Powerplay

I just watched this movie late last night on Cinemax and it's hard to believe I stayed awake during it. Sure Shannon Tweed is as sexy as ever just as she is in an erotic thriller or any movie she's in, but the negatives in this movie are a poor plot and a second rate cast Shannon Tweed is the only bright spot in this movie. Shannon Tweed stars as a serial sexy scammer who sets her sights on a wealthy businessman, who suddenly dies of heart attack then the man's stepdaughter forms a plan of her own to get the family fortune. That sums it up please pass on this and watch Shannon Tweed in many of her other movies they all top this.

This movie begins with a beautiful woman named "Jacqueline Knight" (Shannon Tweed) spending some time with a man in a hot tub. The man then becomes quite ill and while he is incapacitated Jacqueline spends her time collecting everything of value she can find. However, when she reaches for the watch he is wearing he awakens and during the struggle Jacqueline wastes little time in killing him. Not long afterward she meets up with another wealthy man named "Benjamin Alcott" (Bryan Kent) and proceeds to utilize the same plan as before. Unfortunately, Benjamin has a stepdaughter named "Candice Alcott" (Danielle Ciardi) who has little regard for Jacqueline. She also has a boyfriend by the name of "Steve Ganse" (James Richer) who would like nothing better than to marry Candice and get his hands on her stepfather's fortune. That being the case, it's a good bet that Benjamin and his money will soon be separated. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that the erotic scenes involving Danielle Ciardi were quite good and certainly added to the overall entertainment value of this film. Unfortunately, despite her performance, it lacked the necessary suspense or depth to achieve a really high rating. That said, I have rated this film accordingly. Average.

This definitely has the sexy B movie thriller tropes but the story progresses pretty well with some unexpected twists. Danielle Ciardi really brings the sexy in Powerplay.

Powerplay can be commented by using two words. Absolutely boring! The plot is just so similar to loads of other middle-aged woman marries older-rich guy for his money movies! Shannon Tweed is certainly not the best actress of all time, but surely she could've actually acted in this! Seriously, it is as if she is strolling through the scripts, in pain! The main two characters do put a bit of mediocre acting into the film. But still, this is a boring film with a wayward plot. You lose track after five minutes and only if you are a teenage kid are you going to enjoy the badly choreographed "sex" scenes.

A twist in the end which most people will see coming, but I would give this a big miss if I were you.

Shannon Tweed is beginning to look her age here (she was 42 when this was made), but she is still in top physical shape, and she briefly gets to put her kickboxing lessons (probably from the two "No Contest" films) to use. Although her name is the main - er, the ONLY - reason anybody will rent "Powerplay", she is not "exposed" as often as her co-star, Danielle Ciardi, who is an extremely hot woman, with a great face and body, and a decent actress as well. On the other hand, the male actors range from wooden to horrible. The plot starts out as predictable, and then just gets stupider by the minute. The characters make so many blunders that after a while you lose count of them. (**)