Wrong Turn at Tahoe

Call me a product of the ADD age, but it's not very often these days that I'll actually sit through an entire movie without at least fast forwarding through some parts (you know, like the de rigeur musical montage in romantic comedies). And when I saw Cuba Gooding's name in the opening credits, I seriously considered putting an end to the movie and to my misery right there and then (I still have nightmares about his and Christian Slater's disastrous last effort at movie-making). And yet, as the movie developed, I found myself drawn into the plot and the characters. Mind you, this film is not a treatise on either. The plot and characters are rather simple, and we only get brief glimpses into the origins of the relationship between Cuba's character and that of his boss, but it's all we need. The rest is like a good old fashioned shootout at the OK corral. All in all, I'd say this movie was every bit as good as The Departed, minus the star cast and director.

WRONG TURN AT TAHOE is a straightforward low budget crime thriller boasting a decent cast, lots of action and incident, and a familiar but well-worked storyline. It's about a small time crook who accidentally bumps off the wrong person and subsequently finds himself the subject of a vendetta by a big shot crime boss.

Such story lines are ten a penny, but WRONG TURN AT TAHOE does well with the material by focusing on the nuts and bolts action of the piece. There's a whole host of well-shot violence here, and a short running time that means the film never outstays its welcome. Plus, the casting of the underrated Miguel Ferrer (ROBOCOP) in a lead role is an inspired one, as this actor gets far too little screen time given his undeniable talent. Okay, Cuba Gooding Jr. is acceptable at best, but Harvey Keitel has fun with a small but grandstanding role.

Small time gangster takes on Big time gangster the story has been down countless times before, but when its done well as here, makes for a good watch. Small budget and reflected in a fairly low profile cast, CG-Jr and Ferrer along with Keitel all make sound convincing performances. The violence is brutal and the characters harsh but convincing, certainly seen worse big budget examples of the genre getting their shot on the big screen. Don't expect anything ground breaking plot-wise but fans of the gangster flick wont be disappointed with the gritty realism, slick action sequences and unobtrusive soundtrack.

This is one of those films that flew under the radar... WAY better than I thought it was gonna be .This movie was done well compared to others of similar 'direct-to-video' design. The introduction start dramatic and sets the stage for a action packed gangster flick. The editing was done well with seamless transitions from scene to scene. The story line played out on screen with very few bumps in the road. The cast and crew were impressive especially considering the low budget used to bring this vision to the video store light of day. Honestly, there are times you forget that this is a low budget B flick with consistently great acting by Cuba Gooding Jr

Thoroughly agree with Wizard 8; a tidy and unpretentious little gangster flick with solid performance from all the players. Miguel Ferrer does indeed hold the screen as a hard man living by a set of questionable principles, but Cuba Gooding is no slouch as the right hand man approaching a personal crossroads in life. The legendary Harvey Keitel just has to turn up on this one. The plot is fairly simple, the dialogue punchy, and it just moves right along. Not for the kids please – too violent - but it certainly deserves an adult look. It doesn't pretend to be Godfather Part 2 - what you see is what you get. Good flick.