Exit Speed

It's Christmas in Texas. Military Police Archie Sparks (Fred Ward) is hunting AWOL Corporal Meredith Cole (Julie Mond). She escapes and boards a bus with a variety of passengers. The bus is harassed by a passing biker gang. One of the bikes fall over and the bus runs over it. The biker starts shooting killing the bus driver and others. They manage to kill the biker but the rest of his friends come looking for revenge. They drive into an isolated scrap yard and must fend off the criminals. The story is thin and worthy of any number of B-movies. It's not that believable in the age of cell phones and interconnectivity. The whole movie isn't that realistic. The biker gang seems more like central casting rejects. It's a cross between Mad Max 2 and Home Alone. The junk yard is stock full of MacGyver material. There is some cat-and-mouse stuff in the night. It does have some fun 80s action. There are some solid actors here doing it for the paychecks.

The biker gang were about as scary as a bunch of moped kids on a council estate. Not the worst but by no means suitable for a Sunday afternoon watch. Maybe a drunken Friday B movie when waiting for the main event.

I can't believe I set through the whole thing. I laughed at the movie not with it. Was it supposed to be a comedy? The crazed bikers were so unbelievable. I wish I would have read the reviews before watching. The only redeeming quality was a few of the kill shots. BTW I registered just to warn others about what a waist of time this movie is. I am an avid motorcyclist myself & the skill that this bikers had was great which only made it more unbelievable that they were total crank heads. To attain that level of ability one would have to be very clear. Not screwed up speed freaks with no brain cells left and the music score was atrocious.

Whatever entertainment this rehash of John Carpenter's Assault On Precinct 13 may have provided is undone by lame attempts on the part of the filmmakers to score cheap political points. The whole thing's basically an exercise in politically correct stereotyping. The heroine is an AWOL Iraq War vet/victim, apparently forced into the military by her mean, draft-dodging politician dad, giving a few characters a chance to (yawn) take pot-shots at Bush/Cheney. As the other smart and righteous characters, there's a single mom (Lea Thompson sure has sunk!), a hippie vegan girl, a black girl, and a Mexican guy. Unfortunately for the superior folks, they're saddled with a few stupid white men who act like blow-hard jerks. However, there is one token smart white guy. Though he's been on hard times and learned the error of his white-devil ways. More importantly, he's sooo cute! The two stars I give it are for the bloody gunshots and projectiles. They deserve a better script!

When this movie starts it looks like a normal TV movie where something dramatic will happen. Where the characters will have to work together in order to overcome the issue at hand. While the cover suggest that the lead character is male (Desmond Harrington from "Dexter") this is not true. The lead is Julia Mond who plays a deserted soldier from whatever reason. And she is the one who organizes the diverse characters and make a stand against the Nomads (who apparently can't speak). Once the terror of the Nomads begins you have to prepare yourself for one unrealistic event after another. Otherwise you will have a very hard time in enjoying this movie. I mentioned that this started out as a normal TV movie. Nothing is further from the truth. This is one violent movie. It's bloody and gory. And because you don't expect these normal characters to commit these actions it can be shocking (Compared to Mad Max 2 Exit Speed is much more cruel and that is saying something). Overall this movie is pretty decent. I only wished that Fred Ward had a much bigger role then he got. Also I would have liked to see a more realistic approach in the Siege the bus passengers are put in.

Exit Speed was an interesting movie. It seemed like something that would come on a Saturday afternoon in the late 70's. I thought in the beginning , what in the world is this gonna be about because I refuse to read the back of the box (so to say) I like to be taken by surprise and with this choice I was. It keep you watching and rooting for the good guys. To put a small synopsis there for you I will say that it was about passengers on a bus that was kidnapped and thru their strengths, weakness, talents, and idiosyncrasies, they band together to survive this crack smoking, nose piercing, biker group from Hell. I liked it and I think you will too.

This movie is about a group of holiday bus travelers that, when attacked, accidentally run over two bikers. The rest of the bikers rally to try to kill the passengers on the bus. The Coach in this movie should have been put down early by his own people. The biker gang is apparently all mute because none of them utter a word throughout the movie. The movie did a poor job of re-using bike actors after the first version of them is killed off. It was very obvious that they were the same actors. There were so many actions taken in this movie that were just too stupid to allow it to be a good movie. It had 3 good actors and Fred Ward. Even Remo Williams couldn't help this movie. My favorite character spoke no English, but he was the brightest of the bunch. I would suggest waiting until this movie comes to cable to satisfy any curiosity you may have about whether it's worth watching. It's not,

I saw "Exit Speed" (2008), in Dallas, at Studio Movie Grill. What adds to the excitement is the presence of the cast and crew, who joined us, while the film kept us on the edge of our seats! I haven't had so much fun since "Jaws" kept people out of the water, and "Psycho" (the Alfred Hitchcock version) kept people out of the shower! David Rees Snell, who plays Danny Gunn (the bus driver), looks so cute--while standing in his underwear (he should be able to get plenty of babes)! Too bad that the director chose not to use the character throughout the film. David Rees Small would add more action to the film, and would make the movie even more interesting. There were some things that could have been done differently. If the bus driver had not been killed, it would have added to the tension (driving the bus, while wounded, in an erratic way). The bus could have been driven by stunt drivers, and there could even have been some special effects. At some point, the survivors could have grabbed a gun, taken one of the motorcycles, and sought help (in this way, there would have been more survivors). All of the cast and crew do a wonderful job, and the movie keeps us well entertained. And, Everett Sifuentes, who plays the Spanish-speaking Mr. Vargas, provides comedy relief and steals the show! I hope this movie opens doors for these obviously artistic and creative people, who are very talented. There is plenty of action, and every cast member gives us his or her piece of the action. This movie may or may not be an award winner but, considering the fact that it was done on a tight budget, the film provides plenty of innovation and thrills! It is worth seeing, and I rank this film an 8 out of 10. You've probably never had a bus ride like this!

Saw the big "North American Premiere" in Dallas last night at Studio Movie Grill. Lots of cast and crew were there; it was different since we don't usually have this kind of excitement in Big D. Lea Thompson and crew did a wonderful job of keeping us entertained, but the Spanish speaking Mr. Vargas (played by Everett Sifuentes) stole the show. He was adorable and hilarious. Subtitles were not provided, but that was much of the charm. There will be no Oscar nominations, but for a new production company getting off the ground, a cast and crew that consisted of a lot of 'no-name' actors, and limited special effects (by today's standards), the movie was very entertaining and had a lot of great lines.

I don't believe there have been any high profile movies out and about this summer. I haven't been to any movies at all since DaVinci Code. Read in the Dallas Morning News that Exit Speed was filmed here in the Dallas area, which got my attention (any locals remember Semi-Tough?). Unlike others, I was not familiar with the director and his previous movies, as I was also not familiar with any of the actors. I was pleasantly surprised as Exist Speed is fast paced and has an interesting story line. Was informed at the time that it would not be playing locally for long, so I might suggest that anyone looking for a good movie to see this weekend do so. You will not be disappointed!