Critical Mass

Rating:
Summary: A Joke
Review: "Critical Mass" is so bad that it is actually enjoyable. There are so many holes in this plot that one wonders if there was actually a director assigned to the project. The basic plot centers around terrorists who steal nuclear material to make a bomb and then take over a nuclear power facility to blow it up. Amid numerous explosions and even a nice truck/bus chase in the high desert are enough plot holes to keep most movie audiences in hysterics. My favorite was in the Pentagon where top military brass are discussing the terrorist. The camera does a closeup of the dossier showing the actor's picture playing the terrorist. The next line is, "The terrorist, whose face is unknown..." Why tell us his face is unknown just after showing us his face? We had to replay this moment and then pause the DVD so my wife could stop laughing. Her favorite moment was when the terrorists are stealing the nuclear material and are walking around the facility. The leader has a little piece of notepaper which he keeps looking at about 7 times, as if he couldn't find his way up the stairs without looking at his paper. I wondered if maybe he had his lines printed there. Then you've got Andrew Prine playing a pompous state senator who is shooting an election commercial at the power plant when the terrorists attack. Prine and his lovely press secretary run for the door with security guard Treat Williams while the rest of the camera crew and reporters stand there allowing themselves to be shot. As the terrorists are running around the facility with automatic weapons looking for the them, Prine starts shouting at Williams in full voice. This happens repeatedly with the terrorists just inches away, but of course the shouting never attracts them. Also, when the bad guys get shot, none of the good guys picks up their weapons. Another moment is when Williams has captured and tied up a terrorist and sticks the Senator's tie in his mouth. Most people would just be able to take their tongue and push the tie out of their mouth and call for help; but this terrorist must sit there for 15 minutes until his buddy rescues him. You may enjoy replaying the moment where Andrew Prine steps on the explosive and is hurled through the air with a ball of fire. Most people would be burned or maimed, but Prine just winds up dead with a bit of fake blood on his nose. This is one of those movies where the plot is so bad that you can enjoy it as one of the most wonderfully incompetent films you're likely to run across. Another thing I like about the DVD is the special features. The only special feature is some previews of other films I never heard of. When you push it to watch the previews, it starts playing "Critical Mass" again. Have a laugh, you won't do much else with this clinker! Taxi!

Rating:
Summary: A Joke
Review: "Critical Mass" is so bad that it is actually enjoyable. There are so many holes in this plot that one wonders if there was actually a director assigned to the project. The basic plot centers around terrorists who steal nuclear material to make a bomb and then take over a nuclear power facility to blow it up. Amid numerous explosions and even a nice truck/bus chase in the high desert are enough plot holes to keep most movie audiences in hysterics. My favorite was in the Pentagon where top military brass are discussing the terrorist. The camera does a closeup of the dossier showing the actor's picture playing the terrorist. The next line is, "The terrorist, whose face is unknown..." Why tell us his face is unknown just after showing us his face? We had to replay this moment and then pause the DVD so my wife could stop laughing. Her favorite moment was when the terrorists are stealing the nuclear material and are walking around the facility. The leader has a little piece of notepaper which he keeps looking at about 7 times, as if he couldn't find his way up the stairs without looking at his paper. I wondered if maybe he had his lines printed there. Then you've got Andrew Prine playing a pompous state senator who is shooting an election commercial at the power plant when the terrorists attack. Prine and his lovely press secretary run for the door with security guard Treat Williams while the rest of the camera crew and reporters stand there allowing themselves to be shot. As the terrorists are running around the facility with automatic weapons looking for the them, Prine starts shouting at Williams in full voice. This happens repeatedly with the terrorists just inches away, but of course the shouting never attracts them. Also, when the bad guys get shot, none of the good guys picks up their weapons. Another moment is when Williams has captured and tied up a terrorist and sticks the Senator's tie in his mouth. Most people would just be able to take their tongue and push the tie out of their mouth and call for help; but this terrorist must sit there for 15 minutes until his buddy rescues him. You may enjoy replaying the moment where Andrew Prine steps on the explosive and is hurled through the air with a ball of fire. Most people would be burned or maimed, but Prine just winds up dead with a bit of fake blood on his nose. This is one of those movies where the plot is so bad that you can enjoy it as one of the most wonderfully incompetent films you're likely to run across. Another thing I like about the DVD is the special features. The only special feature is some previews of other films I never heard of. When you push it to watch the previews, it starts playing "Critical Mass" again. Have a laugh, you won't do much else with this clinker! Taxi!

Rating:
Summary: WTF
Review: Hey this is Terminator 2.....wait no it isn't....it's Universal Soldier.....no its not that either. So what the hell is this? What this is a total stink bomb of a direct-to-video action flick that didn't have the money to make their own action scenes so they edited in some excellent action scenes from much superior films to spice up this hunk of juck a bit. I can't believe Artisan Entertainment allowed the filmmakers to do this. Anyway, you'be been warned....avoid this critical failure.

Rating:
Summary: So bad, it's a wonder it's not a cult movie!
Review: I couldn't agree with the previous reviewer more--it's hard to believe that this movie could possibly have been made as a serious "action" flick. Right from the start, with the lead terrorist consulting his map of the building time after time after time, I assumed that the entire movie was a spoof! I'm still not quite convinced it 's not a tongue-in-cheek affair... I've watched it twice now with my husband, and we've thoroughly enjoyed creating our own running dialogue to accompany the movie and which points out all the things the characters overlook/do wrong/do poorly/don't do and should.

Rating:
Summary: Apparently they couldn't even make their own movie...
Review: I saw the preview to this and I saw clips of Terminator 2 and Universal Soldier in it. I told myself "that footage can't possibly be in the movie". I had to rent it to see.....and it is. Oh my God. What has the world come to that they have to edit in other action scenes from superior action movies into other movies to make them more exciting. The entire swat shootout from Terminator 2 is featured here and so is the semi / bus chase from Universal Soldier. How low could artisan entertainment sink to to allow this to happen. It's a shame that once decent actor Treat Williams has sunk so far and is forced to act in rip-off cinema like this to make a living. If you want great action, go buy Terminator 2 and Universal Soldier for the original footage and not this low budget footage stealer.

Rating:
Summary: Treat Williams versus some bad guys
Review: Treat Williams and Lori Loughlin try to foil a terrorist group which is setting up shop inside a nuclear facility. Udo Kier (of Blade, and Shadow of the Vampire) leads the terrorists.

Look, this isn't going to win any Oscars, but it's passable action fare. Sure, there are plot holes. Also, some of the violent action is unrealistic, and it looks cheap. Still, Loughlin and Williams give solid performances, and lots of the movie is especially well done. A scene where Williams and Loughlin watch two terrorists dumping a couple of bodies is very spooky, even chilling. Udo Kier's icy stare is still on the mark.

Regarding the scene in which the politician character is tossed through the air by an explosion: another reviewer sniffed that he only got a little fake blood on his nose. Sir, the character ended up dead. It's not like the character wiped the blood off his nose and walked away. It was INFERRED that he suffered trauma to the head and body. Must everything be spelled out for some viewers? The final edit didn't show his entire body, maimed head to toe. So what? Would you be more satisfied if you saw fake blood over the ENTIRE body? Does that make for a better movie? This is an action movie. People get shot and fall down. If they don't get up, they might be dead. That's the way it goes. If you're expecting an action movie with visuals as good as The Bourne Identity or as much gore as Blade II, you're out of luck.

Again, Fred Olen Ray has used a small budget to wisely craft a decent action flick. Williams and Loughlin play their parts well, and the film has more than its share of worthwhile moments.

I only wish that Fred Olen Ray had provided a commentary track for this DVD. His commentary tracks on Active Stealth and Venomous are laugh riots.

Ken Miller