SUDDEN DEATH
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1995 Michael John Legeros
(Uni)
Directed by Peter Hyams
Written by Gene Quintano
Cast Jean-Claude Van Damme, Powers Boothe, Raymond J.
Barry, Whittni Wright, Ross Malinger
MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for violence and language)
Running Time 110 minutes
Reviewed at Six Forks Station Cinemas, Raleigh, NC (20DEC95)
==
"Stay in your seat."
- Van Damme
There's a playful absurdity to SUDDEN DEATH that wouldn't be out of place in a John Woo movie. Sure, the plot--about a lone fireman (Jean-Claude Van Damme) in a terrorist-held hockey rink-- is a rip-off of DIE HARD, but the over-the-top approach could have come straight from Hong Kong. Of course, director Peter Hyams (TIMECOP) is no John Woo. (Or, for that matter, even a Robert Rodriguez.) He can't construct a tightly choreographed fist-fight to save his life. What Hyams *is* good at, though, is the *big* stuff: impressive aerial shots of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, surrounded on all sides by the flashing lights of emergency vehicles. Or the in-your-face hockey footage that is juxtaposed through- out the film. (The plot has the Vice President held hostage during a Stanley Cup playoff.)
Hyams liabilities as a lean-and-mean action director are evident in the very first scene. Cut to a residential neighborhood, where Van Damme's character, a Pittsburg firefighter, is trapped inside a working house fire. The short sequence is staged with no more finesse than your average TV movie and that's a sign for us. We know, in those first few minutes, that the rest of the action is going to be only OK. Not great, just OK. (The later "oohs" and "aahs" you hear are from those who have never seen the good stuff, such as John Woo's HARD TARGET, made with Van Damme in 1993.)
With the visceral impact diluted, the incentive to keep watching comes from the honest humor--which is unusually generous for a film of this sort--and the parody. Or is it self-parody? Who can tell where to draw the line after watching a free-for-all kitchen brawl between Van Damme and a woman in a mascot suit? When a giant penguin tries to push our hero's head into a deep-fat fryer, we know not to take things too seriously. SUDDEN DEATH is not a dumb movie, per se, but it is dumb fun. So, relax and roll with the punches. After all, this *is* a hockey game. (Rated "R"/~110 min.)
Grade: B-
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Michael J. Legeros - Raleigh, NC legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w) Check triangle.movies for weekly reviews from MOVIE HELL
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