Critical Mass (2001)

Critical Mass (2001)- *1\2

Directed by: Fred Olen Ray

Starring: Treat Williams, Lori Loughlin, Andrew Prine, David "Shark" Fralick and Udo Kier

Mike Jeffers (Treat) is a humble security guard at the San Miguel nuclear power plant. When the self-serving, vain Senator Cook (Prine) and his press secretary, Janine (Loughlin) arrive at the plant with a camera crew in tow for a tour of the plant, Jeffers is put in charge of said tour. There’s only one problem with the Senator’s jaunt – the arrival of a gang of international terrorists led by Samson (Kier) and his second in command, Rand (Fralick). They threaten to blow up the plant if their demands aren’t met. Naturally, that means Jeffers and Janine have to try, against all odds, to save the day. With no help from Washington, our heroes are alone in the face of overwhelming odds. Will they triumph, or will all of the sheer stupidity on show reach CRITICAL MASS?

Another day, another “DieHardInA” movie. These Die Hard (1988) knockoffs are so common in the DTV world, even ones set at nuclear power plants are a cottage industry unto themselves. For a more complete list of them, please see our Sudden Death (1995) review. This particular run-through of the classic Die Hard scenario is probably most similar to Deadly Outbreak (1995) and the Jerry Trimble outing Stranglehold (1994). It even borrows (?) the plot device of having a politician visit the facility before it’s taken hold of by the baddies. While we’re not entirely sure if director Fred Olen Ray saw Stranglehold, he’s certainly not afraid of borrowing ideas. Or footage.

It seemed to be common practice, starting in the early 2000’s as DTV movies started to go downhill, for filmmakers to borrow footage from other movies, particularly the bigger setpieces the lower budget versions couldn’t afford. It happened in Rangers (2000), it happened in Gale Force (2002), it happened in Extreme Limits (2000), and now it’s happening here. Anyone who has seen Terminator 2 (1991) or Universal Soldier (1992) will know when those scenes are intermixed with the more recently-shot stuff. Samson and his fellow baddies even steal their nuclear material from Cyberdyne Systems. Did they have to get permission to use that name? Isn’t that copyrighted material? Nevertheless, old footage of people shooting guns and blowing up stuff is interpolated with new footage of people shooting guns and blowing up stuff. Think of Fred Olen Ray as a bartender and here he’s making a cinematic Shandy. 

We love Udo Kier (or Udo Dirkschneider, or anyone named Udo), and he does his best, but of course he plays the typical Eurotrash baddie with an accent that means he’s evil. Just as Christopher Plummer did in Crackerjack (1994) or as pretty much any baddie has in any Die Hard knockoff. So that cliché remains unchanged. As has the “he’s just the security guard!” cliché, modified from Under Siege (1992) and its “he’s just the chef!” line of thinking.

Besides Critical Mass’s stubborn and out-and-out refusal to come up with any remotely original ideas, the main problem, really, is that it is repetitive and very, very dumb. Halfway through the movie you feel like you’ve been watching it for four hours because you’ve seen this type of movie so many times before in your life. It just starts to pile on at about that point. Even the great and mighty Treat Williams can’t salvage things. No one’s bigger Treat fans than us. He’s charming, likable, and a very capable hero. He’s even from the great state of Connecticut. But despite all that, Critical Mass’s monolithic wall of stupidity is just too all-encompassing for even Treat to surmount. 

We were happy to see Lori Loughlin on board, and this is certainly a departure from Full House, and the other character actors are quite good, but come on…ANOTHER “DieHardInA”? We would say to the filmmakers churning out this crud: Give us, as viewers, a little more credit. Don’t you think we’re tired of the same-old same-old? Don’t you think we can handle something a little more challenging; something with a tad bit of originality? Are we really supposed to be going back to the same old slop again and again? On the bright side, though, the key to Samson’s world domination and nuclear supremacy looks like the inanimate carbon rod from that episode of The Simpsons.

Sadly, despite the actors that are on board who put forth their best, Critical Mass is a dud. It’s a prime example that DTV was out of its glory days of the 80’s and 90’s and had entered its period of doldrums.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett 

Operation Rogue (2014)

Operation Rogue (2014)- * * *

Directed by: Brian Clyde

Starring: Mark Dacascos, Sofia Pernas, Henry Strzalkowski, and Treat Williams













  In the jungles of the Philippines, General Hank Wallace (Treat) and Captain Max Randall (Dacascos) are fighting terrorists. The baddies finally go too far when they kidnap Jenna Wallace (Pernas), the General’s daughter and Max’s love interest. Wallace tells Max and his team to find her at any cost - but it just may be their lives. Thankfully, Jenna is a “former Marine” (despite the fact that she looks far too young to be a former anything) so she can handle herself well under fire. 

Presumably this would be the case if Treat Williams was your father. In the immortal words of that movie we haven’t seen as of this writing, will our heroes GET THE TERRORISTS? Or will the forces of evil prevail? Find out today...

Did you know that the Philippines have Islamic extremist terrorists too? Well, they do, and that comes as quite a gift for the Roger Corman factory. For them, this is a win-win. They can stay topical as well as film movies there like they did in the old days. Clearly the baddies in this movie are based on a real Philippine terror group called MILF, which stands for Moro Islamic Liberation Front. 
Again, this is the name of a REAL terror group, and you can look it up if you don’t believe it. 

So, who better to fight these guys than fan favorites Treat Williams and Mark Dacascos? Speaking of the aforementioned old days, the past is clearly an inspiration to the filmmakers here, as the structure of this movie is very much like the Cirio Santiago-directed jungle epics of yore. It’s nice that they’re still making movies like this in 2014-2015, and we give everyone involved due credit for that. But it’s a double-edged sword...

Sure, we appreciate that this movie is after the fashion of so many we’ve watched on VHS, but the other side of the coin is that it can get very samey, like we’ve seen all this many times before. Even the casting of our heroes Treat Williams and Mark Dacascos  (as well as Philippine mainstay Henry Strzalkowski) serve to reinforce this fact. 

This is a movie that wishes it came out around 1994, give or take 5 years or so, and we say good on ya, but it does tend to get a bit run of the mill.  Director Brian Clyde also did the very, very similar The Hunt for Eagle One (2006), but in that case Dacascos’s General was Rutger Hauer, not Treat Williams. 

Naturally, the shooting, beat-ups, and blow-ups are all present and accounted for, with what looks like minimal CGI, to the movie’s eternal credit. A helicopter and a few huts even explode as well, reinforcing the old (ish) school vibe. But this is a movie that very much fits the standard, and is neither good nor bad. It just is.

Featuring an amusingly abrupt ending that seems like it was recycled from footage from something else, as if they didn’t have the time, money or inclination to bother with a denoument, Operation Rogue fits in well with others of its ilk. If you like them, you’ll like this. If you don’t, you won’t. It’s as simple as that, which is fitting, as simplicity seems to be the order of the day here.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett 

Extreme Limits (2000)

Extreme Limits (2000)-*

AKA: Crash Point Zero

Directed By: Jim Wynorski

Starring: Treat Williams and Richard Riehle













Before I start my review I should give some history of the director of this mess: Jim Wynorski. He goes under many pseudonyms: Jay Andrews (His usual hide name) H.R. Blueberry, Harold Blueberry, and Bob E. Brown (Heh-Heh). He also uses stock footage from other movies. I'll get to that... now to my review already in progress...

Treat! No! How could you, man! You're really hurtin' for cash I see.

The plot: A plane carrying a doomsday device is stranded near a mountain and FBI agent Jason Ross (Williams) has to save some people before the world explodes.



Wow, this movie is cheap! There are scenes lifted wholesale from The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) and Cliffhanger (1993). Not ripoffs, but the actual scene! What they DID film is rubbish. All the actors (except Treat) are awful and need to rip up their "SAG" cards. There's one scene with a bear that's hilarious! You can plainly see there's a man in the suit.

Unfortunately, Treat made another movie with Jim: Gale Force (2002). Don't get me started about the movies Treat made with Fred Olen Ray, Critical Mass (2000) and Venomous (2001) .

Prince Of The City (1981), Deadly Matrimony (1992), and even Third Degree Burn (1989) are better than this. Don't punish yourself like I did.


Comeuppance Review by: Ty

Substitute 4: Failure Is Not An Option (2001)

Substitute 4: Failure Is Not An Option (2001) -*1\2

Directed By: Robert Radler

Starring: Treat Williams, Angie Everhart, Tim Abell, Patrick Kilpatrick, Simon Rhee, and Bill Nunn














This is the weakest entry in the "Substitute" series. The third one is the best.




Karl Thomasson (The Treatster) has to infiltrate (Again! Why does Karl keep doing this?) a white supremacy gang run by Brack (Patrick Kilpatrick) in a military base.




"White Power" is of course uttered. Repeatedly. Can Karl save the base from total Aryan destruction?




This movie is an excellent definition of "Going off the rails". Treat is good as usual, but he can't save the film. Even Angie Everhart's nudity can't save it. It's a disappointment. The action scenes feel rushed and the viewer gets the feeling that no one's heart was in this project.









Bill Nunn makes an appearance as a local weirdo named Luther. He does nothing except beg for our pity. He said yes to the odd role probably as a favor to Williams.




Treat has seen better days. Watch Prince Of The City (1981), Flashpoint (1984), or Handgun (1994) for some better Treats.
Comeuppance Review by: Ty

Substitute 3: Winner Takes All (1999)

Substitute 3: Winner Takes All (1999) -* * *

Directed By: Robert Radler

Starring: Treat Williams, Richard Portnow, and Claudia Christian 










The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All is the best "Substitute" sequel. Karl Thomasson (Williams) is back in action. He (once again) goes undercover to foil a mobster's scheme to give high school students steroids.... and avenge a fellow teacher's brutal beating.

What's great about this sequel is that there's effort put into this. The action scenes are plentiful and Treat handles himself well during the hand-to-hand combat.

The bad guys are over-the-top, and Thomasson's mercenary crew has at least half a dimension. Of course, the movie is weak script-wise, but it overcomes that with the usual professionalism of Treat.



Unfortunately, The Substitute 4: Failure Is Not An Option (2001) is a pretty poor follow-up. Avoid that one.

If you are a Treat completist, watch this. If not, you may or may not enjoy the fun action.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty

Substitute 2: School's Out (1998)

Substitute 2: School's Out (1998)- * *1\2

Directed By: Steven Pearl

Starring: Treat Williams, Chuck Jeffreys, Eugene Byrd, and B.D. Wong








The Substitute 2 is decent but not as good as the third one. Treat plays Karl Thomasson, a mercenary who infiltrates a school full of ruffians and drug dealers. It's just like the predecessor but cheaper.

I'm one of the biggest Treat Williams fans. I will watch basically anything with him in it (except Miss Congeniality 2). This is a good showcase for him, but the DTV-style script lets him down. B.D. Wong plays the shop teacher - wait for it -who's evil! His role is uneven and underdeveloped. A standout moment is when Karl whips into his bratty students into shape with, what else, a deadly yo-yo! The movie needed more creative ideas like this, but unfortunately there's no funny lines like "No Talking In The Library" to make up for the lack of inventiveness. 

A good tagline could be: "Class Dismissed....Permanently"

If you like DTV Treat, this a good start, but The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All (1999) is the best one of this series.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty

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