold chills up my back.