Liens d'acier

While this is not a film that will mark any new trend in the thriller genre, it's not unpleasant to watch. The director, Kevin Hooks, working on the script written by Preston Whitmore, delivers a an action film that is easy to watch.

Preston Whitmore's screen play combines elements from different movies that have been much better, but that said, while it's not breaking any grounds, the film keeps one's interest throughout.

Laurence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin make an odd couple indeed. Mr. Baldwin acts with a blank expression most of the time he is seen. Mr. Fishburne has been around for a while; with the right director he is more effective than what he shows in this movie.

Will Patton, one of the best character actors working in films today, has a small, but effective role. It'shame because he can outperform this cast by only saying his lines. Salma Hayek's Cora, the girl with a heart of gold, is a welcome presence for the eyes.

The beginning of the film, as well as the closing scenes are the best things going because it sags a bit in the middle section, but all in all, it will keep the viewer entertained without pretending to be more.

FLED is, perhaps, best watched very late at night after a bit of a drink when you don't seem to care about plot holes, bland characters and poor acting. Although not as diabolically awful as other reviewers have made out, this is a pretty bad remake of a great classic. What they seem to have forgotten is that when they made THE DEFIANT ONES, it was at a time where racial awareness was so topical - in FLED the conflict is represented by just one line.

The two leads are acceptable, with Laurence Fishburne flexing his fighting skills ready for THE MATRIX. Stephen Bladwin is his usual surly smouldering self, and there is a very small (ie no reason to watch it just for this!) part from Salma Hayek.

Although a little overdone, I enjoyed the film references made by Baldwin's character, and you will have a chuckle at the very final one...!

The unlikeliest of partners, Laurence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin are chained together and make a jail break together from a Georgia road gang. It's now the Nineties and objections about a black and white convict being chained together are now passé. Even with race not a really big issue with these two guys as it was in The Defiant Ones, they've still got a lot of other problems.

The most curious thing about this is the interest the Feds have in this jailbreak. They're keeping the Atlanta PD cop who busted Baldwin in the loop, but at a distance and this arouses Will Patton's curiosity no end. US Marshal Robert John Burke is playing things way too close to the vest to suit Patton.

Baldwin's who they're after. He's a computer hacker who hacked into a holding company that the Cuban Mafia owns and ripped off 25 million dollars. The local Cuban don, Michael Nader, wants him real bad. The wild thing in this film is that he's the only one in the cast who is what he says he is.

A couple of current beauties, Selma Hayek and Brittany Powell, decorate this film as love interests for both Fisburne and Baldwin. Hayek is introduced rather clumsily into the situation that our escapees find themselves in.

In fact the film, enjoyable though it is in many places, could have been a lot better with a much tighter script. Director Kevin Hooks did a good job with what he was given. In fact Kevin Hooks got to cast his dad Robert Hooks in a role as the Atlanta PD supervisor for Patton.

Fled is not a bad film, it could have used a lot of improvement though in the writing.

Mindless chasing and shooting. This one leaves plenty of your mind unoccupied to wonder such things as: How can a guy shoot a three-quarter inch rope with a handgun and miss everything with a shotgun? Why is RuPaul in this movie for 15 seconds? Would the feds really honour a verbal agreement to let you off after you've shot up a lot of folks and a lot of Atlanta? Could a limo really keep up with a Ducatti? Is it true that all you've got to do to get a semi out of your way is to lean on the horn?

Fled is an enjoyable action movie, not as bad as other users said it is, but with nothing special. The bad thing about it is that it's a remake, after a movie titled The Defiant Ones. And of course remakes are inferior movies by definition.

Except that, it has all the ingredients of an enjoyable film, very good to watch if you don't want to use your brain too much. The acting is good, there is alot of action, some funny one-liners, a nice ending.

All in all, pleasant, but that's it. Vote: 5 out of 10.