Pressure - Incubo senza fine

In a nutshell, Kerr Smith (as Steve Hillman) is accused of shooting the genitals off deputy Adrian Dorval (as Bo Cooper), after necking with the cop's abused girlfriend Angela Featherstone (as Amber). Accused ball-buster Smith, a young medical student, flees with party-minded pal Lochlyn Munro (as Patrick Fisher) from a stupid Oregon police force led by deputy Dorval's dad, Donnelly Rhodes. The corrupt chief of police wants revenge because son Dorval will not be able to reproduce without functioning genitalia. Director Richard Gale and editor Garry M.B. Smith make it look like "Pressure" amounts to something, and it's fun watching crusty Sheriff Rhodes in hot pursuit - but, the sophomoric story is dumber than it looks.

**** Pressure (2/20/02) Richard Gale ~ Kerr Smith, Lochlyn Munro, Donnelly Rhodes, Angela Featherstone

Pressure is something of a paradox. It plays like an above-average TV movie, but at times does better than standard hollywood fare in avoiding plot cliches and explosion-driven narratives.

Kerr Smith, probably familiar from Dawson's Creek, is pretty likeable as the young man caught up in a series of freak mishaps which leave him hunted by the local police for a crime he didn't commit. There are some dodgy moments (The old camera spinning round the head as he tries to stay sane moment leaps to mind) but overall it's undemanding and he does fine. The supporting cast does fine, Lochlyn Munro is best as his unbelievably loyal friend (You're the subject of a statewide manhunt and waving a gun around while covered in blood? Let's go!) and the sheriff is suitably psychotic. That's the main character problem with the film - some of the characters are just so damn nasty it makes them somewhat unbelievable.

The narrative is the film's strong point, although it tails off a bit in the second half. The way that things fall apart in the first place is suitably plausible and it's a shame that the same inventiveness couldn't continue through the whole script. Things stay pretty tense though, and really the only complaint is that it ends a bit easily and perhaps should have been drawn out a bit longer - hardly the worst criticism of a film.

So overall - not a bad way to kill 90 minutes on a sunday afternoon.

Set in the Pacific NW it is a story of bad cops gone bad. A father and son team are the town's police force. They run the isolated town as they see fit, giving in to their basest desires along the way.

Two hapless medical students go in to the wrong bar at the wrong time and become the target of the bad cop's full wrath of violence and deciept.

Through in sexual tension, brutal rage and escape and evasion in the deep woods of the Pacific NW and you have a surprisingly good film.

kerr smith is awesome in the action/thriller movie.I have never seen kerr smith play a character like this, and he does it so well. this is one of the best movies I have seen in years. I would totally recommend it. if you see this movie you will not regret it. if you like action/thrillers you will love this. on the cover of the movie it says trapped-convicted-innocent(something lik that) and that what cought my attention right from the start. I wouldn't mind watching this movie over and over again. this movie is about a bad cop that shots himself in the balls and blames it one an innocent human and of course everybody believes the cop so then steve (kerr smith) is on the run for his life.

Steven pritchett.

Steve and Patrick, two med students on their way home from a little vacation, stop at a rundown bar just for one drink. While Patrick is having fun trying to make time with the cheerleaders, perhaps I neglected to mention there was a.cheer convention in town, but I digress, while he's there, poor Steve gets talked into escorting a local woman out into the parking lot where he's promptly mugged and under circumstances not under his control finds himself on the run from the law.

It took me awhile to actually watch this movie, it's been in my Instant Netflix queue seemingly forever, and it's a shame that I didn't remedy that sooner, as I found this to be a pretty well-acted solid enough thriller. Some of the characters felt one-dimensional and the ending felt a tad rushed but a good little flick none the less.

My Grade: B