For every Natalie Imbruglia there are 10 Sarah Vandenberghs; there's a carload of Rachel Blakelys for every Kylie Minogue. What I'm getting at is that post-"Neighbours" life can be a sorry one - consider Kimberley Davies, aka Annalise. Now back on her home turf after an unsuccessful turn in the US (chiefly in "Pacific Palisades," a series from Aaron Spelling where she played a sexy real estate agent which was so unsuccessful that the producers drafted in Joan Collins - now THAT'S desperate), she's stuck in stuff like "Seconds to Spare." And she still can't act, but fortunately she's still gorgeous, which is one of the few things this Australian-American TV movie has going for it.
To be honest, no one has the right to expect much from a movie where the names "Carlton America" and "Antonio Sabato Jr." appear in the opening credits; ASJr plays an ex-DEA agent chasing a criminal to Australia, who's fallen in league with a band of eco-terrorists who steal some canisters of nerve gas to make a statement against the Australian government's stance on toxic dumping, and hijack a train in order to get their point across. "Die Hard" on a train it's not (that was "Under Siege 2," anyway), in more ways than one; the movie not only lacks real suspense but has villains who are ultimately and infinitely more interesting than our plank-esque hero - the leader of the treehuggers (Kate Beahan) doesn't want to use violence to win, which puts her in conflict with the main villain (Jerome Ehlers, clearly enjoying himself).
Chugging along at a pace considerably slower than the train, with a lacklustre score and effects work, and dire acting and dialogue ("All the while she was doing my root canal, my husband was..."), there's not a surprise to be had in the entire movie - with the exception of the name of co-executive producer Sabato Jr's production company (Namtab Productions Inc. - though given his uselessness, Etimtab Productions Inc. would have been more appropriate). Unless Nine Network Australia wanted to prove that the US doesn't have a monopoly on making naff actioners, there's not much of a point to this; and unless you want to see Nick Tate in something even sillier than "Space: 1999," there's no reason to watch.
Kimberley Davies still fills out a white T-shirt wonderfully, however. (Okay, there's at least two reasons to watch.)
