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Some of us will never understand why this boy-and-his-whale tale became the hit family film of 1993 and one of the bestselling videos of all time. But it is easy to see how clever marketing and a tear-jerking story could touch the hearts of kids and parents the world over, especially because the endangered Orca whale named Willy is such a majestic creature. The story couldn't be more conventional--it's like Old Yeller and The Black Stallion with a big sea mammal--but as the boy who comes to Willy's aid against the whale's exploitative owner, young Jason James Richter gives an appealing performance with which children can readily identify. After two sequels and an animated television series, this popular film also had a happy real-life ending: Keiko the whale (who plays Willy) recovered from failing health and was gradually trained to survive outside of captivity. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Freedom
The reason this film is so moving is because it is about freedom. We all value freedom and the human spirit longs to be free. Animals are born to run free, on the earth or in the sea. The thought of trapping a whale in a tank just large enough for dolphins seems rather cruel. So, we cheer on, as a 12-year-old spunky street kid makes freeing this beautiful Orca whale possible.

Jesse is the star of this movie and is at first a troubled kid who keeps thinking his mother will come back to take him home. Willy is the whale who was also taken from his family, so the two find common ground. When Willy saves Jesse's life, they form a bond of friendship and Jesse is the only one who can train the whale. The owner of the Pacific Northwest Aquatic Park plots to get insurance money by destroying the tank and when Jesse hears of the plans he has to race against time to save his friend.

The scenes of the Pacific Northwest are spectacular and the whales playfully dancing in the water is a pure display of joy. These are truly on of God's most magnificent creations. Keiko, a 7,000-pound Orca is the whale star, but they also have back-up from a full-sized "animatronic" whale. I could not tell the difference between the whales, it was that good.

One of the best parts of the film is when Jesse spends his pocket money to buy the whale his favorite treat, salmon. I just thought that showed Jesse's true character. While he acts tough on the outside, he seems to be fascinated with nature and animals and that brings out his more loving side.

Throughout the movie, the theme of family is very important and I think that might be why this film is such a favorite. There is a music video at the beginning of this video and there is also information for children about helping save whales from becoming extinct. Overall, I felt this was a great movie for children and adults and it teaches such great lessons: that we all need a family and that we should respect animals. I was captivated from beginning to end. A wonderful movie for all ages.

Classic Family Entertainment (Good For The Grownups, Too)
Young Jesse -- abandoned by his mother at an early age -- is a troubled kid. His antics keep his social worker and foster family worried and busy. He runs away, begs for spare change, steals food and spray paints graffiti on walls. His foster parents really love and care for him but Jesse resists them, believing that his mother will someday return.

Jesse's life takes a turn for the better when he encounters Willy, a giant orca, at a marine park nearby. Jesse's fascination with the whale leads to an emotional bond based, at least in part, on their similar circumstances. Willy misses his mother and, like Jesse, tends to 'act out' once in a while.

I saw "Free Willy" in 1993 when it was released in theatres. I remembered agreeing with the critics who praised it as great family entertainment and I'm happy to say that the film remains very effective today.

My niece (age 8) was thoroughly entertained by this movie but the younger children in the group were alienated by the somewhat advanced, dramatic themes of abandonment, responsibility and love. For what it's worth, I enjoyed the film immensely.

Over a decade since its release, "Free Willy" holds up quite well. I got "misty" and "choked up" throughout the desperate climactic rescue sequence that gives the movie its name. The opening sequence, during which Willy is captured, is also quite touching.

This is efficient storytelling offering a steady, sustained buildup to a thoroughly satisfying climax.

"Free Willy" also offers believable performances by all members of its small ensemble cast, including Michael Madsen, Michael Ironside, Lori Petty, Jason James Richter (as Jesse) and Keiko (as Willy).

i like it
i like this movie, it has pretty colors

Great Family film
I have this film, its really great for the family,amzing ending too that will shock us, just get this film for the family if u never saw it yet.

If you take it as fantasy...
The odd thing about Free Willy is that it's a film which makes money using a captive animal to do tricks--and it's about the evils of capturing animals to do tricks for money. The film came out at the same time as and with the same mentality of its partner-in-ideology Jurassic Park (using technology to make money by condemning the use of technology to make money).

If you can get over that, it's a beautiful piece of work. The best part is Basil Poledouris' wonderous score, which should have been released on its own without all the clutter of pop songs. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Jingoism, beefcake, military hardware, and a Giorgio Moroder rock score reign supreme over taste and logic in this Tony Scott film about a maverick trainee pilot (Tom Cruise) who can't follow the rules at a Navy aviation training facility. The dogfight sequences between American and Soviet jets at the end are absolutely mechanical, though audiences loved it at the time. The love story between Cruise's character and that of Kelly McGillis is like flipping through pages of advertising in a glossy magazine. This designer action movie from 1986 would be all the more appalling were it not for the canny casting of good actors in dumb parts. Standouts include Anthony Edwards--who makes a nice impression as Cruise's average-Joe pal--and the relatively unknown Meg Ryan in a small but memorable appearance. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (209)

Fun, but not realistic.
"Top Gun" is not the movie to watch if you are looking for authentic military activities. It is, however, a showcase for Tom Cruise to show how hot he and his band of young stud actors are. Cruise plays Maverick, a crack Navy pilot who get the chance to go to the elite Top Gun Avaiation School. There he is placed in competition with other excellent pilots, but his cheif rival is Iceman (Val Kilmer). This is your standard story of a boy wonder trying to prove himself to a father figure. The romance with his instructor is also sort of superficial. It is, however, very funny to watch all the bloated egos trying to function, resulting in very funny lines of dialog. Also the dog fights are very cool and exciting. Good job Tony Scott. I have met a lot of pilots who act just like these guys, but it didn't seem as funny at the time, though.

Top Gun
This movie is an awesome hit from director Tony Scott (also directed Beverly Hills Cop, Enemy of the State,and much more) dense with fun and excitement that will keep you FLYING for as long as you like. Tom Cruise (Days of Thunder, Jerry Maguire, etc.) stars as hotshot fighter jet pilot "Maverick" Pete Mitchell, who is elected with his partner "Goose" (Anthony Edwards) to enter the Navy's very competitive "Top Gun" program, where many comparible opponents challenge him to win the top rank, including "Iceman" Tom Kusansky (Val Kilmer) and "Slider" (Russ Rossovich). Stars Kelly McGillis as Mitchell's girlfriend, with appearances by Michael Ironside, Clarence Gilyard Jr., Meg Ryan (as Goose's wife), and Tim Robbins. A great action film.

Top Gun baby!
TOPGUN..wat can i say. i grew up watchin this film ,its fun, exciting,thrilling and above all SEXY..tom cruise has never looked soo hott...this movie has given a new meaning to the song 'Youve lost that loving feeling' youd be surprised how many pilots, footballers sing this to girls in bars...it has an amazing soundtrack. 'take my breath away' performed by berlin is a wonderful emotional lovesong that truly melts your heart. so if your a fan of a little romance then this will be a movie top of your list. i know a lot of my boy friends have enjoyed this film so its not just a sloppy romance for girls. the boys get a kick out of 'Maverick' the stud played by Cruise who is 'one hell of an instinctive pilot' who learns never to leave his wing man. His best friend 'Goose' is the coolest character hes so entertaining. there are really fun sexy catchprases, such as 'goose ya big stud take me to bed and loose me forever' and 'son your ego is writing checks your body cant cash'
Top gun is a great movie to just chill out with some popcorn on the sofa and watch with your best friends. ill guarantee you will definately enjoy it.
"there are no points for second place in Topgun." (girls checkout the volleyball scene...mmm)

Awesome Movie!
This movie is a definate classic. The story line is interesting and not mindless like many of hollywoods other movies. Plus we have a beautiful guy with a smile that will make you melt playing the sensitive yet daring main charecter; need I say more? Be careful about chosing when to watch this though, you may have trouble focusing your brain on anything other than Tom Cruises amazing smile.

Top Gun Favourite.
Absolute cheese on a stick, but Top Gun proves that that's not always a bad thing. This movie's got everything - an arrogant prodigy who'd be out on his ass if he wasn't so good, a sensible, more down to earth best friend, a love interest, an arch nemesis and his dumb sidekick, a few cool high fives and catchphrases, the emotional death scene, a euphoric victory act and of course, some unforgettable action sequences. What more could any red-blooded child of the eighties ask for?

Anyone born around 1980 will remember how everyone was doing that double high five and saying 'talk to me Goose' to the kid next to them in class. Certainly one of my all time favourites - entertaining stuff. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 Number #1 Fan
I love this movie. I rented the movie every week then the video store sold it. I was so dissapointed! I searched everywhere for it, it took me about 2 years to finally find it. I was so happy! I now watch the movie every day. The plot of the movie is that the school slut Mary Lou Maloney jilts her boyfriend on Prom Night 1957. He then tries to teach her a lesson by setting off a stink bomb. She then wins Prom Queen then he sends off the stink bomb and it lands close to her dress and she burns to death. 30 years later she comes back for revenge. THIS MOVIE IS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

love the cover-art ...not a bad movie either !
One of my favorite horror movies is Carrie so when Mary Lou came out in the late 80's in theaters I was really excited...I thought that this movie is definately underrated even better than the more well known first one...This movie is alot of fun not really scary but theres some decent scares as well as above average effects...Lisa Schrage did a very good job in playing the lead character Mary Lou...If your at all curious about this movie I recommend it !!

Classic Horror
This is one of those sequels in name only that is actually better then the original. the school slutMary Lou who becomes prom queen, catches on fire and dies seeking revenge. twenty years later its time for the prom again and Mary Lou si back as an angry demon wanting revenge. She posseses Vicki(Wendy Lyon) and starts offing her competition. Thsi movie is so great because it has so many reference to other horror movies most notably Carrie and The Exorcist. I love the part where Vicki tells Kelly the school snob off. This whole movie is fun and not to be taken seriously. Skip the rest of the sequels. They should never have been made. This one is worth watching though!

''Carrie'' meets '' The Exorcist ''
This was an ok movie but it rips off Carrie and the Exorcist.These are the things that rip off The Exorcist The girl gets possesd by a demon,one boy said shes acting like Linda Blaire, and when the girl is in bed the sheets just clang on to her that when she trys to get free she look like shes going to throw up.The things that rip off ''Carrie'' is the religous mother but shes nothing compared to Piper Lauri In Carrie,The use of telekineses,the volly ball scene,the house of the girl who gets possesd looks alot like the house in the original in ''Carrie'',And the prom scene where Mary Lou takes her reveng by making all the lights explode and killing some student with her teleconetic power.Watch this movie to find that this is all true.

worth viewing at least once
I watched the first Prom Night and thought that it was real disappointing. Prom Night 2 came on TV one night and I figured I would watch it due to people teling me that it was better than the first. Well, it is better than the first but the plot is not that great and the only things that really hold your interest are the few action sequences and what little of the film relates to the first Prom Night. I would only recommend veiwing this film if you are interested in what happens after the original. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Release in DVD version Please.!!!?.....
Work Welldone between Hamlin vs Anthony, Hot love scene and the chemistry between them keep the screen heat. I was wondering why the studio not release in dvd format ???. Its really a good entertain movie to collect specially in DVD version (Hopefully soon).

Pretty Good Flick
Actually, I thought the plot was pretty good. It's the kind of movie to rent when you've seen all the hyped films and are looking for something light and different. I enjoyed it more than many highly praised films.

let's hope this movie comes up on DVD soon!
Lets hope for the dvd of this movie in the future sometime!

WWWWWOOOOOWWWWW!
Any movie showing gorgeous Lysette Anthony wearing only her earrings is a must-see-no-matter-what! If, on the other hand, you were expecting an actual movie, forget it! ... Read more

Reviews (408)

The Perfect Storm The Perfect Movie on dvd
Directed by Wolfgang Peterson who has a career
for making great films like the "The NeverEnding Story", "The Perfect Storm" was another great film into Mr. Peterson's resume.

The perfect storm, is based on the book written by Sebastian Unger. It's the true account of a group of fisherman who , in October 1991, died in the worst storm in the century, sacrificing their lives because they were doing their duties
and trying to put food on the table for their families.

There are many reasons I liked this movie:
1) The characters are real and genuine
2) The movie has a lot of heart, action, drama and suspense
3) The movie does have a certain mystique and aura around it, due to the fact that these are very special people whom if you met them you've probably wouldn't forget.

The cast and crew is made up of Billy Tyne
(George Clooney), captain of the Andrea Gail, Bobby Shatford (Mark Wahlberg) ,a beloved
fisherman in Gloucester, Mike "Bugsy" Moran
(John Hawkes), Dale Murphy (John C. Reilly) , David "Sully" Sullivan (William Fichtner). All these characters were loved in their community.

To feed their loved ones, the fisherman go to the Great banks to catch as many fish as possible but they don't see that a huge Hurricane named " Grace" is headed their way, a deadly storm in fact. The fisherman's boss though, Mr. McNally I believe is his name, pays them very little and makes even fishing a hassle for them. The men though still go out to see despite this because of their great love for the see.

One of the characters that are shown
at the beginning is Christine Cotter (Diane
Lane), Bobby's girlfriend, who has an undying love for him, even though she knows that fishing in rough waters can be dangerous.

Making the characters more realistic and with a real storyline the movie shows the mixed hate/love relationship, the crew has with Captain Billy (Clooney). It's debatable whether Tyne might
have been at fault over the dealth of his shipmates. During one scene Tyne, gets a message about the upcoming storm, however, he doesn't immediately make the crew think about how dangerous it is. He instead just leaves the decision in their hands, but another Captain might have taken control and said the hell with the trip.

Each characters has a story to them, it's not just that these guys were average joes and they worked a crummy job, no, they were very much by everyone and the extras on the dvd prove that with all the interviews by people in the community.

The visual effects for the movie are outstanding, it is a very big budget production loaded with great sets and great models..

The movie was a box office hit, and received
praise for all the actors in it like Clooney and Walhberg.

The effects were done by award winning special effects ma Stan Winston and ILM , the same group who gave us the effects for "Terminator 2",
and "Jurassic Park" to give two examples.

The Dvd for the movie comes with many extras:

*Three Documentaries one by HBO called
"Creating the Storm" which has interviews with Bobby Shatford's family,i former Captains of the Andrea Gail, and interviews with local fisherman who know all about the characters involved. Then other documentary on the dvd is called "Witnessing the Storm" which has photos from the storm in 1991 and many interviews on it

Next is the commentary. The commentary
is actually split differently during one
commentary I believe you have Wolfgang
Petersen talking about the film. The other
commentary has Sebastian Unger who talks
about how afraid he was if his book on
the storm would fail,and then how great he felt when the families of the fisherman told
him how good a job he did with it.

With all visual effects, story, good acting
and great directing by Wolfgang "Perfect
Storm" is a very good movie, by a guy
who hasn't really done bad movies.
In fact Wolfgang's next movie is "Troy"
with Brad Pitt. So check that out and check
out this one.

Fantastic Special Effects!!!
The Perfect Storm has some really great special-effects. The movie starts out a little slow describing all the characters and their relationships but then moves along at a breathless pace. You get so caught up with the crew in the middle of this greatest storm in recorded history that you can't take your eyes away from the screen. This storm occurred in the Atlantic Ocean in October 1991, a true story. You feel like your on the ocean with the crew it is so realistic. It even made me feel seasick at times. George Clooney & Mark Wahlberg did a wonderful job as the two main characters. There are a lot of surprises in this film. You get a good feel for the life & people involved in this tough fishing port of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

I only had one problem with this movie, and it was the soundtrack. I felt the music was really appropriate and well-done, but it should have been toned down a little. It overpowered the actors words to the point where you couldn't tell what they were saying. At least during the storm it would have been better to have no music at all and just the natural sounds. Other than that it's a great movie that I will definitely watch again. The special features & documentaries are great on this DVD version, that explain how the film was made. Really quite interesting

lukewarm
I really wanted to like this movie but it came off as a bland viewing experience. A lot of it had to do with poor casting...Clooney (IMO) is not a good actor so without a strong lead, the rest of the ensemble faltered. I don't remember much of a soundtrack-a good musical score would of greatly improved this film.
As a New Englander, I find it quite tiresome to listen to ridiculous interpretations of the local dialects. Obviously most of the actors could not speak it, so the few who tried, looked even more stupid. I would of been happy if they had spoken in their natural accents (even if by fluke, someone was from the South, per se)-at least a viewer can justify it by interpreting the character as a transplant; a horrible rendition of a dialect is just that...horrible, and it is very distracting. The hollywood adaptation of New England locals always strikes me as an insult. It seems fair to state that these filmmakers from the west coast don't know enough about the people and culture of New England either.

No suspense whatsoever
It's hard to get psyched for a movie when you basically know the ending. How can you sustain any kind of tension or suspense? That's a key problem with most movies which are deemed "historical". What most great historical films have done is examine the aspects of the history and demonstrate how the forces came together to create that ending. Think of GLORY or THE LONGEST DAY. They don't even have to be war stories. Think of A NIGHT TO REMEMBER or SEABISCUIT, for that matter.

The problem with THE PERFECT STORM is that there is no suspense, essentially. We know the crew ignored or were deprived the information that things were going to get a little rough in the North Atlantic, and its boat got walloped. I don't know how Wolfgang Petersen or the script writers could have created the suspense, and it's not a reviewer's job to make recommendations. But as it is, I found myself increasing impatient during the first half of the film. Let's just get to the F/X and get it over with, I thought.

The performances, I have to say in all fairness, are good, considering what the actors had to work with. The F/X were great, of course. But I still left this film with an empty feeling. Pass on this one.

Very depressing, but still a good movie.
This film truely has some great special effects, good acting, heart, but the one thing that it lacks is that positive ending that even the saddest films have. The film was very depressing in every sense. George Clooney, Mark Whallberg, and the rest of the cast all did a great job. The cinematography was brilliant. All in all the film is something you need to follow up with a happier movie. If you are in the mood to be crushed stay away. I reccomend this film to people who love special effects films. Two sad thumbs up. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

The Next Karate Kid- Less of the Karate, More of the Kid!
"The Next Karate Kid" is the fourth and as it stands final Karate Kid movie. Released in 1994, a few years after "The Karate Kid Part III", this movie no longer focuses on the Karate Kid Daniel and his relationship with his Karate teacher Mr Miyagi. It is unexplained but suffice it to say the original karate kid has grown up. In "The Next Karate Kid" we follow Mr Miyagi's relationship with a teenage girl named Julie and watch as she becomes the next karate kid.

Julie (played by Hilary Swank who went on to win an Oscar for "Boys Don't Cry") is being bullied by boys at school who are following the violent teachings of their coach. Mr Miyagi (played by Pat Morita from the original Karate Kid movies) comes into her life and helps Julie learn courage and self respect through the use of karate and belief in oneself.

In comparison to the other three Karate Kid movies, "The Next Karate Kid" is a lot less violent. The Karate Kid has been increasing the violence with each movie, but has gone the other way with this one, and is all the better for it. There is a lot less of the karate and a lot more of the kid! No longer does the karate kid become about the next fight scene or the major karate move taught by Mr Miyagi. In "The Karate Kid" Danny learnt the crane, in "The Karate Kid Part II" Danny learnt the driver punch and in "The Karate Kid Part III" Danny learnt the Miyagi family kata. These special moves were used at the end of each movie. In contrast, with "The Next Karate Kid" Mr Miyagi teaches Julie the tiger kick, but she doesn't need to use it in the final fight. In fact in this movie Mr Miyagi has the final fight. No longer is fighting the driving force of the movie, and I'm sure that's something Mr Miyagi would agree with since he hates fighting anyway.

Here in "The Next Karate Kid" we are able to focus on the characters. And from that we can really feel for them when the fight scene does come. So if you are looking for a real karate action movie I suggest another movie. The fight choreography itself is sometimes a little poor, but it is all done by the same choreographer as the original Karate Kid movies so maybe he was just having a bad day. Mr Miyagi also appears to be having a bad day, because although he wins his fights fairly easily, he does look very old when fighting. I'm sure he used to kick higher and not lose his balance in the previous movies.

Hilary Swank is truly fantastic as Julie. Hilary Swank makes you believe in Julie and her actions are perfectly credible through Hilary Swank's performance. Mr Miyagi is almost as much Mr Miyagi as he always was. I say this because some of what Mr Miyagi says is questionable. He says lines like "If must fight, win!" Not entirely sure Mr Miyagi would say that. Anyway this is down to the writing and not the wonderful performance from Pat Morita.

For me, the movie did end kind of suddenly since I was expecting a bigger fight at the end. However this is based on my experience of the other karate kid movies. This fourth installment is very understated so be prepared for that.

In conclusion, "The Next Karate Kid" is great and I'm glad it's on DVD.

Fine movie but really not the series's sequel
If you love the Karate Kid series, you probably like the original casts, and you want to know what's going on with them after the first, second, and third sequels, and so on. You feel being with them and share their adventure one after anothers. That's what the series for. In this "The Next Karate Kid", Miyagi is the only one from original series casting. Although this movie is good and great performance from Hilary Swank (the new karate gal named Julie), it really does not fit in the series. It is more like a side story for Mr. Miyagi but mainly focuses on the new karate gal Julie. I'm a bit disappointed.

¿Fighting no good, but if fight, must win!¿
The Next Karate Kid

Miyagi Yakuga (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita) is called on for help, by the widow of an old war buddy.
She doesn't know what to do with her pretty but rebellious teenage granddaughter, after the recently orphaned girl was put in her care.
Meanwhile the girl, Judy, has her own troubles with a gang of local thugs at her school, led by a sadistic sports coach, while keeping her pet, a lame hawk hidden in the school grounds.
Her own love interest, a boy named Eric, is involved in the same battle with the gang called the Alpha elite.
Mr Miyagi knows just what to do, and the first thing is to teach Judy some self-discipline and inner calm.
The best line in the movie comes from Mr Miyagi, and isn't it the truth?

'Fighting no good, but if fight, must win!'

weeeeeeeeeee
This is 10 times better than Karate Kid III, and worth watching if only to see Hilary Swank. She's adorable in this movie.

YEAAAHHH....
This wasn't a bad movie--it wasn't the best either. Yes I will watch it when it's on tv, but other than that I can do without it. Opposed to what others have said, i think that KK3 was better than this one. To me that one had a lot of emotion. ... Read more

Reviews (408)

The Perfect Storm The Perfect Movie on dvd
Directed by Wolfgang Peterson who has a career
for making great films like the "The NeverEnding Story", "The Perfect Storm" was another great film into Mr. Peterson's resume.

The perfect storm, is based on the book written by Sebastian Unger. It's the true account of a group of fisherman who , in October 1991, died in the worst storm in the century, sacrificing their lives because they were doing their duties
and trying to put food on the table for their families.

There are many reasons I liked this movie:
1) The characters are real and genuine
2) The movie has a lot of heart, action, drama and suspense
3) The movie does have a certain mystique and aura around it, due to the fact that these are very special people whom if you met them you've probably wouldn't forget.

The cast and crew is made up of Billy Tyne
(George Clooney), captain of the Andrea Gail, Bobby Shatford (Mark Wahlberg) ,a beloved
fisherman in Gloucester, Mike "Bugsy" Moran
(John Hawkes), Dale Murphy (John C. Reilly) , David "Sully" Sullivan (William Fichtner). All these characters were loved in their community.

To feed their loved ones, the fisherman go to the Great banks to catch as many fish as possible but they don't see that a huge Hurricane named " Grace" is headed their way, a deadly storm in fact. The fisherman's boss though, Mr. McNally I believe is his name, pays them very little and makes even fishing a hassle for them. The men though still go out to see despite this because of their great love for the see.

One of the characters that are shown
at the beginning is Christine Cotter (Diane
Lane), Bobby's girlfriend, who has an undying love for him, even though she knows that fishing in rough waters can be dangerous.

Making the characters more realistic and with a real storyline the movie shows the mixed hate/love relationship, the crew has with Captain Billy (Clooney). It's debatable whether Tyne might
have been at fault over the dealth of his shipmates. During one scene Tyne, gets a message about the upcoming storm, however, he doesn't immediately make the crew think about how dangerous it is. He instead just leaves the decision in their hands, but another Captain might have taken control and said the hell with the trip.

Each characters has a story to them, it's not just that these guys were average joes and they worked a crummy job, no, they were very much by everyone and the extras on the dvd prove that with all the interviews by people in the community.

The visual effects for the movie are outstanding, it is a very big budget production loaded with great sets and great models..

The movie was a box office hit, and received
praise for all the actors in it like Clooney and Walhberg.

The effects were done by award winning special effects ma Stan Winston and ILM , the same group who gave us the effects for "Terminator 2",
and "Jurassic Park" to give two examples.

The Dvd for the movie comes with many extras:

*Three Documentaries one by HBO called
"Creating the Storm" which has interviews with Bobby Shatford's family,i former Captains of the Andrea Gail, and interviews with local fisherman who know all about the characters involved. Then other documentary on the dvd is called "Witnessing the Storm" which has photos from the storm in 1991 and many interviews on it

Next is the commentary. The commentary
is actually split differently during one
commentary I believe you have Wolfgang
Petersen talking about the film. The other
commentary has Sebastian Unger who talks
about how afraid he was if his book on
the storm would fail,and then how great he felt when the families of the fisherman told
him how good a job he did with it.

With all visual effects, story, good acting
and great directing by Wolfgang "Perfect
Storm" is a very good movie, by a guy
who hasn't really done bad movies.
In fact Wolfgang's next movie is "Troy"
with Brad Pitt. So check that out and check
out this one.

Fantastic Special Effects!!!
The Perfect Storm has some really great special-effects. The movie starts out a little slow describing all the characters and their relationships but then moves along at a breathless pace. You get so caught up with the crew in the middle of this greatest storm in recorded history that you can't take your eyes away from the screen. This storm occurred in the Atlantic Ocean in October 1991, a true story. You feel like your on the ocean with the crew it is so realistic. It even made me feel seasick at times. George Clooney & Mark Wahlberg did a wonderful job as the two main characters. There are a lot of surprises in this film. You get a good feel for the life & people involved in this tough fishing port of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

I only had one problem with this movie, and it was the soundtrack. I felt the music was really appropriate and well-done, but it should have been toned down a little. It overpowered the actors words to the point where you couldn't tell what they were saying. At least during the storm it would have been better to have no music at all and just the natural sounds. Other than that it's a great movie that I will definitely watch again. The special features & documentaries are great on this DVD version, that explain how the film was made. Really quite interesting

lukewarm
I really wanted to like this movie but it came off as a bland viewing experience. A lot of it had to do with poor casting...Clooney (IMO) is not a good actor so without a strong lead, the rest of the ensemble faltered. I don't remember much of a soundtrack-a good musical score would of greatly improved this film.
As a New Englander, I find it quite tiresome to listen to ridiculous interpretations of the local dialects. Obviously most of the actors could not speak it, so the few who tried, looked even more stupid. I would of been happy if they had spoken in their natural accents (even if by fluke, someone was from the South, per se)-at least a viewer can justify it by interpreting the character as a transplant; a horrible rendition of a dialect is just that...horrible, and it is very distracting. The hollywood adaptation of New England locals always strikes me as an insult. It seems fair to state that these filmmakers from the west coast don't know enough about the people and culture of New England either.

No suspense whatsoever
It's hard to get psyched for a movie when you basically know the ending. How can you sustain any kind of tension or suspense? That's a key problem with most movies which are deemed "historical". What most great historical films have done is examine the aspects of the history and demonstrate how the forces came together to create that ending. Think of GLORY or THE LONGEST DAY. They don't even have to be war stories. Think of A NIGHT TO REMEMBER or SEABISCUIT, for that matter.

The problem with THE PERFECT STORM is that there is no suspense, essentially. We know the crew ignored or were deprived the information that things were going to get a little rough in the North Atlantic, and its boat got walloped. I don't know how Wolfgang Petersen or the script writers could have created the suspense, and it's not a reviewer's job to make recommendations. But as it is, I found myself increasing impatient during the first half of the film. Let's just get to the F/X and get it over with, I thought.

The performances, I have to say in all fairness, are good, considering what the actors had to work with. The F/X were great, of course. But I still left this film with an empty feeling. Pass on this one.

Very depressing, but still a good movie.
This film truely has some great special effects, good acting, heart, but the one thing that it lacks is that positive ending that even the saddest films have. The film was very depressing in every sense. George Clooney, Mark Whallberg, and the rest of the cast all did a great job. The cinematography was brilliant. All in all the film is something you need to follow up with a happier movie. If you are in the mood to be crushed stay away. I reccomend this film to people who love special effects films. Two sad thumbs up. ... Read more

Reviews (31)

Funniest movie I have seen
This movie is simply excellent. Damon Wayans achieves to transform a serious subject into a comedy which never offends the USMC. He plays so well that he deserves them.

The soundtrack is so good. Sounds are quite exagerated and thus become funny. For instance, during the Universal opening title when the (r) registred mark symbol appears, you hear a DING ! When Major Payne meets the Madison school headmaster, you can hear all these insects and butterflies (the headmaster loves entomology) flying and buzzing around and over the shaved head of Major Payne. This scene is purely hilarious, one of my favorite moment. I was laughing so much I thought I shall died. Maybe another victim of Major Payne (fortunately not the final one).

The music by Craig Safan is particularly successful and sustains any funny actions, the Aretha Franklin's musics too. It seems obvious Craig Safan enjoyed to create a real musical background that depicts a "cartoon" atmosphere. Sometimes very serious, and few seconds later so funny.

The story is not only comedy but extraordinary rich thanks to the work of Damon Wayans and the cast. One best moment is when Major Payne offers a bullet from his heart to his new "girlfriend" or when Major Payne understands that Cadet Alex Stone wants to push him outside Madison school (Do you want to see me gone?). Only Damon Wayans can play like that (heartily).

The texts are outstanding (even for a french viewer). The american vocabulary is so rich and the art of using it (and expanding it) is so irresistible. I laugh from the first to the last second of Major Payne.

The french translation is also a success even if the task was enormous because there is so much american idioms. Nevertheless, the french dub is really funny. I do prefer the original voice of Damon Wayans because he talks so perfectly as a USMC drill instructor. This man is not an actor, he is a human VTR! He can spend two weeks with Marines and then speaks like them. The french voice is very good but the dub actor was unfortunately unable to complete such performance.

The scene with the hidden man into the closet and how Major Payne definitely "kills" the Tiger's nightmare is a masterpiece.

Nick Castle did one of my favourite movie, forever and I just wanted to thank him and all the cast for giving us such good time.

Vive the USMC, Vive Major Payne, Vive Damon Wayans.

Hilarious and a good movie
I'm not that big of a Damon Wayans fan, but he does a great job in this movie. He starts a program at a local school for kids who want to be in JROTC. His ultimate goal is to prepare them to win the competition for best cadets in the county JROTC competition that will be held later on. He is real strict on all the kids, so they all want to get rid of him. He has to find a way to get along with the kids while also giving them some discipline.

"Major Payne" is a hilarious movie. While you watch the movie, you'll be laughing a lot, but you'll also see that it's a good movie. I recommend anybody to get "Major Payne."

"...and biz - ness - is - goooood!!!"
If there is any movie as funny as this one, I would like to know what it is. This is the funniest movie I know. Damon Wayans is so talented; he is hilarious in this movie. There is not one moment in this movie that is poorly done. It just gets better with repeated viewings. I really didn't Damon Wayans other than by name until I saw this movie.
The kids in this movie are terrific. Their acting is great! They are all grown up now. If you want to see a funny movie, you have got to get this one. A previous writer was right on the money when he said that Major Payne's character is like a cross between Gomer Pyle and Lou Gossett, Jr.'s character as a drill sergeant. This movie is full of fantastic instant-classic lines that I won't give away here. See it!!!

Major Payne is Major Funny
I loved this movie and I love Damon Waynes character and I love when he insults peaple expacially when he cracks peaples fingers when they say something is hurting them and he said want me to take your mind off of that.LOL pure funny, worth watching and buying

Major Funny
I liked it! I am surprised that no one seems to realize this movie is basically a remake of a Charlton Heston film, The Private War of Major Benson (which you really need to see also). This is an excellent updated version with a happy ending for soldiers as well as the Major! Laugh hard, laugh loud and watch for the cameo by the professional wrestler Bam Bam Bigelow in the "Billy Jack" fight sequence. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Very dissapoiting...NOT what I expected
After loving Halloween 2, and it's creepy hospital setting, I was very excited to hear that there were two other hospital-slashers in the early 80's; this and "Hospital Massacre". I hadn't been able to find these two movies until I went to this video store out of town that is known for having a HUGE selection, as well as a lot of hard-to-find movies. I was very pleased to not only find "Visiting Hours" and "Hospital Massacre", but a whole other bunch of scary movies I wanted to see. I got "Sleepaway Camp 2", and then decided to get only one hospital movie; I chose "Visiting Hours" due to the supieror cover art. Well, it's no Halloween 2. In fact, it's not even a slasher movie!; it's purely a drama, laced with thriller/suspense elements. And it's boring, boring, boring...One other problem is that alot of the movie foucuses on the killers personal life. We see him talk and act in his "normal" life. This not only made it more boring, but it made it so the guy wasn't even so scary anymore! The hospital setting is not that creepy even, and the parts in the hospital that are soppoused to be suspensful and scary don't happen till towards the end. Other Notes: "Visiting Hours" was actually based off a book, which is now out of print. And most horror films based off books aren't always all that exciting. This isn't...Lastly, this is a very "mature" kind of horror film; it isn't something you'd watch on Halloween with a group of freinds, and doesn't have the thrills and chills of "Halloween 2" or the fun of the "Friday the 13th" series. And don't be fooled by the cool box art!

"Visiting Hours" misses more than hits
A brutal, anti-woman lunkhead (Michael Ironside) begins to stalk television journalist (Lee Grant) after she delivers an over the edge editorial on women's rights. He attacks her in her home, where she is wounded but escapes. He soon follows her to the hospital, where he waits for his second chance. Some unpleasant scenes, such as when he cuts the hose on an elderly woman's respirator and we watch her face contort in horror as she suffocates. Another charmer is when he stabs a nurse with a kitchen knife and then photographs her as she lies moaning in pain on the floor. He even kicks her legs for effect. Okay, I'll stop before I get on a roll. Lee Grant gives an awful performance, and she's an annoying crier to boot. William Shatner is wasted in a small supporting role. Watchable, but not much going here.

tepid revenge flick
If you crossed "Halloween II" with "I Spit on Your Grave" and subtracted the sex & nudity of the latter, you'd get "Visiting Hours," a would-be horror movie that pits an outspoken TV personality (Lee Grant, in an awful performance) against a hulking, muscular freak who has a personal vendetta against her (although it's not made clear exactly WHAT that vendetta is). He attacks her in her home once, and when she's transferred to a hospital, there's even more chances for his deadly intent. Unfortunately, this is less a horror film and more a portrait of Humans Behaving Badly, with Michael Ironside doing a good job of being imposing and threating, but also unrelentingly unpleasant as a result. Jean-Claude Lord's direction sucks the suspense out of scenes, and in the end, "Visiting Hours" is just one big 'kill-or-be-killed' festival with the typical undercurrents of misogyny. Avoid it.

visiting hours
.i love horror shows,and this one is the most terrorfing one i ever did see, it keeps you on the edge of your seat .knowing that at any moment some one will be making you jump right out of your skin.

visiting hours
love to see the closet sceen,with the pictures of the dead he has on the wall in his closet. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

So slow...
"Cafe Romeo" starts out slow and ends at a dead crawl. The plot is hard to decipher, but yes it does star Gilbert from Wonderwork's "Anne of Green Gables." The actors are capable, the dialogue well-written, but the story progresses at the rate of molasses. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

OhmeGod, what a joking movie!!
Totally ridiculous, wasted a lot of money on the meaningless dynamite, gasolin and the explosions are absolutely unnecessary. The movie script is done by a 5th grader I think, so funny, shallow and so clueless, wasted Walken. The problem of this actor is that since he won the best supporting actor in the Deer Hunter, all the movies he decided to play a role... big time, no matter it's a mob story or anything else, except one movie that was seriously enough to be treated as a not bad movie, The Dog(s) of War.

McBain Is Definetly No Rambo!
In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, a group of rangers led by Santos risk their lives to rescue POW Robert McBain.

The beginning is basically the only good part of the film. The rest is kind of dull. It seems like one of those stories I made up when I was in grade five. There is not enough of the U.S. involved to call them "American Soldiers". You would think they would be fighting people like this in Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia, not colombia. If you look in a tv guide and see this movie's listing, you will notice it only has one star. I gave it two stars because I don't find it completely awful. There are some good parts to it. Mostly the war scenes.

There are a lot of action movie heroes like John Rambo, Snake Plissken, Darkman, and many characters played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. McBain is nothing like them. In fact this movie should have a different title with a character named Robert McBain in it. McBain ain't even popular.

I really can't tell you if you should rent this or not. I didn't find it that bad, but the other viewers hated it. They made good points on why the movie was awful. So my only suggestion is that you rent it on a two-for-one night. I got it free at the library, so I didn't have to pay.

If you want real action, I would try either FIRST BLOOD or DIE HARD.

I hope my review was helpful to you!

WHOLY SHEET
I know Christopher Walken is a great actor and all but heres my quick input on McBain:

McBain could have been really cool, had the charater McBain ACTUALLY DONE SOMETHING.

Basically it's Walken, walking around with his pants pulled way up to his chest giving orders out to other middle-aged men who end up dying. Even though he is giving out all these orders he only has about 4 min of dialogue in the film, and around 6 min of on-screen acting. Yeesh. If they were to put the damn credits in 'order of appearance', Walken ought to be dead last. After letting so many of "his men" die he shoots the president in the end and everyone cheers HIM. Yeesh. And I haven't even mentioned the plot. The only reason why I give this movie 1 star is because it has a cool name and is unintentionally hilarious.

(Especially the scene where McBain and one of his friends are in a truck with rigged explosives, and McBain jumps out of the truck and leaves his friend to die. What a hero! Hail McBain)

Rent this movie if you want the unintentionally-funny yet boring complete-opposite of Rambo.

Usual Midless Glickenhaus Excess
I'm very glad James Glickenhaus hasn't made any films lately (although I haven't checked). This movie, much like his other ones, are so amatuerishly written that they don't even have a leg to stand on. I can't really tell if every film is tongue in cheek, or if he is even making an attempt at any sense of realism. Executioner, Shakedown, and now McBain, these are all basically the same movie. Man is driven over edge, man gets gun, man kills all the bad guys, the end. Nothing new nothing worthwhile. I am especially upset with this film, due to the presence of Christopher Walken. A great actor who puts in a good performance, but is given the dialogue of a block of wood. lots of things blow up, lots of people get shot, but in the end it doesn't add up to anything. Check out Christopher Walken in the King Of New York, for a great display of his talents, and a good script to back it up!

One of the greatest action movies
mcbain is one of the greatest action movies I have ever seen. Christopher Walken ist very, very cool. Rambo, be careful...! ... Read more

Reviews (48)

Heavy Metal?
After falling in love with the original Heavy Metal for its decidance of sex, drugs and rock & roll, I was a bit surprised at the muted quality of this movie. Its not as though the magazine has toned down that much. I mean there was plenty of T&A but none of the questionable morals. HM2K does out shine its predecesor for having a more complete story, but it was not exactly what I was expecting (especially since it have several opportunities of the sex). For people who want adult oriented animation, look for Heavy Metal 2000 and the original, but if you have only money for one and do not have small children at home, buy the original first.

Saturday morning cartoon at best
Oh, boy, were we disappointed! We've waited for several years for this episode. And for our patience what is our reward? Junk. The story is childish. The art is boring after the first 10 minutes. The soundtrack detracts (if that's possible). I have been an enthusiastic and loyal fan/subscriber/collector of Heavy Metal magazine since 1977 and to be honest, I can't imagine this horrible movie coming from the same shop. T&A are the only redeeming bits that keep this space clunker from losing all it's stars. If you want to experience some of HM's finest work, rent the original HM movie on DVD.

Good job of craftsmanship- and totally forgettable
I'll give you a measure of how forgettable this film was- I bought the new release of the original Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal 2000 at the same time. I found myself remembering almost every scene in the original movie, even though I hadn't seen it in over 20 years. Then I watched HM2000. About halfway through I vaguely recalled that I had seen it before, but there wasn't one single scene that I clearly remembered- and I probably only saw it about three years ago. It was that forgettable, that ordinary.

Don't get me wrong; this isn't necessarily a bad film. The animation is very well done, very slick and seamless. The writing and voice acting is competent and professional. The sound track is certainly better incorporated into the animation and story than it was in the original. Everything was competently done, it was just.... ordinary. Nothing jumped out at you. It was like a Saturday morning cartoon episode- just with a little more violence, and a lot more animated nudity (animated nudity- I mean what's the point?)

Personally, I'd save my money and buy the new release of the original Heavy Metal. Sure, the animation looks crude by today's standards- but it was done the old, time-consuming, expensive way of drawing one cell at a time. The original was also crammed full of a variety of different animation styles and story lines. Perhaps that was because it was the first big budget science fiction animated feature and the people involved had so much enthusiasm that they tried to do too much. In contrast, I don't think anyone got too enthusiastic about this film. Sure, they did a solid job of craftsmanship, but where is the originality, the fire, the spirit? Kind of reminds me of the original heavy Metal magazine, it started out fresh and new and just slowly petered out to nothing....

Poor sequal
The main problem with this film, at least in my opinion, is that it isn't a conglomeration of stories like the original was. Its all one story, one set of characters, one group of animators...and it therefore doesn't have the "epic" appeal the original did. It would have been nice, knowing so many American animators out there who wouldn't mind having such an innocent start in their career, to have had different stories done by different people. Why can't we have an American version of "Robot Carnival" or perhaps more recently "The Animatrix"?

That being said, lets talk about this movie. A miner working on a meteor discovers an evil glowing rock that turns him evil and makes him do evil things. He promptly dubs himself the evil "Lord Tyler" and takes over the ship making the crew do evil things.

OK, listen, who the hell decided to name him Lord Tyler? That is the dumbest, most unthreatening name in film history. It sounds like a 98 pound dweeb who's been going at Dungeons and Dragons too much.

"Gna! I am Lord Tyler! Fear me! Gnaaaaaa!"

Any way, Lord Tyler takes his evil crew and quickly attacks a peaceful, defenseless planet because he can. Sadly, he fails to kill Julie and her sister, the latter which he kidnaps obviously so he can do evil things to her. Julie picks up an annoying sidekick because every needs one, and together they go to a space station.

What follows is one of the worst animated action scenes in history. Julie stands and shoots her gun, the villains stand and shoot their gun...and every dies except either of them. Clearly the bullets are hurt that these two groups of people would want to kill each other, and must kill others to show them that violence is stupid. Or maybe the director just stinks at making action scenes.

Lord Tyler gets away casting "magic missile" and lands on a planet inhabited by lizard beings and six-eyed weenies. The six-eyed weenies hold the water of eternal life, but Lord Tyler is scared by six-eyed people so he just goes with the lizard people instead, hoping to let them do the fighting for him. Julie tries to seduce and slaughter him, but some how the rock care bear in the story runs in, pulls her out, and the movie continues another thirty minutes.

Then there's the climactic battle between the lizards and weenies. Julie and archnemesis Lord Tyler duke it out in a poorly choreographed fight before he's finally killed (actually, his mom tells him to stop playing "Everquest" and asks him to come up for dinner). The movie could end, but then one of the good guys turns out to be a CG monster and the movie continues another five minutes. Then it ends. Finally.

So what is this storyline? Well, like reviewers before me have said, its basically the last story in the original film but stretched out for another hour and a half. It could have been cool but...no it wasn't.

A vain attempt.
Like my title suggests this movie is a vain attempt to take credit from the first movie to sell sub-par music to a new generation of viewers. The first Heavy Metal obviously had some thought put into the scenes and the pace of the story line. The artistry was phenomanal in the first movie, much better than the mish mosh of computer graphics and hand drawn animation in Heavy Metal 2000. The first movie made sure the music reinforced and enhanced whatever scene was being played, the second, well the music really did not add much if anything at all the movie. To sum up...boring plot, no imagination, and a sound track to not die for. My advice? Use the DVD as a coaster and read a good Frank Herbert novel instead. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Worth seeing!
This is one of those movies that you will think about the next day. Not a lot of action, but tense, thought-provoking drama. Reminds me of "My Dinner With Andre'" only in a cab. Lots of dialogue between the innocent cabdriver, played by Paul Dillon (whom I have never seen before) and the many wierdo passengers he picks up on the streets of Chicago. Dillon is also one of the producers and a remarkable actor. Not suitable for children under 15, because it lacks the effects and action younger viewers expect. However, this movie is well-acted and packed with morals and values. Excellent soundtrack with two songs by Pearl Jam. John Cusak,(Executive Producer) appears in the film with Michael Ironside, Gillian Anderson (X-Files), and others. I have a whole new respect for cabdrivers!

Wonderful, albeit completely mismarketed
...Also known as "Chicago Cab," and based on the play of that name, Hellcab is one of those flicks that follows around a cab driver (Paul Dillon, a fantastic actor who looks like Flea, sounds like Flea two octaves lower, is as well-cast as Flea in the highly-underrated _Dudes_... well, you get the idea) as he picks up fares and wanders in and out of the lives of the passengers. Tight, funny, high-pitched. Small parts from Gillian Anderson, John Cusack (also one of the film's producers), and best actress 2000 nominee Julianne Moore in the kind of scene that makes us realize why she could be nominated for best actress. I mean, she's GOOD. My video store has this under horror, no matter how much I try to get them to change it. It ain't. Comedy/drama, and excellent comedy/drama at that.

AKA Chicago Cab
Hellcab is an independent film based upon the play by the same name. Unfortunately, Vidmark must have thought the title meant it was a horror film and packaged it as such. It is not horror.

The story, what little there actually is, follows a hardworking and honest cabdriver during the Winter Solstice, the day with the longest night. A newspaper blurb points out that many cultures had believed the world would be swallowed by the cold and the dark.

The driver starts his day early by taking a family to church (on Thursday). After they try to convert him, his day progresses through high and lows and gives glimpses into the lives of dozens of colorful characters. From a pregnant woman, to a drunk lady who says she loves him; from druggies to lawyers; from jerks to generally nice people. We see all kinds climb into this cab.

But all is not rosy on this darkest of days. Many issues are looked at, especially racism. At one point the driver becomes scared of the South Side and heads North only to pick up a white guy who is his scariest customer of the day. But in the end, when he at what might be his lowest, the driver takes a fare from a man who offers him some sound advice.

Paul Dillon shines as the cabdriver. His excellent performance is backed up by such talents as Gillian Anderson, John Cusack, Michael Ironsides, Laurie Metcalf and Julianne Moore. While sometimes disturbing and sometimes touching, this is not a film you will forget.

Eccentric, though sensational...
I would have to admit that upon watching the first half hour of the film, I did wonder 'where is this going'? But beneath the eccentric characters, was a hidden message about anger, and the power to forgive yourself and others. The story is focused on a Chicago Cabbie, who is having what could arguably be called the worst day of his career. His fare is just seemingly crowded with loonie after loonie- including false exhibitionists, teenagers with pain- in- the- behind boyfriends, a

couple having a *very* personal argument, and just plain wierdos. The cabbie's day get's progressively worse, if that's even possible. Door handles fly off and huge headaches are on the agenda. But toward the very end, there's a very important fare which could possibly change the cabbie's entire point of view on Christmas and the value of love and belief. I know this may sound slightly strange and corny all at the same time, but the film really is quite interesting, even if

there are moments when one might turn away from the camera in embarassment. The all star cast includes Gillian Anderson ('The mighty', 'Playing by Heart', and 'House of Mirth'), Julianne Moore ('Hannibal,' 'Cookie's Fortune') and John Cusak ('High Fidelity', 'Being John Malkovic'). The characters are all played with a perfect mixture of bitter and sweet, and the idea is surely fresh and origional. If you're willing to watch strange plots, 'Hellcab' is for you.

I'm repulsed, but I can't look away
If you pick up this film expecting a horror movie, you will be disappointed. What you will get is an artsy cameo filled flick. HellCab follows a Chicago cab driver as he makes his rounds, picking up junkies, freaks and rape victims. You should know that you can pick up a helluva alot of fares in an hour and a half film. Most of the actors are on screen no more than 5 minutes and often less. So, if you see Gillian Anderson or John Cusack on the cover and that's your reason for choosing this film, you will (again) be sadly disappointed. At first I felt like there is no way that I will be able to stay awake long enough to see the credits roll. But honestly, I just had to see who climbed into the cab next. Also, I felt like all of this must tie in together somehow. Well, it doesn't. There is no resolution to any of the scenerios that are set up. Worth 2 stars for the fact that I didn't just turn it off. If you like Taxi Cab confessions, you may get some enjoyment out of this, but its different since you don't truly feel like a voyeur. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In the first and finest RoboCop movie, director Paul Verhoeven combined near-future science fiction with a keen sense of social satire--not to mention enough high-velocity violence to satisfy even the most voracious bloodlust. In Starship Troopers, Verhoeven and RoboCop cowriter Ed Neumeier take inspired cues from Robert Heinlein's classic sci-fi novel to create a special-effects extravaganza that functions on multiple levels of entertainment. The film might be called "Melrose Place in Space," with its youthful cast of handsome guys and gorgeous women who look like they've been recruited (and in some cases they were) from the cast of Beverly Hills 90210. Viewers might focus on the incredible, graphically intense action sequences (definitely not for children) in which heavily armed forces from Earth go to off-world battle against vast hordes of alien "bugs" bent on planetary conquest. The attacking bugs are marvels of state-of-the-art special-effects technology, and the space battles are nothing short of spectacular. But Starship Troopers is more than a showcase for high-tech hardware and gigantic, flesh-ripping insects.Recalling his childhood in Holland during the Nazi occupation, Verhoeven turns this epic adventure into a scathingly funny satire of fascist propaganda, emphasizing Heinlein's underlying warning against the hazards of military conformity and the sickening realities of war. It's an action-packed joy ride if that's all you're looking for, but Verhoeven has a provocative agenda that makes Starship Troopers as smart as it is exciting. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (659)

Underrated Science Fiction Classic
Starship Troopers is a truly underrated classic. Directed by Paul (Robocop) Verhoven, the story takes place far into the future where the world has become a 'Facist Utopia'. It's a world where citizenship is earned through military service and values are taught in war. The original story, written by sci-fi master Robert Heinlein in 1959, took such a future very seriously. Not so with Verhoven, he attempted to approach this Brave New World with camp and satire and I think many people missed this point.

Narrated by a futuristic internet that includes satirical recruiting commercials, we follow the lives of a group of friends - Johnny Rico (Casper Van Diem), Carmen Ibanez (Monica Richards), Dizzy Flores (Dina Meyer) and Carl Jenkins (Neil Patrick Harris). Johnny joins the service because of his girlfriend (Carmen) but is followed right along into service by another girl (Dizzy) who has a major crush on him. However, it becomes clear that they all joined the service just in time as attentions soon turn from each other to that of the enemy - Giant bugs. These giant, killer bugs have declared war on the Earth from their home world of Klendathu and are using long distance asteroids to inflict catastophic damage.

The movie kicks into high gear when soldiers are sent to the extraterrestrial battlefields of Klendathu - a kind of out-world Armageddon. A violent and graphic war is under way as soldiers are ripped apart by these giant bugs, some of which include built in flame throwers. The interaction between the bugs and soldiers is nothing less than spectacular. Indeed, in this era of The Matrix and The Phantom Menace, the digital FX in Starship Troopers easily rank as some of the best you will ever see. At one point, the soldiers are defending a fort against a HUGE army of insect warriors, some of which fly, in a scene that looks like some sci-fi version of the Alamo - Very effective. I will say, however, it struck me strange that a people who have created such advanced interstellar travel would not create better insecticide as the soldiers use pretty standard machine guns that take awhile to put a bug down. Also, Klendathu looked dull - colorless and full of rocks. Oh, well.

All in all, this movie is great. Don't take it too seriously, have fun with it.

Revised Review After Re-Viewing
"Starship Troopers" is a great, action-packed, shoot-'em-up, kill-the-bad-guys (bugs) science fiction adventure film with lots of great special effects. The battles scenes, both in space and on the ground, are graphic, complex, and exciting.

The movie is supposedly based upon Robert Heinlein's science fiction classic, written in 1959. He had three goals:

1) Put forth the idea that a true American patriot could be anti-war and need not be fanatically anti-Communist, a la Joe McCarthy.

2) Satirize war by glorifying it in a tongue-in-cheek manner and by shoving its horror in your face, much like "Saving Private Ryan" did seriously, and much like Archie Bunker did comedically to racism and bigotry.

3) Put forth the philosophy that freedom and responsibility are inextricably linked. Many people today have forgotten that, and moral decline is the result.

What does the movie do with these ideas? It misses the point entirely and sarcastically (not satirically) attacks war, patriotism, AND responsibility. It does this by turning the whole story into a farce, and by minimizing the role of the teacher of responsibility and sometimes portraying him as a bitter fanatic.

The young cast, whom I attacked before revising my review, actually did the best they could with a script that sometimes sounded like it belonged in a Saturday morning cartoon. In their defense, I would guess that most of the cast read the script and not the book. They also did not live through the threat of global war, which was fanned as much by McCarthy's inflammatory anti-Communist rhetoric and fanaticism as it was by Stalinism, Leninism, and Marxism. What defense does the producer and the director have?

The voice-over narration was a big mistake. It furthered the effect of having this film become a caricature of the book, and it was totally unnecessary.

If you want to watch a good science fiction adventure film with lots of special effects, action, and gore, this movie is for you. But, please do not take it seriously or think that it represents Heinlein's book faithfully. If you want to think about this movie and its ideas, please do two things first: read the book it was supposedly based upon, and either read the history of the era that birthed the book or talk with someone born before 1934 at length about the era.

listen up all n64 fans.
in the far future,the armed forces battle giant bugs on thier planet.one of the drill instructers is played by the pervert in sleepers.this movie is far to violent for chilkdren.i cant belive the second part even came fromthis one.this one rules but the sceond one left a lot to be desired.i think military,action and sci fi fans will all enjiy this one.anyone who is squeamish will not like it,as it is very graphic and very violent.there are 2 basic chicks in this movie.a air force chick whose playing two guys and a sexy red head who pines after one of those guys.i think the first chick is nasty but the red head is awesome.she must be pretty co mfortable without a shirt because she takes it off a number of times.this movie kicks butt!some of its futuristic concepts are neat.the violent parts are very graphic.legs flying,guts spraying...........its great.

A complete wast of budgeting
Starship troopers, probably set in the year 4000AD or something is a complete fasico, honestly. What kind of sick moron would create a movie about a bunch of sexy, small titted geeks joining the federal service thing to fight a bunch of mutated insects on the other side of the galaxy. attack, then lots of blood and death (and yet Rico some how manages to be listed corps, but he lives in a bath of green goo) and then they go back for more. Whoopee doo da. Rubbish, and i dont core if you disagree. The most unrealistic film since, well, since ever! From psycic people to roughneck. Thats not the human world. no way! The human world would probable nuke the hell out of "klendathu" the archnids home planet leaving a larghe collection of ash and rubble. And the real world probably wouldn't waste billions of pounds of huge space ships that are going to blow up from cosmic sperm. Nah, we would send thermonuclear probs or something, dodge in and out of the sperm and fly into a random guess at the best spot. Or, instead of using nuclear weapons we could take the right piss. Build a hug maginifying glass over the planets and use there own stars against them and magnify the heat 10,000 times and fry the bastards.

Denise richards must have been pissed to have said yes to acting in this film. What was she thinking?! Why is her hair so long?! and why does she have to smile all the time?! Does here mouth ever close? She did my head in in this "film" her acing may be up to scratch compared to the other actors but she could have done better (compare "the world is not enough"). Johny Rico quite cleary is dressed up to look like one of those life sized action men, the right hair anyway. His freak friend, I forget his name but I know he has been in many other films before. He didn't show up often which was a releif because he is quite ugly. but i suppose being able to mentally control and read the emotions of other animals counts against it.

On the plus side of this film (Yes there is one!!) the graphics and that of the big sacestations is quite good, not as good as say the matrix but it is good. just good. I admit to enjoying them little news reports from the "federal network" but thats about it. Starship Troopers is the perfect example of an over budgetted film and too many speciall effects which drive the film prducers of making a film of good acting. I think the proper scientific definition of this is the matrix revalutions and reloaded.

Only good bug's a dead bug.
Early on, in my formative years, I was introduced to horror films by my mom. Our local late-night horror-fest was Creature Features, hosted by the immortal Bob Wilkins. Through this forum, I was exposed to the great Universal horror films of the 30's, the silly Japanese rubber-suit monster movies, and my favorites, the atomic-age big bug films of the 1950's.

Fast-forward to winter, 1997. I'm sitting in a theater watching Starship Troopers, and it feels like I've stepped into a time machine. This is possibly the best of all the big bug movies, and it's not afraid to show its roots. Sometime in the future, Earth is under attack by huge bugs from another planet. We follow the lives of a few of Earth's best and brightest, as they join the army and head off in different directions. What really struck me about this film is that they actually took the time to develop a three-dimensional world for the characters to inhabit. That's what makes the difference to me. Yes, the young actors are mostly pretty eye candy, and their performances, while not Oscar-caliber, are light years beyond their forebears of the 50's. The world of their future is seemingly fascistic (service in the military guarantees citizenship and other perks, such as the right to vote and the right to have children. Hmm - a future in which people's active participation in their country allows them greater freedoms, provided they take personal responsibility for themselves and their future? I've heard worse notions...). We follow the idealistic youths through basic training, all the way to several epic battles on other worlds and we see their progress as soldiers and as humans along the way. It's this kind of attention to detail and character development that sets this film apart from many others. And yes, everyone makes noise about the coed shower scene, but I have to say that is one of the more important scenes in the film. It shows that the cadets have grown as soldiers, that they are capable as seeing each others as parts of a team, instead of just a bunch of good-looking naked people. Those who have a problem with this scene - grow the heck up. It just adds to the sense of realism of the whole movie. Oh, yeah - there's the bugs, too...

As far as I'm concerned, the bugs are real. I don't know that I've ever seen the make-believe so realistically brought to life in any other movie. These are truly nasty creatures, devoid of compassion or humanity in every way. The effects work (courtesy of master Rob Bottin) is truly incredible. The beasts take apparent glee in tearing apart their human foes, and