The recipient of a great deal of adult industry hype as superstar Jenna Jameson's farewell film (at least until she un-retired herself once again to do DREAMQUEST), FLASHPOINT proves a sadly overblown affair. Well-made for sure, it falls into the same trap a lot of other big, expensive porno movies like Nic Cramer's OPERATION SEX SIEGE for Private did before, meaning that it focuses heavily on all the production elements that might be considered worthy additions, substituting special f/x and loud action sequences for what should rightly be considered the genre's very essence, i.e. hot, erotic sex.
Furthermore, also like Cramer's Magnum Opus, it is hampered with an elaborate and intrinsically non-sexual plot about the trials and tribulations of a group of inordinately good-looking fire fighters, making the sex scenes feel shoe-horned into the storyline, diminishing their erotic appeal even more. In a very demanding role, Jenna tries hard to act troubled or terrorized and even gets to have a big crying scene but any subtleties that might have brought the character to life were well beyond her grasp at this stage of her career. Sexually, she fares somewhat better in a fetish-themed fantasy with T.T. Boy that's still a far cry from the barn-burner they shared in Michael Zen's brilliant BLUE MOVIE and a heated Sapphic toilet grope with massively mammaried Brittany Andrews. The flick's supposed center piece ironically doesn't even involve its star though as a group sequence (apparently dreamed up by Mickey G.'s character) unfolds alongside a big, shiny fire truck, a prop director/co-star "Brad Armstrong" a/k/a Jenna's then husband Rod Hopkins was clearly enamored of as he keeps panning back to it even while the cast's in mid-stroke ! Certainly looks like someone had his priorities mixed up here.
Hopkins is generally considered one of the best filmmakers the adult industry currently has to offer. In the case of his (near) masterpiece EUPHORIA, I'm likely to agree with that evaluation, but he's clearly an unrepentant production value junkie as this and several of his other glossy yet tepid efforts (like CONQUEST and ANCIENT SECRETS OF THE KAMA SUTRA) testify. True porn fans need smoldering women and a palpable erotic tension to fulfill their appetites, not the picturesque locations and slow-mo fight sequences Hopkins dishes up.
