Velocity Trap

Raymond Stokes is the only cop in the colony who cannot be bought - and that costs him dearly: He is separated from his lover and placed aboard a freighter. The separation dialogue, by the way, is only bearable on Fast Forward.

Penal duty: For 9 months, the ship will travel through space, in order to bring 40 billion dollars in used notes to Earth. But - how original and innovative a plot element! - pirates arrive to try and steal the money. They have not counted on finding - you guessed it - Stokes.

Well: Actors that are at best mediocre, trying hard to produce dialogue that will lend credibility to plot holes the size of a galaxy. Some of it's fun though - the occasional action sequence and ship effects aren't half bad.

Olivier Gruner has two requirements for a classic rogue cop: his woman belongs to another man, and he has a dead daughter. For punishment, he's sent back to Earth on a slow boat carrying $40 million. Pirates board the ship to steal the dough, leaving Olivier to fight the bad guys with lots of flying effects and pretty sparks. What I like about Gruner is that he really doesn't take himself seriously, almost in the Jackie Chan mode (don't misunderstand, he doesn't have half the skills, but he does have fun). A cast full of folks who went on to bigger and better things -- including Alicia Coppola from "Bull" and Jorja Fox from "ER" and "CSI" -- rounds out the stereotyped cast. I caught it on cable and enjoyed it.

This film is bearable but that's about it, similar to a good TV ep of "Space: Above and Beyond". It's a step up from the sci-fi gagger "Escape Velocity", which had even less action and more cliches. FF through all scenes of him with his girl friend, it's banal drivel, and that part isn't even tied up at the end. And forget the plot holes too. -Bob

Weak story, weak writing and poor acting. The only good thing I can say about this film is that it had mediocre special effects.

Being a fan of the b movie sci fi flicks, and a fan of Oliver Gruner's work, I decided to check out Velocity Trap. What I got was in somewhat incoherent mess with a film, with a very bizarre premise. There is a patch of outer space that human's have to be asleep to travel in, yet a group of human thieves are going to high jack the ship while it's in that space, while human security guard Gruner protects the cargo. Huh? Gruner is framed in a implausible set up, and has to guard the ship's cargo as punishment. The job is considered a step down from his former position of glory. Did I mention he was set up by his own boss so that his boss could have Gruner's wife? Oaky, that we can let slide. There are some very weak, and rather unexplainable character turns, and for someone reason, the writers tried to throw a curve with every turn, and they fail badly. They hurt the film by outsmarting themselves, as they try to take a plot that should only be used on Star Trek TV show, or any other sci fi show like Andromada. The special effects are somewhat decent, and the acting is passable. There was so much that could have been done, and sadly, this film is more of an example of what could have been, versus an example of quality sci fi. Check out only if you are a fellow Oliver Gruner fan. Other then that, you won't miss much by missing the movie.