Sacrifice

Was there anyone really clamoring for a reuniting of Cuba Gooding Jr. and Christian Slater, especially considering their previous team-up ("Lies & Illusions") was one of the worst direct-to-DVD movies of recent years? To make matters worse, this production is not only Canadian, but it's written and directed by one of Canada's worst filmmakers (Damian Lee). To be fair, the end results are somewhat better than "Lies & Illusions". For a cheap Canadian movie, the visual look of the movie is slicker and more expensive-looking that you might think. And it's nice to see a Canadian movie actually set in Canada (though at times the movie seems reluctant to admit that fact.) But overall, the movie is very forgettable. The combination of Lee's bad direction and inadequate screenplay make a number of moments in the movie somewhat incoherent. Gooding's performance is nothing special, and Slater is unconvincing and unintentionally amusing playing a priest. The movie isn't aggressively bad, but it creeps along at a sluggish pace because there simply isn't enough story here.

Come on, Cuba and Christian! I know you've screwed up your careers enough to be now stuck in direct-to-DVD productions, but surely you could still find better scripts than this! Sure, I know you have bills to pay, but you could at least volunteer your services for a great director's independent film between making schlock like this.

Wow, what a trainwreck. Where to begin...I suppose by this time you have more than recognized Cuba's downward spiral but teaming him up with Slater is an even more embarrassing turn for both actors. Slater has been pawning off his creepy yet campy style for years now and occasionally pulls of an entertaining performance (Dolan's Cadallac, He was a quiet man), but here he just swims in the dreck. Horribly miscast as a priest, he can do little more but smirk at the camera and look at his shoes. Devon Bostik is laughable as a drug dealer - I mean really, Wimpy's kid's big brother is now a tough guy? Just a total mess and a shame for all involved. I had hopes that Cuba would rebound at some point, but he seems determine to join Wesley and Steven Seagal in the DTV "worst of" series. Seriously, don't waste your time or money on this, bad bad bad.

Can you have a second chance to stop a tragedy? After losing his wife and child, undercover cop John Hebron (Gooding Jr.) is struggling to forgive himself for not saving them. After a similar crime takes place he is given a second chance. After watching Cuba in "Ticking Clock", which I really liked, I had high hopes for this one. I was a little disappointed. The idea of the movie is very interesting, but the execution is lacking. A plot that has so much potential ends up being slow moving and never given the push it needs to make it as interesting as it sounds. This is not a terrible movie, but definitely not one of Cuba's best. It would be nice to see him get out of the Seagal, Kilmer & Snipes-like direct-to-video movies though and back into main stream movies. He has the talent for them still. I give it a C.

Would I watch again? - I don't think I will.

I seen the other reviews and some gave it high votes and some very poor which then forced me to watch it.. Boy should I have listened to the low votes its terrible. Acting is all over the place and not in any good way even the fake irish accents of some of the cast were enough to make me cringe. Storyline had no depth and I wouldn't even say it was good enough for a TV movie as it simple had nothing of interest in it to keep people occupied. I sit here puzzled as to why the actors even made this movie as its the worst thing I have seen in a long time. Best advice on this movie is give it a complete wide birth not only is it not worth a rental fee its definitely not worth the waste of electricity to power a TV!

I am always interested in a Cuba Gooding Jr. movie, as his personality can carry even crappy plots. I feel bad for Cuba as the last few films he has made have been TV movie dramas at best.

This movie is no exception as the film work and writing are slow and dull. Though there were a few good scenes, such as the scene when Cuba visits the snake man.

I would advise against watching this movie, it is a drama/action film, but is missing the action and drama to keep you interested beyond the first 20-minutes.

Though I was able to watch the entire thing, I do feel it was overall a waste of time and I wish I had not seen this film.

It reminds me of a late night HBO rerun movie that you might watch if you have nothing else to do, and even then you probably won't walk away from the film even remembering that you saw it or anything interesting in it.

Though I love Cuba's acting, and I hope he hits a few more home runs in his career, this is not one of them.