Sabotage (1996)

Best movie ever!

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

"The Dark Heart Of The Black Ops Beats To A Secret Agenda..." "Sabotage" is a fantastic action movie. The plot: Michael Bishop (Dacascos) is an ex-army commando, who after almost getting killed, is asked to become a bodyguard for an arms dealer. After a routine pick-up at the airport, the dealer is killed by Sherwood(Todd), an assassin for the government. Bishop is blamed and he's on the run.The plot description doesn't do it justice. This movie is an action-packed thrill ride. This is one the first movies to use the "bullet time" effects. This was made three years before the "The Matrix". The whole cast does a great job. The standout is Tony Todd as Sherwood. He's so evil, you just want to kill him every time he's on screen. This is one of Dacascos' best movies. ("Drive" is another Direct-To-Video Classic).There is a lot of energy and thought put into the action sequences. The ice rink fight and the climax are just so cool."Sabotage" is highly recommended! For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Within the context of the independent action film, Sabotage is better than most. The fine cast includes Marc Dacascos (Brotherhood of the Wolf), Carrie Anne Moss (The Matrix of course), Graham Greene (Thunderheart), and Tony Todd (Enemy Territory). Marc plays the lead nicely though there's not much in the way of martial arts (one fight I believe). Carrie Anne is always easy on the eyes and a good actor. Graham usually plays a good guy but is convincing here as a villain. I once viewed Tony Todd as sometimes "hammy" in his performances but recently watched him in this and another film (the Night of the Living Dead remake) and now recognize my shortsightedness, I have to say he is really an underrated actor. The staging of a couple of the action sequences is impressive. Overall well worth a view even with a slightly convoluted storyline. One thing that is amusing is how Marc's character keeps abandoning injured people to go tearing after the villains, he doesn't even check the fallen for a pulse! The wounded may not survive their injuries but at least their killers will face justice!

I'm not sure how anyone could give this 10 out of 10. There is a good film somewhere in there but it never seems to come out. Everything is average. The main actors have done much better work elsewhere. One looked forward to Mark Dacascos, Carrie-Ann Moss and Tony Todd in the same film, going head to head, so a disappointment then. The ending was good however.It is always good however to see John Neville in a film. He never made nearly enough films. His Sherlock Holmes in 'A Study in Terror' and his Baron Munchausen in the Terry Gilliam film, made years apart, are good indicators of his potential as a great film actor. Theatre gained and movies lost his abilities along the way.The title of the film seemed plucked out of a hat. I could not work out why it was called 'Sabotage'. Any suggestions?

In my opinion, this film is a hidden gem. Although some may find the plot line a trifle tortuous, this is more than compensated for by the film's realistic feel and likeable cast.As the film is not effects-heavy (thanks to a lower than blockbuster budget) attention has instead been paid to creating a believable environment rather than a showy one. The film appears to have the benefit of a good military advisor - firearms & combat sequences are particularly well executed and accurately represented.Directional cues are used to good effect to allow us to follow the hero's train of thought in pivotal situations, and I was particularly pleased not to see the usual overindulgent "victim setup" sequences which tend to plague many films in this genre.Neither is this a film which plays down to the audience by stating and restating the obvious; it's refreshing to watch a film which actually credits the viewer with some degree of independent thought!Although "Sabotage" definitely inclines more towards Len Deighton than Ian Fleming, Mark Dacascos makes a very credible leading man, with his character having just enough background development to lend credibility to his actions, rather than swamping us with "flawed hero" cliches.This film was obviously never going to break any box office records, but it does show very clearly that you can still have a good film without resorting to the visual overkill of big budget effects.