Consequence

"Consequence" sticks Asante in the center of a convoluted noirish mystery-suspense-drama about a man who does an identity switch to collect insurance money and finds himself with a small army of bad guys on his tail. Obviously a low budget B-flick with Cape Town standing in for San Diego, the creative folks behind this flick do a good job of camouflaging the many plot holes, tight crops, and other obvious cost savers with a busy succession of intrigues, surprises, action, babes, etc all the way to the conclusion. When all is said and done, this little tv flick plays out as an entertaining couch potato no brainer. Currently on HBO. (B-)

Without top caliber acting by Assante and Shroder I would characterize this as a poor man's Soderbergh film. It just can not seem to decide its identity. Some scenes (I suppose shot early when the money was plentiful) have a jazzy soundtrack and innovative photography (a la Out of Sight), while most have a distinctly Made-For-TV feel (Think of most films from Rob Lowe, Craig Scheffer, or Eric Stolz made in the past decade). In fact, I would say that watching this on TV, for free, is the only venue in which this film can be enjoyed. 5.5 / 10 stars.

I found myself liking this movie much more than I thought I would. It seems to be a basic B-movie thriller with a couple of aging, no-longer-in-demand stars. As it turns out it is highly entertaining, despite a few plot holes, and a smidgen of predictability. You'd think he would mail it in on something like this, but Armand Assante really gets a chance to show his chops in this one. Rick Schroder comes across as sufficiently menacing. Nadia Kretschmer was good enough in a semi-small part. I was just about blown away Lola Glaudini. I had never heard of her before, but she is awesomely beautiful, and totally nailed her role, a character that was not particularly likable. The director, one Anthony Hickox, nearly ruined the film with show-off directorial effects. I am sure he will sink further into well-deserved obscurity. If you can get past the directing, though, I think you might enjoy this movie.

This one keeps you stuck in your seat with enough twists and turns and sudden swerves -- I think of Pulp Fiction with more blood -- plus an absolutely delightful VW Beetle escape drive at one point. The deadpan Assante signature works this time.

Cool action and an interesting story holding it all together. Rick Schroder and Lola have some great scenes together. I like the role reversals too: Armand playing the good guy for once and Ricky the villain.

It's definitely a movie where you have to pay attention in the open. A lot of set up and it moves pretty quickly.