Mindstorm

Just recently released on DVD and video, Mindstorm gathers as many B-listed stars as possible in a muddled attempt at mindreading, cult fascination and genuine thriller. The cast has all been seen before: Antonio Sabato Jr, Michael Ironside (looking as if he thought he was in Scanners VI), Eric Roberts, Clarence Williams III and Michael Moriarty (who talks as if he as marbles in his mouth). We've seen all of these actors before, just not in a starring role, and no wonder. Although each actor does their best with the screen time they are given, none can rise above the stale plot which leads us to an expected conclusion. I do give credit for the lack of special effects. This movie could have used F/X in an attempt to try and lure a younger audience, but instead it tried to rely on the characters and the story. Valiant effort, but misguided.

MINDSTORM is, by accounts, a terrible movie. Its IMDB score is currently an appalling 3,7 and so far it has only 5 reviews. Why is not on IMDB's Bottom 100 then? Well, the standards say that a movie must have at least 10,000 ratings for making the list of worst-rated films... and MINDSTORM has to date 687 ratings... meaning that chanches it will make the list are near to zero. So why did I watch it? I have a weird hobby... to see obscure and forgotten movies that nobody would ever seek... because some can be great and yet they are bashed. So is MINDSTORM as bad as its score would indicate? Not at all, and to my surprise it was great and kept my interest.

When the film begins we see two kids that were in a camp for experiments during the cold War and were saved by colonel Walter Golden (Clarence Williams III) leaving them free in the woods. Fast forward a few years later and Tracey Wellman is hired by Senator William Armitage (Michael Ironside) for helping him find his missing daughter Rayanna. Soon Tracey discovers that Rayanna follows a cult led by David Mendez (Eric Roberts) who preaches true love and how to practice it, and that Mendez is doing this for revenge against Armitage. With the help of Agent Dan Oliver (Antonio Sabato) Tracey will confront her memories and save the Senator's daughter.

So is MINDSTORM terrible? Nope. Yes, there were various explosions that looked like just for the sake of blowing things up, but except those scenes the plot was great and the idea of a cult that preaches true love intrigued me and the performances by Ironside and Roberts were among their best in their huge filmographies. And it's one of those thrillers where you can never guess what happens next.

The bottom line is that the movie isn't bad but if it has both a bad rating and bad reviews is because many didn't understood it or ganged upon it bashing it. Great as a thriller and very worth watching.

Happy to see another reviewer noticed "Mindstorm" recycled action footage from the remake of "Narrow Margin" a big budget action film starring Gene Hackman. I noticed it almost immediately it seemed a little out of place in "Mindstorm" but I figure if a producer has the opportunity to inject a big budget action scene into his film for free you go for it and find a way to include it. It does make me wonder if any of the other action scenes were pilfered as well.

Over all "Mindstorm" is above average for a b movie science fiction action film sporting a good cast and half way decent script. I recommend it over other similar type films which do not measure up.

Ok I liked it but it has holes in the story. It explains a lot without explaining much. Sometimes hard to follow but it gets to the point and stands out of any other sci-fi movies. I'm really watching the movie for my favorite actor Eric Roberts and he is very good as David Mendez. Just what you want to watch on a Saturday night with nothing else on t.v. A must on DVD when it comes out! All sci-fi fans will love this film. Out of 4 stars I give it 2 1/2. It's ok in my book but has a few holes in the story! Just watch it for Antonio Sabato Jr. and Eric Roberts! I know there is enough fans to make this film on DVD! It's on the sci-fi channel so check local listings!

This was interesting and entertaining.

A plot about psychic's, the evil government, kidnapping, mind control and a few other things.

It's original and fresh in a tired world of rehashed movie scripts.

A bigger budget and a few more minutes of intense fighting action wouldn't have hurt it, but it's still a show which keep focus.

Overall the cast was good, the editing was good, special effects could have been used to better showing, but for about 2 hours...there is nothing overly wrong with this movie.

It's in my watchable section of movies I own.