Giochi rischiosi

BET YOUR LIFE is a dreadfully over-the-top TV movie which once again re-treads the old 'hunting humans' plot line popular in everything from THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME to HARD TARGET. The main character is a gambler who bets that he can spend 24 hours eluding a megalomaniac gunning for him; the resulting film is a scriptless mess of unending action scenes, all of them cheesily staged and completely unbelievable.

Apparently this film was the end product of a reality TV programme called NEXT ACTION STAR, designed to pick two non-actors to appear in a Hollywood movie. That explains the poor quality acting of the leads. Elsewhere, poor old Billy Zane chews the scenery and hams it up all the while, often swapping to a stunt man for the action scenes. I love action, but this incessant stuff is really bad, with awful cinematography and a weirdly over-saturated colour palette adding to the fakeness. The truck chase is the only bit I mildly enjoyed; the rest is a mess.

HAH! So this is the movie that the "Next Action Stars" were getting into. Well I'm glad that I didn't participate and didn't win...

Isn't it funny how one can just look at the first 10 seconds(!) and make up ones mind about a movie? I mean, come on! Just look at those titles!? I watched this movie(or part of this "teleplay" since it was produced for TV and we couldn't bear to watch the whole thing) one evening while doing my military service and the audience with me was the typical hodge-podge of average guys that once in a while watch series like Las Vegas just for the girls in the show. so the bar wasn't really high, the most watched movie in my group was Girl Next Door (and it wasn't because of the great script ;D . But this movie's total lack of originality, acting, scripting, and just about everything else that makes a movie good made it pretty easy to switch channel to Las Vegas (or was it CSI? don't remember...) without any complaints by the rest of the group. And that is rare(!) For heavens sake! Don't by this movie! If it's on TV, then yes, watch it. And contemplate on it. My conclusion? well, since Joel Silver has indeed produced some of the best action-films out there (Die Hard, Matrix 1, to name some) I can only say that producers don't give the film it's quality, they provide money for the directors. And to sell this movie just because it's a Joel Silver movie is just a desperate attempt to conceal the obvious flaws of the crew who really made it.

This movie at first seems like a movie that was made just for the sake of debuting two actors, both do a decent job of playing their characters, acting-wise at least, the female lead has the "tough/good looking chick" look down. Billy Zane manages to keep his cool like most of his movies so although his character has probably been done before, he still keeps it interesting with his facial expressions representing one who is truly "sick." After the plot is introduced the action (chases/shootouts/which I'll get to later) is almost non-stop until the end, (very good pacing IMO) while it all has been done before, at least you CAN see what's going on unlike some recent over-edited movies like Catwoman (yes recent movies have lowered my standards by a LOT)

The bad parts? Well a LOT of improbabilities, if Billy Zane's character always hunts people (this isn't his first time) why is he such a horrible shot? The sequence when hes on the helicopter chasing the male lead down the bridge with a Grenade launcher and keeps on missing, why didn't he think of moving closer (while not too close) to get a better aim? Also I know that Billy Zane although obviously not Jet Li or Jackie Chan is somewhat competent in martial arts since he already did that (crappy) TV film Invincible(he sure knows how to keep that evil grin on as well, whether in fight scenes or shootouts) so why didn't the casting director pick somebody who knew martial arts (I was rooting for one such person during "Next Action Star" Ilram Choi since he already has experience in doing movies as well) as well as be able to act to keep up with Billy Zane instead of cutting to a different shot once every move, i mean this IS just an excuse for an action movie right? why not make the action as good as possible? But at least they learned NOT to keep the camera way too close (unlike Catwoman or Bourne Supremacy) or like i said before edit to the point where you can't see whats going on, it just should've been better

This is a decent excuse for a TV action movie, much better than whatever else is on TV, but i expected better action, fortunately they didn't make anybody pay 9 bucks just to see it in theaters, i just enjoyed it for what it is, a movie that was made just for the sake of a movie.

After watching the Next Action Star reality TV series, I was pleased to see the winners' movie right away. I was leery of such a showcase of new talent, but I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled. Billy Zane, of course, was his usual great self, but Corinne and Sean held their own beside him. It was also nice to see Jared and Jeanne (also from the competition) in their cameo roles. Sean's character, not Billy's, is the hunted, and his frustration at discovering new rules in the game is well played. Corinne walks the tightrope well between her character liking Sean's and only being in it for the money. I loved how the game was played right to the last second. And then beyond! Not a great movie, but an entertaining one all the way and a great showcase for two folks on their first time out of the gate.

I thought the movie was fairly well done for a made for TV movie, and it contained both a lot of action and humor. I found the entertainment value worth watching, and would watch it again or a similar show again. I'm disappointed that Sean was not credited here on IMDb.

I can see a possibility for an action series based on this concept or a sequel with Sean once again playing for even higher "cash" stakes, since his life would be on the line again anyway.

I felt that Sean played the role very well, and reminds me of an actor by the name of Matthew Ashford who plays Jack Deveraux on Days of Our Lives - the Soap Opera.