Bound by Lies

In this strictly paint-by-numbers direct to video thriller, Detective Max Garret (Stephen Baldwin) is assigned to protect Laura Cross (Kristy 'I STILL refuse to get nude' Swanson). Of course even though he's married to a stunning women, he feels chemistry with Laura and vice versa. It's not really that interesting when red herrings are thrown at the viewer AFTER you know who the killer is. This film was tedious to sit through and extremely uninvolving. All the actors were just going through the paces. When i found out one of the writers was responsible for the dreck known as "Naked Lies" it all clicked into place. No wonder the film was so bad. It's like a Skinamax erotic thriller WITHOUT the sex (there IS one scene but it's VERY tame) IE. totally worthless.

Eye Candy: Gladys Jimenez gets topless, but her scenes in "Blowback" were better

My Grade: D-

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.

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!

I just saw a copy of this movie and it was awful. Nice camera work and clean edits made for a vast comparison with the weak plot and horrible acting by these b-movie stars. The only thing one could hope for is to see Kristy Swanson get naked, which she didn't even do (three years after her Playboy shoot she has packed on a few more pounds which is probably the reason!)

To even think of this movie as a thriller is impossible: the focus is more on the Baldwin and Swanson characters rather than developing a true thriller plot of who is killing all these people.

Overall don't waste two hours of your time, life is far too valuable.