Nas Asas do Vento

I've liked this movie for years, and it is actually quite muddled and strange, it is difficult to understand, the performances are sometimes strained and overdone; and still it is charming. A lot of original ideas, some quiet, delicate, odd moments, and Bob Peck's performance make it really lovely in a certain way. Don't miss it if you enjoy movies that are outside the Hollywood box. It has a thing that is more than the sum of its' awkward parts.

I got this movie as part of a 20 movie collection that cost $20. Therefore, I got it for a dollar. It's worth about that much. Not to say it's BAD, it's just that half of it is 10-minute montages of gliders flying around. However, the performances by Hamill and the guy playing the convict save it from all of the WEIRD choices made by the director and scriptwriter. For example...is this an action movie, or a story of a man's journey of discovery? I don't know, but love scenes in museums with montages (again) of stuffed animals with quick cuts to long focuses on Christmas lights don't give me any better of an idea. Still, it's worth the dollar I paid, just to see Hamill looking cool.

To read some comments on this movie you'd think it was a 1989 version of The Avengers (ie, really bad). I saw it at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on the first (and probably only week) of release. With good stereo and in the right surroundings I thought it was a great, highly different vision of the future. Yes, there was a lot of Mad Max in there and okay some of the visual effects were a little ropey, but it did at least boast two of my fave actors - the late, great Bob Peck and a pre-Titanic Bill Paxton. The 10 years since it was made has seen scant screenings on British TV or otherwise. A pity as there are some great moments such as the scene where Paxton attempts to rescue Peck from a kite (I kid you not) and the moody finale which was intriguing. On the whole, well made, erratic entertainment that loses everything on the small screen but features some interesting ideas, even if not all of it works. And compared to The Avengers, it looks like the greatest movie ever made.

Compared with todays frenetic, kinetic, fast cutting, CGI laden crap this actually holds up fairly well.

I liked the actors, I liked the characters (each with a clear motivation) and I liked the settings. It was well shot, well edited and well written. And you know what, the story held my interest. Not like a lot of what I see today (story often gets lost over a 'great shot' or pointless effect).

Yes, the special fx are very 80's with some matte lines but I am very forgiving about that, this film is over 20 years old after all. Like the original Star Wars Trilogy (before George tinkered with it again, and again, and again), this film is best enjoyed with all it's flaws.

A simple film, well told story and great characters. A really good family film.

Slipstream is far better than the review rankings indicate. The film is a nice break from today's frayed sci-fi kill the monster or be killed plot lines. Slipstream fits in more with the likes of Asimov, Bradbury, or Dick. Sure, there are some familiar plot points like a dystopian near future, environmental devastation, societal collapse, human movements back into nature (actually, sounds a bit like right now, huh?). Intriguing, though, is the common mode of transport, ultralights. With the shifting of the jet stream to cover more of the planet and closer to the surface, the pilots use these "slipstreams" to get around as ground transport is nearly obsolete. And these elements are kept nicely in the background, providing a tapestry for the story, which is a basic cop chase, double crosses, introspection, and interesting character (one of which is an android) interactions. It is worth watching the film for the flying scenes and the key exterior locations alone -- Cappadoccia, Turkey, and Malham Rocks UK. Director Steven Lisberger (Tron), Music Elmer Bernstein, Cast includes Bob Peck, Mark Hamill, Kitty Aldridge, Bill Paxton, Robbie Coltrane, Ben Kingsley, F. Murray Abraham? Come on! Get it!