Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

rdoyle29 Sam Neill stars, in his 2nd feature film, as Smith, a man who leaves his family when his wife takes up with another man, and moves to an island where he is the only resident. While he's on the island, political turmoil in New Zealand worsens and a form of martial law is declared. Smith is framed as a terrorist and arrested. Facing certain execution, he escapes and goes on the run, eventually hooking up with Bullen (Ian Mune), the man who had stolen his wife. This is the first feature made in New Zealand that received international distribution, and it's readily apparent why. Neill is a magnetic screen presence, and the film has the ramshackle appeal of the best small action films of the 70's. Warren Oates even appears in a small role as a US army officer.

crystalart Today I finally got a DVD of "Sleeping Dogs" and got to watch it in a wide-screen version for the first time. As a big fan of Warren Oates, I was first interested in this film because of his character. His film "Dillinger" is frequently mentioned, and I also recall his excellent work in "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia", "Black Thunder" and "Badlands".In "Sleeping Dogs", it's impossible to ignore Sam Neill as he struggles to survive forces outside his control.I don't know if it's his first film or not, however it's the first one I recall ever seeing him.Coincidentally, I'm also watching the new DVD release of "Max Headroom", and it's hard to keep the two films from intermixing.Repressive governments, random violence, all the things that make films like both of these fun to watch again and again.In this genre, I would also add "Brazil"."1984" goes without saying.

mattkratz I was slightly confused by the content of this movie. From what I gathered, Sam Neill's character was a family man whose wife had an affair, and he was then mistaken for a guerrilla. There was plenty of guerrilla warfare on the streets who were trying to protest something. I couldn't quite gather what it was. There were plenty of shoot-em-up scenes on the streets and in the wilderness when Neil was trying to escape and clear his name. Other than that, I thought the movie was decent. The scene where he was imprisoned in a dank jail cell was harrowing and unforgettable, and I loved the part where he vomits on the guards to escape from the transport car. I sort of liked the movie and might recommend it.** 1/2 out of ****

yarbles-2 This film is a chilling view of how New Zealand could be if ruled by a totalitarian oppressive Government, like so many other countries around the world. It focuses primarily on one character named Smith (played by the now famous Sam Neil). The direction is excellect thanks to the talents of Roger Donaldson (Dantes Peak). But if you read those names and expect a big budget, action-packed, thriller your out of luck, it was made back in 1977 when they were starving artists. This may not appeal to those unfamiliar with New Zealand, but its worth a look if you like well scripted well acted emotional movies