Executive Target

Just the premise of this film sounds horrible. An ex-Hollywood stunt driver, arrested on a minor crime, is broken out of prison and forced to drive the getaway car for a plot to kidnap the President of the United States. Would probably make a fun video game. As a film? Well...

This movie is kind of like a magic show. It's point is to distract you and make you think that something it happening. You sit there thinking "Wow, this movie sucks...Cool, a car blew up!" And they use every car chase cliché in the book. Cars bunny-hopping inexplicably. Driving through boxes of fruit while people jump out of the way. They even have a woman pushing a freaking baby carriage. I yank you not, a freaking baby carriage! There's a line a character mutters after a huge explosion: "Now tell me that doesn't give you a hard on". Somewhere, Jerry Bruckheimer is stroking himself in agreement. I'd bet all that I own that with a little bit of a reworked plot, a bigger budget and a few A-List stars, this would be a total Bruckheimer flick.

As I said before, the story is dull and predictable. The acting is wooden and hard to swallow. Even Madsen, whom I rented this solely on the fact that he's on the cover holding a gun, feels like he's going through the motions and just looks bored with the entire thing. But it does have shut-your-brain-off boom-booms, and they are done fairly well. Even if it does take only a half dozen people, a couple of which are untrained in any sort of combat, to take down an entire evil military base. If it's ever on late at night and the batteries on the remote are dead, I'd probably watch it again. So if you get a chance to see it for free and you honest to God have nothing better to do, it beats the hell out of some films I've seen.

Nick James is a professional stunt driver on his way to prison. However, bad guys with evil plans decide to use him as a getaway driver for a very important job, kidnapping the President of the United States, so they ambush the prison bus and coerce him to go along with them. Naturally, Nick James is a good guy at heart and starts to work things his way.

The good thing about this movie is that the opening scene lets you know right away what you're in for - a nice, though very overdone epic score, plays during the beginning scenes. It seems to be music from bigger and more expensive action pictures like "The Rock" or "Batman Begins." Though the score oddly complements the outrageous chase scenes which are pretty well done, but thoroughly silly. Thankfully, the rest of the plot is equally silly so overall it works out as an enjoyable no-brainer action movie.

The film's tagline of this being the greatest chase movie ever, however is really the one unnecessarily overdone thing. It's not and in watching you can see that it doesn't really try to be so for a truly intriguing and involving thriller, look elsewhere. This is just lots of fun for boys who like fast toys. --- 6/10

Rated R for violence and profanity

My Age: 13

Nick, an imprisoned stunt car driver, played by Michael Madsden, is riding on a prison bus when some guys turn up to bust him out. He doesn't know these people and tries to get away from them, but they kidnap his wife to force him to drive the getaway car when they kidnap the President of the United States to sell him for a great deal of money.

This film has quite a few good car chases, but they deserve a better plot and a better movie. The plot of this film is preposterous and ludicrous, most of the action (in the form of the car chases) is quite good, but the ending climax is both unrealistic and below par. Michael Madsden, who I feel is one of the more underrated actors, puts in his normal good performance, but why is Roy Scheider in this film? I think he looks a bit out of place as the President.

Australian Classification: MA 15+: Medium Level Violence, Medium Level Coarse Language

Rating: 42 out of 100

The movie as a whole is hardly average, but I like Everhart's ice-womanish play, and Michael Madsen is always a good actor to see

The PM Entertainment Group Incorporated has created some of the best direct-to-video motion pictures ever. Their films, which concern primarily with action heroes battling impossible odds are lavishly exuberant and fun to watch. Though the PM team earns high marks for effort, EXECUTIVE TARGET is just not one of their more memorable classics...

Anyway, EXECUTIVE TARGET focuses on a stunt-car driver for action movies, Nick James (Michael Madsen), who is being transferred to a security prison in L.A. after being convicted for some minor, negligible offenses. He has one more year left of his sentenced term...but not so fast yet...

While riding on a prison bus, James and his criminal colleagues are ambushed by a couple of professional, anonymous assassins. James tries to escape via a convertible and wild chase scenes with the police ensue. James was considered lucky then to have fled from the cops, but unfortunately, the criminal masterminds have now kidnapped James' wife. They have forced her to partake in these schemes of Presidential proportions. James must abide by the villains' demands: to help kidnap the President of the U.S. of A...or else...they will silence his wife permanently...

Nick James has no choice but to help these bad guys kidnap the ye olde President of America...

Former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Angie Everhart and devious character actor Keith David are the main antagonists. Roy Scheider(!) (JAWS, BLUE THUNDER) is the main character, the imaginary pseudo-President of the United States, Carlson. At least, Mr. Scheider can look on the bright side, in this movie, he gets the privilege to play the President of the United States. How many actors in these days can brag about the opportunity to play the President of the United States of A-merica?

EXECUTIVE TARGET is sadly, prosaic material. The gossamer story-line does not help and the plot is as weak as hell. This film just barely survives the premise's implausibility, owning its gratitude to some well staged car chases, gun battles, explosions, action sequences, and just total carnage. If you love watching objects bursting into flames for no discernible reason, sit down and continue reading to find out more about this film! The action in this film is standard fare though. Lots of exploding helicopters are popular in this movie, police cars crash and conflagrations happen all over the place. Shoot-outs though are a bit less common in this film. To summarize about the pleasing action scenes of EXECUTIVE TARGET, their pyrotechnics are enough to mollify any adventurous fan's satisfaction. It will definitely keep your heart pulsating in anticipation!

As for the texture of EXECUTIVE TARGET, do not expect much. Character development is nonexistent, the sinister, hostile and diabolical villains' motives also do not make much sense either, particularly the reason why they would want to kidnap the President of the U.S.A. in the first place. Michael Madsen remained nondescript and wooden as the main hero. Angie Everhart stayed acerbic as an obstinate "lady venom," and Roy Scheider continued to be taciturn as the President who supposedly had a lot of notoriety. EXECUTIVE TARGET misses the mark in being original, but it has lots of action, colossal car chases, mayhem and frenzy, and corny humor. No melodramatic moments here, just straightforward entertainment that is diverting, if nothing else.

In this movie, my friend, do not expect anything within a proximity of novelty in this low-budget action film. Still, if you will learn to lock up your common sense elsewhere for a good 96 minutes, then maybe you will be appeased by this motion picture that's surprisingly average. My personal opinion though, about EXECUTIVE TARGET is that it is a more nominal effort from the usually talented Pepin-Merhi group, who are very good at making many explosive movies.

RATING: ** out of ****.