Fuga Impossível

Let me start off by saying that it blew away all my expectations. The trailer looked good so I picked it up expecting yet another low budget, straight-to-DVD action flick with small appearances by a couple of semi-recognizable stars (Fred Ward, Tremors; Lea Thompson, Back to the Future). Big mistake; this movie was so much more.

This was not your standard action movie. The characters start out as one dimensional cardboard cut-outs that all find themselves on the same bus to El Paso (ex-GI chick with mysterious past, angry coach, horny teen, artsy chick, foreign guy, worried mom... you get the idea). But when the action picks up and situations start to arise, each character shows a second or third dimension. Seriously, even people who die early on become more than just cardboard cut-outs. Props to the screenwriter and director for creating such great characters.

Another great thing about this movie is its strong female characters. There are no damsels in distress who need to be saved here. Every woman, in her own way, is an absolute bad*ss. I'll even go as far as to say that there is a character in this movie who ranks among Ripley and Sarah Connor in the most bad*ss woman in cinema category.

If I have to nag about something, though, it's the pacing. There are a couple of long stretches in this movie where little to no action happens, but I guess that's where character development fills in nicely.

I'll end by saying I recommend this movie to anyone who loves a good action and that this movie deserves a much higher rating than its current 5.0/10.

It's Christmas in Texas. Military Police Archie Sparks (Fred Ward) is hunting AWOL Corporal Meredith Cole (Julie Mond). She escapes and boards a bus with a variety of passengers. The bus is harassed by a passing biker gang. One of the bikes fall over and the bus runs over it. The biker starts shooting killing the bus driver and others. They manage to kill the biker but the rest of his friends come looking for revenge. They drive into an isolated scrap yard and must fend off the criminals.

The story is thin and worthy of any number of B-movies. It's not that believable in the age of cell phones and interconnectivity. The whole movie isn't that realistic. The biker gang seems more like central casting rejects. It's a cross between Mad Max 2 and Home Alone. The junk yard is stock full of MacGyver material. There is some cat-and-mouse stuff in the night. It does have some fun 80s action. There are some solid actors here doing it for the paychecks.

This was a total surprise. It was a very fun and entertaining thriller. While the plot was pretty generic it was very fast paced and full of action. I was also very shocked by the amount of blood and gore their was. The kills were also very well done. There was some shocking kills and most of the characters weren't that annoying. There was some poor dialogue and acting but that's what happens with b movies. Its a solid fun movie.

All along, I felt like I was watching a classic B-lister from a previous decade. A good one, entertaining, with atmosphere and character. Well written (which is rare enough nowadays), well acted... The pleasure taken translates into my note, a solid 7/10.

Then I watched that extra on the DVD, the making of, and I couldn't believe how tiny the budget actually was. Plus, they were cursed with bad weather all along their three days filming, forcing them to be even more clever to hide any signs of rain on the film. Well, if true, and I have no reason to disbelieve, then all I can say is bravo! If I was to rate according to budget, this one would deserve a 10.

I would not have expected much from a film titled 'Exit Speed'. However, my brother recommended it and I decided to give it a shot. In a nutshell, 'Exit Speed' is a thriller about a group of passengers travelling to Texas when, on the way, they are attacked by a murderous biker gang. It is pretty much what one would call a popcorn thriller. The film would have been more fun to watch had the execution been up for the marks. It looks like a past midnight TV movie or a straight-to-video flick. It certainly would have benefited with a bigger budget and more style. The cinematography is dull. The background score is awful. Most of the cast, with the exception of Lea Thompson act from mediocre to bad. Thompson is the only one who's up for the mark. But perhaps a bright side is that the worst actors are killed off. The suspense is maintained well enough. Surely it is easy to predict who will die and what will happen next and so on but the tension between the gang and the passengers and within the passengers is well conveyed. 'Exit Speed' will perhaps be best enjoyed if the viewer took it for what it is rather than nitpick. It's nothing more than a popcorn thriller.