Il casinò della paura

Yes, it looks like a big bloated bomb. The production values aren't exactly top-notch. The camera angles are often far off, the acting can be very misguided (maldirected), some areas of bad sound, and David Alan Grier is in it. All are signs of a bomb to watch out for.

But surprisingly, this is one to watch. It has a unique story which is beefed up with actually funny jokes and genuinely offbeat characters. The action scenes are very well done, too. It has many old-school action sequences with no CGI's and great stunts. Its got nicely done shootouts and an excellent car chase, but somehow it doesn't feel structured around and for the action. It keeps its focus on the story, which I'll get to...now.

A uniquely fun Peter Weller plays an ex-cop, ex-con who gets out of jail on parole. The first thing on his agenda is to knock off his ex-wife's new husband (Dennis Hopper in one of his most generic performances to date) by swindling a way to win the jackpot at his casino. Or is his (HOT) wife Tia Carerra (at her most hot) in on it too? This one is, out of a lot of reasons, unnoticed because a bigger-budget but sub-par movie called "Ocean's Eleven" happened to be released four years later. "Top of the World" is much better, because the action is better and it doesn't need cutesy and lame humor to seek a wide audience's approval. Plus, I'd pick Peter Weller over George Clooney any day of the week...not to mention Julia Roberts isn't even 1/1,000,000 of Tia Carerra.

In TOP OF THE WORLD, ex-con, Ray (Peter Weller) and his soon-to-be ex-wife, Rebecca (Tia Carrere), head to Las Vegas for one final blast before their impending divorce. After winning big at the casino, everything seems great, until a gang of criminals moves in to poop on the party! Now, Ray must rise to the occasion.

Sound familiar? Well, that's no surprise, since this movie follows the same formula as every other post-DIE HARD, action movie of the 1980's-90's! Be it located in a high-rise, a train, a ship at sea, or a casino, it's always about the same. Endless gunfire, explosions, and impossible, unbelievable action sequences all go off like so many firecrackers.

The hero must overcome unfathomable odds to take on the bad guys, a group that is always outfitted like a small army, and usually led by an odious thug.

Unfortunately, such a film requires a Bruce Willis, a Stallone, or, of course, an Arnold to pull it off! In a pinch, perhaps Chuck Norris or Steven Segal. Weller just doesn't have the moxie! Make no mistake, he was fantastic in ROBOCOP! This just isn't his forte.

Without that uber-charismatic, or ultra-manly hero, it all crumbles into blandness, no matter how many lives are lost...

Dennis Hopper to Peter Weller "Do you know who I am?" Weller "Yea the Jesus of craps". So it goes with witty dialog the best part of what is essentially a bad film. To enjoy "Top of the World" you have to ignore the plot, chases, shoot outs, and explosions. Instead focus on the often biting and amusing vocal bantering. With a frantic pace, the movie is only a couple minutes from the next priceless exchange of words. The list of character actors here is impressive, including Ed Lauter, Joe Pantoliano, Martin Kove, Peter Coyote, and David Alan Grier, among others. I say this. Go in expecting bad, and then simply be surprised how much there is to like. - MERK

This film is without doubt the most insignificant movie I've ever seen. Peter Weller did a very good job on keeping his face in exactly the same shape the whole movie. I don't think I've seen that done before, maybe except in a Chuck Norris movie. The cutting of the movie looked like the guy who did it, got drunk, fell asleep, and then when he woke up just cut the whole film into random strips and taped it together again. Besides I really never figured out what Dennis Hopper's character was named. I think I counted at least 4 different names. Last a sudden sunrise really nailed my feeling towards the whole movie, it sucked! All in all I would say the only good thing about this movie is that it only wasted 95 min of my life.

This is a production from the Nu Image/Millennium Pictures movie company, and if you have seen any of their other movies, you probably know that on a technical level the movie will succeed. Indeed, "Top Of The World" is a very good-looking movie. The cinematography is great, there are some great locations that will make you wonder how the filmmakers got permission to run amuck on, and there are some good action sequences.

Unfortunately, some key parts of the movie are definitely lacking. The characters could have been better written - as it is, there is no real character that interests you and makes you hope he or she will prevail. These poorly written characters may be why the acting is not always very enthusiastic by the once-in-a-lifetime cast. Also, the various plot twists and character backstabbings become confusing after a while.

Not a terrible movie, but it's kind of lacking. I would only recommend you watch it if nothing else better is playing on TV.