Wolff rating: GOOD
Plot summary: Convict released from prison decides to take his dead cell-mate's place, but finds the beautiful penpal his cell-mate had has some baggage, including a violent, criminal brother.
Biased, pithy comments: So, the rumor-mill on this flick was that it didn't work. It was apparent from the Christmas theme and post-Christmas release date that the studio didn't think it was going to fly. Yet, strangely, I enjoyed the heck out of it, since I think I recognized very early on that this was a B-movie with a budget, not an A-grade thriller that didn't fly. Affleck really seemed to believe in his situation (despite his weak backstory), Sinse can play his part in his sleep, and Theron is pretty easy on the eyes (if not, in my humble opinion, a great actress). In a movie like this, where claustrophobia and tension are everything, you have to make sure the audience believes the hero (or anti-hero, in this case) is trapped despite his best efforts, and that the clever things he does to escape come from within him, not externally. The script delivers---I never thought ``Shoot the girl and make good your escape!'' like I did with ``Speed 2.'' Having said that, it's no ``Die Hard,'' nor is it (as I can imagine the screenwriter and director thinking on the way into the project) a clever rumination on the nature of trust. No, it's a fast-paced, lower-budget action film with good leads that doesn't have vast plot holes (well, at least while you're watching it; you might think of some while delving into the refridgerator afterwards). There are so few well-acted, largely-well-thought-out low-budget action films out there as compared to direct-to-video junkers that you have to give the filmmakers plaudits for what they did. However, don't keep those expectations *too* high; it's just a guilty pleasure.
Other Notes: Issac Hayes! Yeah! OK, the last montage didn't totally make sense---that particular survivor (and I'm not saying who it is) should have shed his Santa costume and burned it, but hey, it was doing great up until that point. Boy, I'm alone on this one. Well, you have to champion some movies that people hate or you're not a true critic, I say.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Ben Affleck, Charlize Theron, Gary Sinise.
Directed by: John Frankenheimer