Adrenalina

I was at the local DVD retail store a couple of weeks ago and found ADRENALIN sitting on one of the shelves, first time I saw it was years ago when it first came out on VHS I actually liked it, I mean it was no masterpiece and surely wasn't as bad as people said it was, well okay if you want something that has more of a story, I recommend you try something else, because this film only sums up the story as follows.

A chemical leak in Europe has caused a deadly new virus, as the disease starts to spread towards the U.S, the government sets up quarantine camps in order to contain the large number of immigrants, now two cops that patrol the camps, one a rookie, (Natasha Hentsridge of Species and Ghosts of Mars) the other a seasoned veteran (Christopher Lambert of Highlander and Fortress) discover that a deranged killer is stalking the camps, but what they don't know is that he is infected with another type of virus that poses an even greater threat.

Now I have Adrenalin on a very worn out VHS tape, but I decided to buy the DVD for better quality, and to my surprise turned out to be a longer version of the film, the difference between them is the longer version has a longer pre credit sequence that paints a grimmer picture of what went on, and has a few extra scenes and some of the scenes you might be familiar with in the shorter version are extended, but I still like it, despite what others think.

Lastly, I have to admit I find Albert Pyun to be an interesting director, sometimes he directs a lot of really good films and other times I wonder is this the same guy? because considering his standard of good films, the bad ones actually leave your jaw hanging open and asking yourself, does this guy make movies to reflect in what kind of mood he's in at the time? Because when his movies are bad they're bad all right.

First time I saw Adrenalin I cried. Not because of sadness. Nor because of something in my eye. I cried because of laughing. This movie was so pathetic that it was actually funny!!!!

The plot is very simple: In the future a mutated man (a monster really) is ravaging a city. A special team is sent to destroy it... -and so they do after a lot of death, chaos, shooting, etc.

However, the plot is insignificant really, because the best thing about this film is all the faults. For example, in a scene the monster has crawled up a shaft and the special team are just about to follow it. Suddenly the monster shows up and shoots at Christopher Lambert with a gun. He's hit approximately 10 times and it seems as if they have used the very same cut to all the times he's shot. Another thing is that it's suspicious the way the special team is destroyed by the monster. I mean it is a special team of some sort, made to destroy monsters wearing fancy suits, etc. Anyway it takes the monster about 20 seconds to kill them all...

All in all, I'll actually recommend this film if you're ready to take as some kind of a comedy. However it's a failure as a serious action film! Better be prepared!!!

It would be unfair to comment that Adrenalin is boring at all. Although it was a low budget Pyun film, it has its moments. Although I watched the movie on TV, I still got some excitement. Not bad as a B grade thriller for mediocre audience like me! One thing I am still confused about, in the beginning of the movie it reads "Romania, western Europe", but the movie trailer says it is Boston.

Another plot hole of the film, to me, is if the guy who was infected by a virus something like rabies, seems to be sane and very intelligent. How could he be so clever and retain his mental composure? He was supposed to be delirious or in coma instead. I don't think the writer cared about this details.

3 out of 10, for the sake of the face value of Lambert, my icon.

Awesome movie. Fast-paced from beginning to the end. It never gets boring. Very gory and bloody. Kick-ass movie. 10/10...

Although I can accept the critics of the minimal storyline this movie shows, I don't get what's the real problem with it. The effects and stunts are okay. The characters are of a standard kind for a movie like that. Story and idea are on a good atmospheric level. And the main argument for rating this movie on a higher position: Excitement... really nerve wrecking excitement. Also, Natasha Henstridge and Christopher Lambert did a good job. I like both of them as actors and charmful characters. The combination of Mad Max, Bone Collector and Escape from NY fits to the main actors and results in a interesting and thrilling movie based in somewhat dirty end-times.