Product Description

When a reality TV show set on a remote island is invaded by real-life criminals and hurricane Zed cuts off all means of escape, reality TV becomes deadly.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #82834 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-01-15
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 96 minutes

Customer Reviews

Has some fun moments
Gale force is not necessarily a great B flick, but it's entertaining, takes jabs at reality TV shows and their hosts), has recognizable actors in it that do a decent enough job, and is done well enough to be enjoyable (especially if you like the actors). Though a few scenes of footage are used from other movies (helicopters flying over jungle in Predator, some car stuff and opening concepts from Last Action Hero) such doesn't really bring the picture down. It's meant to be a fun romp, not a spectacular, or entirely original film. Special effects get the job done and aren't too hideous. The kind of movie you might see on a weekend on a miscellaneous cable channel. If you're a fellow Treat Williams fan, I strongly recommend DEEP RISING (a far better fantastic movie), but he's cool in Gale Force as has some fun moments. You might consider turning off Gale Force in the first ten minutes, but it picks up. All in all, a simple flick, with a simple `who lives and who dies' plot, with some fun moments. It's worth it for the actors, and the jab at reality shows. Good movie to rent on the cheap, or buy in a discount bin somewhere.

The Satire of Reality Television
In order to enjoy this flick, one must be able to realize this is a low budget/straight-to-video/B movie and lower their expectations a bit. "Gale Force" does something that can be considered quite despicable it recycles footage from other high budget films. For instance you will see stock footage from movies like "Predator" & "Last Action Hero" (personally I feel "Gale Force" is a much better movie than the latter). If a viewer can past this movie studio ruse, they might really enjoy this movie. I must admit, it is kind of funny to see this "chop editing" in action.

As for the actors or as I call them talent, there are quite a few of them in "Gale Force":

1)Treat Williams - The B Movie Prince is awesome as the Burn out Cop.
2)Michael Dudikoff - The American Ninja plays the bad guy wonderfully.
3)Tim Thomerson - Doll Man/Jack Deth delivers a stellar performance.
4)William Zabka - Johnny "Cobra Kai" Lawrence is a marvel as a villain.
5)Curtis Armstrong - Booger, we love you no matter what!

The plot is simple, there is a reality TV show called "Treasure Hunt". The premise of this show is putting a group of diverse people on an island to win 10 million dollars. Treat Williams sort of becomes the unofficial leader of the group. However, the contestants are getting more than they bargained for, a hurricane is coming towards the island and there is a group of mercenaries who want the money for themselves. As for the mercenaries, they are led by Michael Dudikoff and his right hand man is William "Johnny Cobra Kai Lawrence" Zabka, who will due anything for this 10 million dollars.

The DVD presents the film in letterbox has the preview/trailer, language options and talent biographies. Average features for a low budget/straight-to-video/B movie.

Again, I really enjoyed this movie, dumb fun. I felt the acting was quite good despite some of the budget issues; it appears everyone had a good time making this movie. I must reiterate "Gale Force" isn't "The Godfather", "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "Gone with the Wind" or "Saving Private Ryan" (all great movies), but it can be a real blast if you suspend your disbelief for 100 minutes. Oh and adding a pizza to the equation wouldn't hurt either.

What Could Have Been...
What could have been a REALLY great B Flick with a very different plot ended up just another average B Flick. The plot:"Treasure Hunt" is tv's hottest new reality based show-$10 million dollars is buried on a remote island and it's between 8 contestants to find it and bring it home.(I can hear the idea being pitched now to a major tv studio to actually go through with this) Rogue theives have infiltrated the island and are also looking for the hidden cash but wait another disaster has beset these islanders: a violent tropical storm is heading towards them. Sounds good right?The Bad: Well the opening car chase scene is STOLEN from "Last Action Hero" it is the original scene but edited with Treat Williams in place of Arnold! (Look for the Slater 1 license plate on the car!) Even when the "house" where a hostage is held up blows up (STOLEN from Last Action Hero) it reeks of being from another movie.Didn't the director trust his production company or are B flicks that tight on a budget due to the economy? I thought I could overlook this flaw but alas another scene has a group of ex-Navy Seals flying in by helicopter to the island. This was lifted right from Predator!The somewhat Good:Overall I found it to be entertaining just to find the "borrowed" scenes from better action movies. I was disappointed in Michael Dudikoff playing a bad guy. (First Olivier Gruner in Extreme Honor and now Dudikoff for shame!) Its bad when B actors are playing bad guys instead of the usual "good guy" we see them play in countless other movies. What could have been will probably be when a Big Budget Movie Co. remakes this plot and releases it to a national audience. Bottom Line:Check it out just for a good laugh then check out the better produced movies they borrowed from.