Fate

Armed with no particular viewing agenda when I arrived at the video store the other night, I decided to rent this handsome thriller of a film. The result was one of those happy accidents where you inadvertently discover a film that turns out to be quite enjoyable, and you think, "Man, I'm glad I got to see this." It's certainly worth the watch.

The story was compelling and I really did not expect the surprise ending. I've seen plenty of bad b-movies whose plots (if you want to call them that) are flat and boring, where you know exactly how things are going to turn out in the first five minutes. "Fate" kept me interested until the end with its compelling premise and storytelling.

The film also looked great...in a league similar to some of the Hollywood studios' more moderate budget action fare. And, the make up effects were cool, too.

The acting also held up as well. I pretty much expected Phillip Michael Thomas to be washed up, but he surprised me with his subtle and smoldering performance. And while he wasn't part of the main name cast, there was something about director Ace Cruz's performance that made his detective colleague character enjoyable to watch.

What else can I say? I think it's worth checking out, and I look forward to more from Ace Cruz and the gang.

Basically my girlfriend rented this movie for the hell of it, within 10 minutes I couldn't help but to turn it off. Possibly the worst dialogue and acting I have ever seen (and I only saw 10 minutes of the film). I feel sorry for the poor schmucks who watched the whole thing. Its painfully obvious that the director had no clue how police do anything, and this is when I put in the 2nd movie she rented.

Basically my girlfriend rented this movie for the hell of it, within 10 minutes I couldn't help but to turn it off. Possibly the worst dialogue and acting I have ever seen (and I only saw 10 minutes of the film). I feel sorry for the poor schmucks who watched the whole thing. Its painfully obvious that the director had no clue how police do anything, and this is when I put in the 2nd movie she rented.

Basically my girlfriend rented this movie for the hell of it, within 10 minutes I couldn't help but to turn it off. Possibly the worst dialogue and acting I have ever seen (and I only saw 10 minutes of the film). I feel sorry for the poor schmucks who watched the whole thing. Its painfully obvious that the director had no clue how police do anything, and this is when I put in the 2nd movie she rented.

Well, everyone else has already said it. You know the plot. So I'll just stick with what I have to say about it.

Me, my girlfriend, and my friend-who-is-said-girlfriend's-sister watched this movie. Even the title felt needlessly appended, only making sense in the context of a single highly forced conversation toward the end. There is nothing that makes this movie good or worth watching, except the basic idea. And if you can imagine what could have been with this idea...who knows? IT'll probably be painful.

Aside from that, it's just...blah. Not terrible, but in no way stellar. Lackluster performances and an ending that just...doesn't do anything for me.

I'd recommend AGAINST renting this one. Even if you're looking for just something bad to make fun of...this will wear you down.

A movie starring Phillip Michael Thomas? Tubbs? For the love of all that is holy, you would think this movie would at the least, give you a sense of nostalgia.

Fate starts off with the slow, boring, and seemingly pointless death of a large, "retarded" man. From then on, it only seems to get worse. The plot seems to have more holes in it than the Holy Bartender from Dogma.

Besides the terrible plot, which has a surprise ending so easy to figure out, that a 13 year old who had just wandered into the room while the movie was playing, was able to watch it for three minutes and figure out, the movie has terrible production values. Twice in the movie does it go from being day out in one outside scene, to dark in another. The camera work is horrendous, and the overall feel of the movie is just...sad.

The acting is enough to make you cry. The young person inside of you who remembers Thomas as Tubbs...while also remember just how bad of an actor he really was. Pare and Majors fare worse than even Tubbs in this amazing waste of the fifteen dollars made to make this movie.

Overall, it is fun to pick up the case and see it has Tubbs in it, but that will be the only excitement you get from this movie.

Fate is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. It is nothing but a tired cliché, complimented by bad acting, bad writing, and bad direction. The writers are obviously casual fans of 80's cop shows, and their knowledge of police procedure would apparently go no farther.

The movie follows the basic plot for Se7en, with two cops tracking down a fanatically religious serial killer, who leaves various clues as to his identity, because he wants to be caught, to prove his point. It also borrows liberally from such other films as Silence of the Lambs and The Empire Strikes Back. In fact, if there's an original idea in this movie, I missed it.

Michael Pare is apparently the worst actor I've ever seen. He could not have been more wooden, and delivered his lines more poorly. The fact that he is so awful is the only reason I'm not laying into Philip Michael Thomas, who has been M.I.A. for several years, apparently with good reason. And frankly, it's really sad to see Lee Majors reduced to this garbage. He's the freakin' Fall Guy! The dialogue in this film is so bad, that I can only assume the writers are dyslexic. Characters often say things that no one, no matter how stupid, would ever say. It's like they director wanted to stop the film at times, so that he could explain to the audience what was happening. Of course, you'd have to be a complete idiot not to understand (especially if you've already seen Se7en), so it just seems painful.

I don't remember the last time I groaned as much as I did watching this movie. I can only hope that the director and writers are forever banned from even borrowing a video camera again. These guys aren't even competent to make music videos.