"Fasten your seat belts: We're in for a bumpy night" could
have been a line from this film if the late, great Bet had been
behind the wheel. A great film for the developing claustrophobic,
agoraphobic, or paranoid. Some of you will never get into an
elevator or public bus again.
The dialogue is a bit thin, but manages to manipulate us into all
those situations we (hopefully) will never experience
personally. All action from the word go (or is it "help!"). It
almost seems as if those sixties' experiments that metered a
controlled audience of viewers in order to discover which scenes
had the most impact on them (results: all forms of excitement,
crashes, fights, accidents, violence, murder) has resulted in its
perfectly consolidated manifestation.
This film definitely keeps the heartbeat and ventilation rate
going. Keanu Reeves looks a treat with his new haircut and Dennis
Hopper fits so well into the skin of a psychopath. Director of
photography, Andrzej Bartkowiak's photography keeps the visuals as
exciting.
Ex-director of photography Jan De Bont's first venture as
director of a feature film certainly has hit the viewer where he
loves it. And if you think sound can't be used effectively please
take note that it managed to pick up the Oscars® for Sound and Sound
Effects Editing.
The box office rattles with the sound of reverberating coins as the
uninitiated enter the rollercoaster world of screen-shattering
thrills. Next stop? : Had hoped for a big Green Godzilla, but De
Bont seems to have set this aside for the time being to work on the
remake of The Day The Earth Caught Fire. Pity.
© 1994-2006 The Green Hartnett
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