Night Vision

Amazingly awful plot holes, zero character development, and at least a bunch of clichéd stale jokes, permeate this stinker. A repetitive anti alcohol message is both redundant, boring, and likely to drive one to drink. Cynthia Rothrock gets in a few kicks, and Fred Williamson gets to smoke a few cigars, but what is in between is pure garbage. Rothrock, after Williamson blows a guy's head off "I got brains all over me". Unfortunately whoever slapped together this mess thought the audience would lack brains and common sense. Even the chase scene, which is totally devoid of downtown traffic is stale. Avoid this for sure. - MERK

A truly awful movie. I gave up at one point then went back a couple of days later to see if it got any better, it didn't in fact it seemed to get worse. Acting is terrible, the story line is terrible, the special effects are terrible and the only reason I gave the film 2 stars is because of Cynthia Rothrock but even she couldn't save the film. It did do one thing for me it made me realise that I could probably write a better film script than tis.

When a sadistic serial killer starts stalking the streets of Dallas, Texas, only one man can stop the madness: Dakota "Dak" Smith (Williamson). But before he can fight this antagonist, he must fight his inner demons: he's been living in a sober house and going to AA meetings. His alcoholism even got him demoted from detective to motorcycle cop working the graveyard shift. But his Commanding Officer, Teak Taylor (Forster) believes in him, so Teak teams Dak up with the enthusiastic Kristin O'Connor (Rothrock). Despite his initial misgivings, they forge a solid relationship. Dak's buddy Newt (Bushwick Bill) also is supportive. Can Dak turn his life around and catch The Video Stalker (Prentiss) - so named because he videotapes all his murders - at the same time? The presence and charisma of Fred Williamson completely carries this movie. In his first go as the recurring character Dakota Smith (later to be reprised in On the Edge, among others), Fred gains your sympathy as the hard-working guy who loves Twinkies and root beer. Inexplicably, there are multiple scenes where he appears pantsless, but maybe that was to underline his slide from hero detective to living on the skids - the media even gives him the nickname "The Skid Row Cop". He even gets his own, ultra-catchy theme song, "Dakota Smith - You're 12 Steps Away", which was co-written by music legend Andre Williams of all people (assuming it's the same Andre Williams whose career goes back to the 50's). We all love Cynthia Rothrock, and we were definitely happy to see her here, but she seems miscast as O'Connor. Her martial arts talents are severely underused. This part could have been played by many people - this movie doesn't highlight her particular talents and abilities. Even still, it was nice to see her alongside Fred and Robert Forster (whose part is pretty minimal but still does a competent job). Bushwick Bill, of Geto Boys fame, basically steals the movie as Newt. You really like Newt and Bushwick does a great job. The great cast notwithstanding, this is still late-90's DTV crud. It's ultra-low budget, and the mixture of simplistic plot - a cop drama/serial killer chase - means it gets a bit slow at times. It really seems like it could have been made in the 80's, thanks mainly to the cast. It was directed by Gil Bettman, the same man who directed Never Too Young To Die (1986). How far the mighty have fallen. What would Stargrove think? The DVD contains the trailer, which we would advise watching after the movie because it gives away pretty much everything. That's why we always watch the trailer after the movie. In order to hook the potential viewer in, they have to give away all the best parts. Too many spoilers. In sum, the cast is strong but the movie itself is not. So it's kind of a wash, but Fred and Rothrock fans still might find this entry worthwhile, if not ideal. For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com

Fred Williamson, one of the two or three top blaxploitation stars. Cynthia Rothrock, one of the two or three top American female action stars. Imagine a film with these two together for the first time! Now imagine THE WORST film that could possibly be made with these two together for the first time. Welcome to "Night Vision". Of course, this movie was made in 1997 and they were both past their prime, but that doesn't mean they didn't have what it takes anymore - they just needed the help of good writing and direction. They got neither here. Rothrock does get to throw a couple of kicks near the end, but this film is so atrocious that you probably won't be awake to see them. (*)

The sheer awfulness of this movie is difficult to fathom. To start with, the plot is almost non-dimensional: a skid row cop teams up with a tough female rookie to catch a serial killer who video tapes his victims. The killer rides around in space-age comfort in a night-black van, and tasers his victims so that he never has to leave his TV monitors which can seemingly see into any bedroom in the city. In an attempt to expand this tiny plotline, we discover that the killer has an accomplice on the police force! Who could it be?? It is difficult to find the entire point of this movie: It's not a sex movie, as there is about 20 seconds of bosom in the whole film. It's not a fighting movie, as Cynthia Rothrock (famous for various Jackie Chan-style films throughout the 80's and 90's) delivers about 5 kicks throughout the whole movie. The acting in this film is awful, so I suppose it's a good thing that no-one attempted to develop any of the characters. The technical aspects and realism of the film fall flat in so many places, from Cynthia's "computer knowledge", to the killer's video monitoring system, to the 40-bullet shootouts where no-one gets hit or runs out of ammo. Oh, and one more thing: what does anything in this movie have to do with "night vision"?? It is truly difficult to believe that a movie this bad was made in 1998 - it is remniscent of the bad cop movies of 20 years ago. I would recommend watching water evaporate before I would recommend this movie to anyone. I gave it (barely) 3 out of 10.

This can't even be called a movie, it was so bad. First of all, it was BORING. I was so bored, I kept waiting for something to happen and it didn't! The music was awful, like something out of a 70's * flick. The acting sucked. Everything about the whole thing sucked. There wasn't one redeeming quality to this movie. Not even the last five minutes with Cynthia Rothrock doing the usual martial arts bit. Run from this movie!

source: Night Vision

Night Vision

What is night vision? Well according to the star (Williamson) let's see...one package store owner says to him 'it's getting dark outside' to which he replies 'it makes for better.........'night vision.' What in the hell does that mean? In fact what in the hell is this movie trying to say? It has plot holes that you could drive the killer's van through. Not to mention a cop on duty drinking, Robert Forster sleepwalking through this bizarre attempt at cashing in on the serial killer craze, and a killer who videos his murders. That's actually all I remember. The film took place in Texas, had a few car chases, and a clichéd ending. Perhaps if one watches this film with their eyes closed - it might be good? After all, without being able to see it....it would make for better.....night vision. Did that make sense? Nope. And neither does this film.

I couldn't finish it. The cheese, and the bad got too much for me. The opening scene the music was awful, it lasted a really long time, and was a really repetitive music that was the cheesiest, and considering how serious the film was trying to be. It just didn't work. I could see the plot holes opening up, and honestly with the overall bad quality. I doubt they closed them. I'm normally stubborn, but I just couldn't watch it to the end.