The eXtremists

A fun senseless romp that was way more entertaining than the self aggrandizing "Die Another Day." This movie has no pretensions. It's formulaic B-movie material, but it knows it. The casting is good, the acting is spirited, and the special effects are clever. It even manages to make fun of itself. Are avalanche scenes real, or digital? I see from the ratings that women like it more than men. I think that's because there's no gratuitous sex or violence, and the females leads are strong and entertaining. Also notable is that it pokes some fun at reality TV shows with the obligatory hot tub scene, and plot references to shows like "Fear Factor," and "Big Brother."

That's what it was and it never promised to be anything better. It was an inoffensive movie with great stunts and lovable characters. Sure the plot was small, a big one would have gotten in the way of all that skiing & snowboarding. It had a few embarrasing moments, but how many Hollywood films don't. Besides, you're not supposed to take this movie seriously anyway. It's just plain old fun. I guess I liked it.

I couldn't resist with that one line summary above. Actually this film wasn't a total stinker. It had some good points, a lot of low points as well, but still some good stuff to be seen.

I thought the story was actually a rather interesting idea. It could have definitely been a great movie, with the right director. I did like some of Christian Duguay's work ("The Art of War" and "Screamers"), I'm not really sure what happened here. I want to blame the writing and the editor...but I'm sure that the director is also to blame here. Speaking of editing, there was some HORRIBLE editing in this film. There were a few scenes where I couldn't help but ask myself "What the heck was that?!?!"

The characters in the film were all pretty good ideas, just not executed correctly. The two characters that were supposed to be super adrenaline junkies were good ideas, but weren't done justice. I'm not saying the acting was horrible or anything like that, I'm just saying that some of the things they were doing didn't look "cool", just plain stupid!!! There were a few stunts that they did that were really cool though, so it wasn't a total bust. I did like the snowboarding off the back of the train, that was kind of cool.

The action in the film was actually really good at times. But, it was very often short-lived. I was shocked how short "the chase" in the film was between the terrorists and the good guys. At the end of the film, I was thinking "That's it???" ...And as for the actual final moments of the film...well, let's just say it could have been better.

Most of the actors did a fine job. Rufus Sewell did a fine job as always. Ever since I saw him in "Dark City" I've really liked his acting and tried to follow his work. Devon Sawa did a surprisingly good job, I usually don't like his acting, but did a pretty good job in the film. Bridget Wilson did a great job with her role and looks absolutely fantastic throughout the film. She is reason enough to watch the film. Jana Pallaske is a new face to me, she did an ok job with her role. I didn't think she was spectacular, but she did pretty good job given the material (and is quite the looker as well...her lips remind me of Angelina Jolie).

All in all, I can't in good conscience recommend you go see this film in the theater unless you just want to see some cool snowboarding/skiing footage. I strongly urge you not to pay a full price ticket, see this one at a matinee if you absolutely must. Otherwise, wait till video. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

This movie is a waste of time and money. I hated characters, i hates the story, there so many plot holes, and i dont wanna even start with Serbian criminals. Ridiculous, i mean its just horrible. That accent is not serbian, trust me. DO NOT see this movie!!

Hmm. You know, sometimes I wonder why we're screwed up as a species. I was watching Extreme Ops in the comfort of my home and suddenly the world fell silent, and a wave of emptiness fell upon me as a poorly matted Bridgette Wilson escaped a fake avalanche just in time for a ski jump to take out some excruciatingly recycled terrorists who were busy being evil for no other reason than because the script says to. I looked around to find myself in alien surroundings. My home was no longer my home, but a void of everlasting darkness in which no form of goodness, nor light, nor hope could ever be found. And from the belly of this neverending realm of pain and celluloid death could be heard the sound of English actor Rufus Sewell dismantling his once promising career with lines of dialogue like "Are you ready to know what it's like to ski in front of an avalanche?" Oh, the pain. Soon, all this agony ceased, and numbness set in. My world shrank and suddenly I felt nothing at all, and I realized that everything I had ever done was meaningless, and all I had was nothing at all so long as Devon Sawa continues to hang from a cliff and ask a girl out in the middle of a terrorist attack just before feigning suicide for "team sacrifice". My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

But then, something happened. The darkness parted, and the shroud of peril lifted and I awoke from my numbness to find that I was in deed at home. My furniture was still here and all my things were as I had left them. I wondered to my self, "What happened?" And then I looked to my television and saw credits rolling. The deed was done. And the darkness had gone. But only until the sequel. (Fat chance)

This movie sucks. I hate it almost as much as it hates me. 1/10