User reviews

My tolerance for shlocky direction was overwhelmed by some of the choices in this could-be-really-good time-waster.

When the "romantic" intervals were of a nature to take me out of the story and into "How-and-why-did-the-movie-maker-do-/that/?" mode, you got to figure something is missing in there; restraint and tastefulness, I think.

Brian Brown is a capable, empathetic actor - usually. I think he didn't like the project or the people, and it shows. I don't remember anything the other guy did. Can't even picture his face.

On the other hand, it doesn't have to be any good to be entertaining; some of the vignettes and twists are fun and even ingenious.

I watched this movie ($2.00 purchase at the vid rental place) against the advice of the screenwriter; I understand he was tempted to remove his name from the credits. Matter of pride, I bet.

I had mixed feelings about this movie. It started off slowly and I almost quit watching. But after the first 30 minutes, the plot became a little more clear and the movie improved. Still, the acting was not very good. I had some trouble making out the dialogue. And the "love scenes" bordered on porn. Interesting ending. Men will like this movie better than women. It's definitely a guys' flick.

Having sat through several Casper Van Dien movies in the past, and not being very impressed by them (except for STARSHIP TROOPERS) from both Van Dien's acting style to the quality of the rest of the movies, I put off seeing this movie. The only reason why I watched it was that I bought this movie as part of a double feature DVD (with the other movie being the excellent Dolph Lundgren actioner THE PEACEKEEPER).

There are a few positive things I found in this movie. The movie has good production values, a trademark of Millennium Films/Nu Image film companies. The cinematography is good, and the movie doesn't look really cheap at any moment. (And it was nice to see a movie from these guys that wasn't shot in Bulgaria.) There is some nice gratuitous nudity, and the story has multiple plot threads that get you curious as to how they will all be resolved at the end.

But I didn't think that the movie worked overall for several reasons. There is a lack of sympathetic characters, for one thing - you'll wish they will all end up dead. The script also moves very slowly after a while - there should have been more action or big plot turns throughout the narrative. You have to wait for the last twenty minutes before things start to seriously move and things start resolving themselves.

Still, it could have been worse. I've seen worse Van Dien movies (and worse Van Dien performances.) If you are pressed to watch a Van Dien movie that's not STARSHIP TROOPERS, this is probably the one to watch.

Border of El Paso with Juarez City must be very hot area. Americans may use to cross the border to find sexy entertainment, and this is shown in this film. In the other US side there is a bank that everybody wants to rob, including his guard, who is living a romance with the wife's owner of the bank. The end of the film is really funny and interesting, some scenes are unexpected by film watchers.

This was a crappy, miserably acted movie based on sublimated male fantasies. A shame that it was based in Texas, an otherwise excellent state. I would recommend this movie to no-one, and wish that it had never entered my consciousness as I am now so irritated that I wasted my brain cells even paying the slightest attention to it.

This movie was absolutely one of the worst movies I have ever seen. The plot could have been made to work, had the movie been written better. The acting was some of the worst I have ever seen. I was very slow and made me want to leave/turn off the movie several times. I watched the entire movie in the hopes that the ending would make it worthwhile but it didn't. this movie I think should be rated in the negative numbers. (In my humble opinion)

This film starts out with all the moody promise of a great contemporary noir Western - after the ill-conceived opening flashback sequence anyway. The scenery is beautifully desolate, the characters achingly isolated. While some of the acting is less than believable, the plot ultimately delivers enough tension and twists to make this movie worth a look.

I really enjoyed this film, I thought Bryan Brown and Danial Baldwin were great in this film. It would have to be Casper Van dien's only good movie. I thought this movie had a great story with a hole lot of really excellent twists. All and all a very good thriller that I would recommend you see.

9/10

I first saw this movie in the night program of one of my favourite TV channels.... I was hooked from the very first minute. Nothing is as it first seems, lots of suspense, great acting from Mr. van Dien, and I did not mind the "heat" in it one bit ;-) ... and, best of all: You are in for a surprise ending!!!

classic Western script , full of usual tricks, few sex scenes slices, Casper Van Dien in common role and not bad and not surprising ball of stories. tension is guaranteed and, for large number of viewers , that fact is the essence. a fake show if the expectations are too high. but not too far for to seem be a decent movie. because the recipes is respected, the acting is nice exercise to convince, the waterfall of events , predictable,represents a good choice. bad guys, good guy, victims from/of past. action, delicate flavor from classic films noir, and the impression, after its end, than it could be better but , for a TV film, is enough to be easy entertainment.

This film is one of those that can't be regarded by its outwardness. Indeed, at a first sight, it seems that the story simply focus the desire of have more money. But..let's take a look on the other side...What do you see? You see that the money is only a metaphor for the ambiguous feelings the human being have:Should I do the right thing, or should't I? And... what's the "right thing"? Le's make a deeper analyses... -What does it mean a little town in the border? - It means that sometimes we can go too close to the border of doing something we thought we couldn't... - What does it mean the arid soil shown in this picture? - It means the dryness that sometimes take possession ot our offensed hearts... - What does it mean the phrase of the character (KRISTEN) :"Now I belong to him"? - It means the loss of our free will, due to our unpremeditated deeds. In MY OPINION that's the writer of the story and the director tried to "tell" us. By the way...do you remember what another character (JACK BARNES)said:"Nothing is so simple..."

This movie is a compilation of many others. Studly loser from the big city is tagging the boss' wife/high society type and local beauty while planning bank robbery in a dusty town and winds up w/o the dough.(Don Johnson from The Hot Spot) New babe moves in and cleans the desert outpost. (Lone Wolf McQuade) How can we double cross the double-crossers? (Sharkey's Machine, Sunset, and the best of them all: Charley Varrick) The women (both) must be on top to writhe on Casper Van Dien in what I now call the "Sharon Stone Position" based upon the bronco riding style used in Basic Instinct. Oh, the list goes on. Did you notice the goof where they leave in Van Dien's blue Suburban to rob the bank but pull up in the new SUV? Read John D. MacDonald's "Bordertown Girl" for a better evening.

On the Border is only one of films who use pieces from the film noire and western for a not surprise cocktail of love, secrets, revenge and money. far to be a bad movie, it is one with precise target. so, the recipes is the same for low cost productions with similar theme. the good guy who is almost gray, the bad guy, the woman between them. and few scenes of sex, as spice. short, a film with Casper Van Dien and Daniel Baldwin. nothing more. characters as old clothes, dialogues as sketches of confrontations, ambiguous plans and intentions.a nice film who preserves rules of genre and could be a kind of copy of many other classic thrillers.