The White Raven

I didn't buy it, it was Star, she brought it home from the video store. She wouldn't say why she bought this particular movie, but I can venture a guess. It must have been in the "dollar to own" basket right by the register.

A dollar seems to be a paltry sum, but in this case, alas yes, it was far too much. That dollar would have been better served in the cup of a homeless man's crack fund rather than spent on this film. It was supposed to be a thriller, but b'gum, it wasn't thrilling. Instead the director served up, Polish extras in a go-go disco, a supposedly mad Nazi (who had the most coherent lines in the film), a murderous Polish police sargent and a corrupt American general (who throughout the film could be interchangeable.

Ron Silver smokes and runs simultaneously at one point and you think if he could only smoke run and act he would have something there. According to this film, the way you elude the Warsaw police department is to jump behind a wall when they are approaching ... EVEN IF THEY SEE WHERE YOU HID! The only saving grace of the film was that in the deleted sex scene we didn't have to witness Ron Silver taking his shirt off.

Roy Schieder seemed to be saying his lines while watching the clock, one had the feeling that he had an early tee time and wanted to wrap up his scenes in time to hit the links in the afternoon. The only real tangible enjoyment we pulled out of the film was that now we have a new standard with which to judge really bad movies. We can say "That film may s**k, but it's no White Raven!"

I guess that when starting a movie like "The White Raven", a team has two basic choices. They can make a James Bond type of film in which the hero will keep falling into traps most terrible from which he will miraculously escape with his life and tie undisturbed - which is quite OK because we all know in advance that he is indestructible. Or they can make a realistic movie in which the hero is very much destructible and has to depend solely on his wits and on some more or less sympathetic people to survive - if he does survive at all; we can never be sure.

And then there is the third type which tries to combine the first two - which seems to be a sure formula for disaster. "The White Raven" is, of course, just one of many such movies which may start, as this one does, quite decently in the realistic direction and then suddenly turn around, becoming more and more laughable right to the last "deus ex machina" (in this case one of the most stupid I have ever seen).

As such, the movie could perhaps be enjoyed as an unintentional parody if it were not for repeatedly ghoulish scenes which make one think that its authors are fetishists of a rather unpleasant sort; and only to their kind can "The White Raven" be safely recommended.

Rarely have I seen a suspense film with such a wonderful premise but with such a lousy execution. This is because there were a bazillion plot holes in a film with a great plot--so many that the plot is essentially ruined. It's a shame, as the film, with a few changes, could have been wonderful. My wife and uncle were a bit more forgiving. As for me, it made me mad that such a great idea sucked me in and,...well....it just sucked!

The film begins with the highest ranking living Nazi in custody inexplicably requesting a meeting with an American reporter (Ron Silver). The reporter has no idea what it's all about--and EVERYONE seems to go nuts because the Nazi supposedly knows about the whereabouts of one of the largest diamonds in the world! And, through the course of the film, one group after another chases the reporter after he meets with the Nazi. The problem is with all these folks trying to capture him, he can't help them because the Nazi's message is so vague he has no idea what it meant!

I loved this idea. And, when you finally learn how his uncle is THE key--this was brilliant!! But, in the meantime, yuck! Ron Silver was a good actor--but here he is totally miscast. The film called for a man who was a combination of James Bond and the Rock--but Silver was all wrong. A middle-aged paunchy guy who chain-smokes cannot possibly out-shoot secret agents, neo-Nazis and the US military!!! Yet, inexplicably, Silver's character won't accept help from anyone and yet he manages to come out unscathed by the end of the movie!!! In between, there are some other insane moments such as sneaking him into the embassy in a VW trunk when the place is surrounded by police who are told to allow NO ONE inside as well as the women who throw themselves at this very ordinary looking man....and MANY, MANY other insane moments. With a bit of a re-write (such as making the reporter an ex-CIA agent or a god would have helped) and plugging up holes, it would have made a dandy film--perhaps capable of earning an 8 or more. Instead, it's a dumb film with a few great moments.

I should repeat that my wife and uncle were far more charitable than I was. When they asked me what I thought of the film, I found I was becoming angry--angry because the film SHOULD have been better and sucked me in--only to disappoint again and again. My wife felt it was fun schlock. My uncle thought he could have used his time better sleeping in his hammock. I felt it was a waste of my life and I felt stupider as a result of having seen it. As for my aunt, who really didn't pay total attention to the film, she was glad she missed it.

This is a disappointing movie. The story had really interesting premise and despite low budget this could have been a good old - fashioned thriller. Unfortunately, the stupidity of the movie just gets bigger and bigger until the very end. This is a true treasure for anyone who likes to laugh at stupid movies.

Do you remember Chuck Norris jokes ? Forget about them . Here in this movie Ron Silver does things that would make James Bond blush. He can run and smoke simultaneously , hide from enemies EVEN IF THEY SAW HIM HIDING , shoots and kicks ass like a pro (despite being a middle aged reporter with NO experience with guns or martial arts) , all sexy females are attracted to him (for no real reason) , the bad guys keep making stupid mistakes, can't shoot straight ... I could go on and on. Oh boy, the plot twist about the location of the diamond and oh boy , the deus ex machina at the end... You have to see them to believe it. I will definitely never forget about them. Yup, they are THAT BAD.

The movie has some Polish actors in it and the plot is partially set in Poland. I'm from Poland so for me it was an added bonus ( and of course the main reason to watch this movie in first place). The pacing is fast , the dialogues are often not bad , the music is decent (even if cheesy at times).

Ron Silver ("Timecop") gives a "I don't give a crap" performance . He basically doesn't act , only speaks his lines. Roy Scheider ("Jaws") a good actor who somehow ended in B-movies appears here for about 5 minutes , but gives an adequate performance. Same goes for Joanna Pacula ("Gorky park"). Too bad that the sex scene was cut out of the movie. The worst performance belongs to Elizabeth Sheppard who painfully overacts and the best to Jan Rubes who is truly demonic Nazi.

This is definitely not a boring movie or the worst movie I have seen. If you want entertainment without quality you might watch it. Otherwise , just skip it. I give it 2/10.

Okay we got a story lets funk it up the idea is great for a book by for example Graham. We have the plot the diamanté everybody wants it and blah blah we got some great deaths scenes but thats it the story gets blurry from the very beginning (ok we all know the story but the filmmaker tell's it pretty poorly) the possible best scene is the pool scene with the uncles head but a dead man just don't bleed. i suck at writing comments but believe me i had 2 bottles of wine before i watch this movie and it doesn't even get good so get a bottle of hard alcohol before you start this movie.

It's a time killer and nothing more