I can't say I was expecting much from this film at first, despite a great cast it sank without trace at the box office and seemed to have 'pants disaster movie' written all over it. Imagine my shock then when half an hour into it I was glued to the telly watching a rather fantastic chase scene, as the film had branched out from its flooded premise to a cracking crime caper involving a hero (Slater), a criminal (Freeman), a Police Chief (Quaid) and Minnie Driver (Driver).
When a low-lying town in Indiana experienes severe rainfall the inhabitants are evacuated for their own safety, leaving only a token police presence and an armoured car team (Slater and Ed Asner). On their way out after picking up nearly 3 million dollars from a series of banks threatened by the flood, the security guards are felled by a rather foolish driving mistake and are marooned in the middle of nowhere with the waters rising all around them. OK you think, that's a bit worrying, what are they going to do. Well, as it happens they don't have much choice in the matter as out of nowhere a four-strong team of hold-up men approach them, shoot poor Ed Asner dead and start chasing Slater in an attempt to get to the money. It doesn't end there though. After being knocked out by the lovely Minnie Driver whilst seeking shelter in her nearly-renovated church, our hero finds himself holed up in the local nick on the charge of looting. Telling the Police Chief his job and where the money is fails to alleviate his unfortunate situation, and as it happens might just have been the worst thing he could have done...
I was genuinely surprised by just how good this movie was. Not just a disaster flick, not just a bank robbery movie, it effectively melds both genres together into a completely believable story in which neither situation is paramount, but both are used in order to maximise the tension. Filmed almost completely in real time it basically has Christian Slater sloshing around in the rain being chased by the far-more thoughtful Freeman and his team. Who are in boats. The nice little twist in the middle won't come as a surprise to anyone who saw any of the trailers or movie bumpfh which preceded the film, so it's ok that I tell you. After being told by Slater of the money's existence and whereabouts, put-upon Sheriff Randy Quaid decides to pack his job in and take the money, helped by a few of his collagues and some rather heavy weaponry.
Time and again Christian Slater has been berated for his acting in action films, and again I fail to see the problem. As he was in Broken Arrow he produces a fine, darkly amusing performance and acquits himself well in all the scenes which require violence. Randy Quaid is superb, altering his performance from the downtrodden but nice Sheriff of the little town into a greedy psycho lured by the opportunity of making a hell of a lot of money. Freeman is disappointing, as his role is a little under-stated and his continued survival throughout the film, even when the tables are turned most painfully, is clearly down to his A-list rating, and not to any other possible reason the script could come up with. Despite this nagging flaw however the film cracks along at a great pace and features a superb set of cameos from the always-brilliant Betty White (watch Lake Placid for confirmation) and Richard A. Dysart, as the ball-busting and timid, respectively, elderly couple who have stayed behind to kill any looters who approach their house. |
