| Liberty Stands Still (2002) Cast:Linda Fiorentino, Wesley Snipes, Oliver Platt A demented sniper holds an arms heiress at gun point in order to get revenge on her, because her company just happened to manufacture the gun that killed his daughter in this ridiculous thriller which is so incompetently made and outrageously over the top it fails to leave any affect. Being that this is an anti-gun film, one is always obligated to state where they stand on this point of principle, where do I stand is of course in the middle. Like Charles Bronson once said "Guns have their uses, Idiots with guns make me nervous" and that's how I feel on that given issue. However Liberty Stands Still labors dramatically to deliver a mesage so heavy handed it makes one wonder if this wasn't intended as a self parody. I guess perhaps the reason the movie fails to really captivate the audience, is because the guy who's all for censoring gun rights is a cold blooded murderer. A guy who makes threats to kill little kids and a completely innocent bystander who just happens to be the son of a republican senator. Now this is just a tip, if you're going to make a message movie, see to it that you present the character as at least half way practicing what he preaches. I mean how are we seriously supposed to take a guy's beliefs seriously when he's doing the exact same things that the guy who killed his daughter did. I also don't think it's fair to target the manufactoring company for the gun, because afterall it's the kid who fired the gun, right? It's like threatening to shoot a beer tycoon because his brand of beer made some guy kill your daughter in a car accident. Politics aside, this is all hideously dull stuff with little tension and very implausable stuff. For instance Fiorentino for some reason, takes off her clothes for some reason, (Okay this is hands down one of the pic's few diverting moment) but this just makes this seem all the more incompetent. It doesn't help that were not sure if Snipes instructed her to do this or not. Liberty Stands Still is proof that thrillers never work when they try to dabble in politics, try as they might they always end up underlining the overall hypocracy of the plot, however as a thriller this is guaranteed to make your eyes glaze over. Want a good thriller with this premise, watch Phone Booth, want a good anti-gun film see Bowling For Columbine and leave this drowse-fest back in movie hell where it will continue to drone on with it's pretentions. D.Kari Skogland * |