A-minus concept, B-plus execution
Added 12/28/2003
I'd like to see this one on DVD. It's a pretty good movie.
The idea behind it is extremely clever. Rutger Hauer (who was so hauntingly dangerous in _Blade Runner_ and so terrifyingly menacing in _The Hitcher_) is here cast somewhat against type as an electronics wizard who is enlisted into a diamond heist by a beautiful woman (Joan Chen) and then double-crossed. Off he goes to an experimental maximum-security prison.
The really clever bit is how the prison works. There are no walls holding the prisoners in; instead, each prisoner wears a collar with a charge of plastic explosive in it. Will it go off if they step outside the prison boundaries? Nope, that wouldn't be secure enough (or sadistic enough either). Instead, each prisoner is _paired_ with one other prisoner (in what is euphemistically called 'wedlock') and their collars attuned to each other so that if they get more than 100 yards apart -- powie. And since nobody knows which prisoner s/he is paired with, nobody can ever get more than 100 yards from anybody else.
Unless, that is, a pair of partners could _find out_ that they were partners and escape together. I won't give away any of the plot developments, but since Mimi Rogers is Hauer's co-star, you can probably do the math here.
The credible-at-best dialogue isn't going to win any awards or anything, but at least we don't run out of plot before we run out of movie. Stuff keeps happening right up to the end, most of it clever, some of it deliberately funny, and all of it kept personable by Hauer and Rogers. And there's some nice play (occasionally sharp-edged and satirical) with the concept of wedlock that makes the thing worth rewatching.
Drawbacks? The budget obviously wasn't very big here and it's pretty clear some corners were cut. Then, too, some of it is derivative of _Cool Hand Luke_, _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_, and any number of other loner-individualist-in-prison and/or two-outlaws-on-the-run flicks.
Nevertheless it's a good, reliable movie that won't disappoint you if you like this sort of thing. If it ever shows up on DVD, grab it; until then, the VHS version is serviceable if you can get it.
EDIT: It _has_ shown up on DVD, under its other title _Wedlock_.
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RIVETING......
Added 12/5/2001
The concept is totally progressive and intriguing while you get totally drawn into this wildly insane and intense "game of life" For anyone who wants some excitement for a couple of hours! But beware, it will stick in your brain - - this could very well be the future........
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Good Rutger Hauer+Mimi Rogers combo.
Added 8/22/1999
Good science fiction, with a novel twist (prisoners are kept together by explosive neck-braces that will explode if they are seperated more than 100 yards) is nearly done in by mediocre production values and a plot that nearly deteriorates near the end. The love story is pretty pale too, though Hauer and Rogers make it worth seeing.
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The whole cast is excellent.
Added 6/15/1999
A science fiction movie that is different. A very good cast (Rutger Hauer, Joan Chen, Mimi Rogers, James Remar). A few twists that add to the suspense. Very well done.
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