Nonureva Really Surprised!

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

2freensel I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Leofwine_draca As straight-to-video trash goes, this title isn't bad. It at least has plenty of action going on to stop it from ever becoming boring (probably the biggest sin of all in my book). Sure, the low budget is apparent and the plot is a cheap rip-off of just about any film you care to mention - although particularly the phrase "Die Hard in outer space" springs to mind - but the acting and action is serviceable if not original.In a low budget vehicle, only cheap actors will do, which is where leading man Olivier Gruner comes in. Gruner is the veteran of a whole slew of no-budget sci-fi knock-offs in the late '90s, with generic titles like AUTOMATIC, SAVAGE, and MARS. This is my first exposure to the actor and he comes off quite well as the physical hero, although his character, Raymond Stokes, seems to be lacking a few brain cells here and there. Gruner may not be the most intelligent or charismatic of screen heroes, but he's quite likable in his own way, and fits the bill for this kind of job. Besides you have to like any actor who doesn't take himself entirely seriously (Gruner practises ballet at one amusing point in the film).Elsewhere in the cast, Alicia Coppola plays the female lead, easy on the eye and actually displaying some intellect for a change (she's the one who actually has a clue what to do). Ken Olandt is the bad guy, but he's a) too nice and b) too young to pose that much of a threat. Although the fact that the bad guys actually have personalities and are real people, not just mindless thugs as in so many other films, must give this film some kind of kudos. Eagle-eyed viewers will also spot an ageing Craig Wasson (the lead in De Palma's BODY DOUBLE) popping up early on as Gruner's corrupt superior.Some of the special effects in this film are surprisingly good, even if a little too obviously done with computers. The spaceships look nice and the warp effect is quite impressive, and they even throw in a passable STAR WARS-inspired dogfight between two ships at one point. The action consists in the time-honoured tradition of having the bad guys get picked off one by one by our hero, and the various death scenes are varied and interesting. There are a few gun battles and one (good) physical battle to keep things moving along, as well as lots of lame jokes and dialogue which manages to be funny some of the time. It also has to be said that I didn't see the ending coming, where nobody trusts anybody and the heroes take the cash for themselves. Allover, VELOCITY TRAP is a passable thriller, not inspired or exciting, but fun to watch if you're in the right easygoing mood.

isenberg-e This film has a completely predictable plot, shallow characterization, poor acting, and a terrible ending. Suitable for watching late at night when you absolutely cannot fall asleep, after which you will learn there are worse fates than counting sparkles on the bedroom ceiling.

tp320 Although filled with special effects and sometimes advertised as a sci-fi film, "Velocity Trap" is really an action film. A "Die Hard"-clone set in space. But since I loved "Die Hard" and especially "Under Siege", I decided to buy the film and check it out. Now that I have, I'm not disappointed at all although there were a few flaws.The hero of this film is Olivier Gruner. His most famous film is probably "Cyborg", directed by the legendary Albert Pyun, but he has been in several other films as well. My personal favorite of his films is "Automatic", a surprisingly inventive action film with great fight scenes. Gruner definitely has the right stuff to be an action hero. He has "the accent", his fight scenes are always great and he even has a sense of humor which is especially apparent in "Velocity Trap". Not only that, he even starred in a family film(!) "The White Pony" and didn't look out of place.Now, the plot here is nothing special but I guess nobody expects or even wants it to be. This is after all an action film, not "Boys Don't Cry". However, there are some pretty interesting humorous details in a few scenes. For example, there's a scene where Olivier Gruner is dancing ballet by himself! I thought Mark Dacascos singing karaoke in "Drive" was something but I was wrong. _This_ scene is something! There are also some good bits of dialogue here and there ("Can't take a joke, Stokes?" "Actually, many people find me very funny" or something along those lines).The director is Phillip Roth who's previous work includes "Digital Man" and "Darkdrive". Although his films usually have a pretty low budget, they have some quite good effects and that is the case in this film as well. The chase in the end of the film is surprisingly effective and there are no obvious "blue/green screen-effects". The sets also work pretty well but the music was a letdown. It lacked a good theme and the underscore wasn't that great either. This film would have benefited greatly from a futuristic and energetic synthesizer score.Also, while this is one of the best films from Phillip Roth, it lacks one key element that I expected from it: fight scenes. There's a fair amount of gunplay, some good stunts and some pretty nice explosions but I think fans of Olivier Gruner (myself included) were expecting more fights. As it is, there's really only one fight scene in the beginning of the film and even that is quite short and unspectacular.Anyway, this is an effective action film. It doesn't even try to re-invent the genre but it's never boring. All in all, a very good effort from Mr. Roth, but the next time, a better score and more fight scenes, please! This one gets a 7.Oh, and by the way, the DVD includes a great commentary from Phillip Roth, special effects expert Andy Hoffman and Olivier Gruner himself. This is one of the best and most entertaining commentaries I've heard since the commentary of "Darkdrive", which also includes a commentary by these guys (except Gruner) although it isn't even listed as a feature on the DVD box cover. In case you've heard the commentary of "Velocity Trap", I can tell you that the name of the actor they couldn't remember in the beginning of the movie is Yannick Bisson (here credited as Yannock Bisson, a typo perhaps?) and his show that they refer to is, of course, "High Tide" (a great show, also starred Rick Springfield). I recommend renting the DVD just for the commentary.

SamYotix Raymond Stokes is the only cop in the colony who cannot be bought - and that costs him dearly: He is separated from his lover and placed aboard a freighter. The separation dialogue, by the way, is only bearable on Fast Forward.Penal duty: For 9 months, the ship will travel through space, in order to bring 40 billion dollars in used notes to Earth. But - how original and innovative a plot element! - pirates arrive to try and steal the money. They have not counted on finding - you guessed it - Stokes.Well: Actors that are at best mediocre, trying hard to produce dialogue that will lend credibility to plot holes the size of a galaxy. Some of it's fun though - the occasional action sequence and ship effects aren't half bad.