Bound by Lies

After a suspension of six months for disrespect to the chain of command in the police force, detective Max Garrett (Stephen Baldwin) is assigned to work with Lieutenant Eddie Fulton (Charles Malik Whitfield) in a murder case in another precinct. Both have the mission of protecting the photographer Laura Cross (Kristy Swanson) from the prime suspect of the crime, the super Gus Boyle (Kevin Chamberlin). Max is having troubles in his marriage with his wife Diana (Gladys Jimenez), who misses him, and the proximity with the gorgeous and seductive Laura is deeply affecting him.

"Betrayed" is a clear rip-off of Ridley Scott's underrated masterpiece "Someone to Watch Over Me" (1987). In both movies, there is a married detective assigned to protect a beautiful woman and falling for her. Even the situation where the wife is kidnapped by the criminal is identical. The character Max Garret is awfully developed by the weak Stephen Baldwin, and in the end worth to watch this movie only because of the beauty of thirty-nine years old Kristy Swanson, the original Buffy and the teenager Samantha of the unforgettable "Deadly Friend" and still extremely beautiful. It also calls the attention the number of different worldwide titles this forgettable movie has ("Betrayed", "Bound by Lies", "The Long Dark Kiss", "Os Mistérios de Laura Cross" ). My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Os Mistérios de Laura Cross" ("The Mysteries of Laura Cross")

There isn't much to say about this C-Grade "thriller" really. Released as "Betrayed" in New Zealand, the DVD cover which is a homage to "Basic Instinct" is somewhat misleading, for while "Basic Instinct" was no masterpiece, it wasn't as terrible as this film. The plot is very weak, the settings plastic, the score terrible and the dialogue cheesy. The leads, Stephen Baldwin and Kristy Swanson are just going through the motions, though they do hold the film together, and Swanson looks very healthy. The rest of the cast are appalling, in particular the actors that play Baldwin's wife and fellow detective. So unless you want to watch C-Grade "thrillers" then don't actively seek out this film.

This clunker-stinker was just on ShowTime Too ... thank goodness I was actually working on the computer! Just hearing the insipid banter, throughout this waste of celluloid, was enough to make me actually BEG my wife to turn it off. She replied: (many times) "I can't turn away from this train-wreck!" And, yes, as noted by another poor reviewer who lost two hours of his life; even a bloated Kristy Swanson couldn't rescue this film version of nails on a blackboard. And as for Baldwin ... I don't think any explanation is needed? I would suggest that two hours of watching the Weather Channel is time better spent; you might actually catch a plot line and the ending will be far better!

What is acting? Will you find it here? Is it too harsh judging the people involved in this, because of the script/direction? Are any of the twists worth your while? The answers to those question can only be given by yourself. And while the Baldwin involved in this, has made a name in movies like this, the question is, if you have the time and strength to watch this.

It's not that the characters are despicable from the get go. But while the movie progresses and relationships get established you do wonder, why you're still watching this. Now if you meant to watch this, because it promises sizzling erotic and/or nudity, you can also forget about that. While the main actress might appeal to many (men and women respectively), her character is all over the place and does not help the viewer understand what the other characters are going through because of her ... Not recommendable ...

There are two classes of people who will love this film - Stephen Baldwin fans and Gladys Jimenez fans. All others are bound to be bored.

Baldwin plays a cop (Max Garrett) who is dangerously close to being kicked out. He is assigned to watch Laura (Kristy Swanson) and protect her from a crazed killer. You'll know who the killer is in the first five minutes, so there are only two questions to be answered: will the killer get Laura, and will Baldwin get Swanson, who continues to remain nudity-free after 55 films.

Well, there is a third question that begs to be answered: why the heck would Garrett want Swanson when he has Gladys Jimenez at home? She has no problems showing us what made her famous in films like Blowback and Secrets of a Chambermaid. She gave that up to become a soap star, but we get another view in this film.

We know that Garrett is not gay like we suspect Dr. Doolittle is, but he certainly has his priorities crossed. Get home, jerk, Jimenez is waiting!