Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73388 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-01-30
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 100 minutes

Amazon.com
With a screenplay partially written by John Carpenter (Halloween), a cast that includes Tommy Lee Jones in the lead, and a dream car called the Black Moon that travels up to 350 miles per hour, one should feel entitled to see a pretty good movie here. It doesn't quite work out that way, however. Jones plays a high-tech thief squeezed by the government into stealing data from a shady corporation. Under pursuit, he slips the booty into the back of the lightning-quick Black Moon, which is subsequently stolen by Robert Vaughn's hot-car operation. And so on. What could have been a smart, fast-paced action piece with some original elements and heated visuals suddenly cools after the story setup. It cools so much, in fact, that one begins to question the film's logic: why on earth, for example, would a smart, visionary villain such as Vaughn's character limit himself to stolen vehicles? Carpenter fans and other completists will want to check this out, understandably, but the rest of us will have to find points of interest in Jones's sharpened wits and supporting performances by Linda Hamilton, Lee Ving, and Richard Jaeckel. Directed by Harley Cokliss. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

One of those overlooked gems
It happens. Wrong time. Wrong place. Who Knows? But sometimes even movies released into regular circulation from the major studios fall through the cracks. This is definitely one of those. Tommy Lee Jones as the industrial spy is as cool and calm as he's ever been. Linda Hamilton is as good as she's ever been and Richard Jaekel turns in another steady performance. The plot is clever and tight enough to satisfy most and the directing by Harley Cockliss (whatever happened to him? This seems to be his only outing) is tight and well paced. This is just a good action thriller, and it has one of the best fist-fight scenes ever. It isn't quite up to the budget of the newer "high concept" titles like Enemy of the State or The Rock, but it's every bit as nifty as those. Jones' performance alone is worth the price of the rental so grab a pizza and a six pack and go for it. Note: The "Guy Factor" is real high here, so all you testosterone-laden males out there are virtually guaranteed a good time.

Newer DVD version exists. Beware of poor quality releases!
There are several versions of this DVD available. The newest release is;

Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
DVD Release Date: December 18, 2007
ASIN: B000WC38DM

Look for it here on Amazon.

This release is also by Starz / Anchor Bay (DVD Release Date: January 30, 2001), but apparently some people have had skipping issues with this version (see the other reviews). Also, avoid the other releases which are cheap for a reason; most are full screen and poor quality transfers. Some even have the opening "computer text" removed.

I own three DVD versions and my recommendation is to go with the newest (2007) release!

JM

Not just guy stuff, Tommy Lee is for us ladies too
A previous reviewer stated that this movie was loaded with guy stuff. While this might be true, 90 minutes or so of Tommy Lee Jones (and a couple great love scenes) works for me! Killer fight scenes too. This was a very enjoyable movie. Unfortunately, done before Jones was really appreciated. What took everyone so long?