ADRENALIN: FEAR THE RUSH (1996) A "Turkey of the Week" film review by Justin Felix Copyright 1998 Justin Felix
Rating: * (out of five)
Written and directed by Albert Pyun Starring Christopher Lambert, Natasha Henstridge Rated R (contains violence and profanity) 76 minutes
Synopsis: A maniac, crazed by virulent microphage, slaughters more than twenty people, including a street gang and heavily-armed troops, with a small knife. Even with a handgun, however, he can't take out the two cops who are after him, despite having shot one of them a total of seven times.
Comments: The most notable aspect of ADRENALIN: FEAR THE RUSH is that it marks a striking career move for Natasha Henstridge. Not only does she manage to keep all her clothes on (her trademark in earlier films such as SPECIES and MAXIMUM RISK was to strip naked as often as possible), but she actually puts on even more clothes as the film progresses. This will probably disappoint many Henstridge fans, but I welcome the change because Henstridge is an attractive, capable actress who deserves less exploitative roles (though, I admit, it doesn't show in this mess). Henstridge, just like every other actor in the film, delivers a wooden performance in this monumental turkey. (The cast also includes Christopher Lambert, who has appeared in the HIGHLANDER and MORTAL KOMBAT films.) How on Earth this movie got two big-name stars to appear in it is beyond me.
ADRENALIN: FEAR THE RUSH is set in Boston ten years in the future (2007). Boston has changed dramatically in those ten years. It is now home to a bunch of interred foreigners and policed by cops who drive around in small cars with "policia" printed on their doors. Some guy has a really bad virus, and he's killing people because of it. So, the brave good guys (Lambert and Henstridge) go after him. That's it. 76 minutes never seemed so long. This is a drawn-out chase scene through dimly-lit abandoned buildings turned into an entire movie. The plot development is nil; we learn absolutely nothing about Lambert's character and very little about Henstridge's character. The dialogue is littered with unnecessary obscenities and concerns mindnumbingly idiotic arguments over who will go down the next dark corridor/tunnel/airduct next and who will carry the flashlight.
A subplot does exist involving Henstridge's character's illegal attempt to get her son out of Boston. In her opening monologue, a monologue which sounds as though Henstridge was reading from cue cards, we learn that she has gone to great lengths to secure a fake passport for her son. Twenty minutes into the film, I wondered if the movie would have been better if it focused on this plot. In a defining scene of the movie, however, I changed my mind. This fake passport drops to the ground. Lambert's cop immediately recognizes it as a fraud from six feet away. Must not have been a good fake. This emphasizes another fault with the film. Things just defy common sense. Lambert's cop, for instance, is shot seven times, yet he is still able to talk and slide about.
ADRENALIN: FEAR THE RUSH ends in a trite manner that doesn't seem to even fit the mood that the filmmakers were trying for. I found myself rather bored with this film, which will disappoint both sci-fi/horror fans and fans of Henstridge and Lambert. Don't fear the rush. Fear the movie. Watch something else.
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