Ditch Brodie is a maverick skydiving instructor. One day, a beautiful girl comes in, wanting to take her first jump. Up in the air, Ditch takes his eyes off her momentarily, then looks back to find out that she has fallen out, dying on impact. Ditch is suspicious that all is not as it seems, because he distinctly remembers hooking her static line on… A maverick skydiver and a former KGB agent team up to stop the Russian mafia from stealing gold. Aaaah, what can I say about yet another action movie whose story must have been made up by a drunk and unemployed screenwriter with writers block. I'm sorry if that sounds a bit too hard for some people or if you are a big fan of this movie (it's not because I don't like it that you can't love it of course), but this movie really had nothing to offer that blew me away. I don't know why, but somehow it is almost impossible to find an action movie with a decent script or story.<br/><br/>It's the same problem with this movie: Ditch Brodie (Charlie Sheen) is a maverick skydiving instructor with a reputation that has made of him a first page news item for several times, but that will also cost him his job very soon. One fine day, a pretty girl steps into his office, asking to learn her skydiving. Of course he doesn't say no and he takes her with him on her first dive. But than he makes a fatal mistake, he loses her out of sight for one moment and before he knows what is happening she falls out of the airplane, without having opened her parachute, right to a gruesome death. When he is accused of man slaughter because he didn't attach her static line, he starts an investigation himself, finding out that she had something to do with the KGB and the Russian Mafia who are trying to steal gold from an airplane.<br/><br/>Normally this movie would have gone by me completely unnoticed, but because Charlie Sheen, Nastassja Kinski and James Gandolfini were in it, I gave it a try. The acting isn't too bad for the three actors that I just mentioned (although not excellent either), but the others really never exceed the level of the average action flick. In my opinion this movie isn't very good, but at least it isn't as bad as a Steven Seagal or Jean-Claude Van Damme film. I give it a 5/10. Terminal Velocity doesn't have much to say, but it doesn't have to. There is lots of action and violence that somehow stays a step away from becoming gross. Charlie Sheen plays his part with his tongue firmly in his cheek, but manages to avoid being a complete parody of his "Hot Shot" parody characters. Nastassja Kinski is easy to look at while she does her best to assume the role of a tough spy/cop. The breathtaking climactic action scene in the sky is worth the investment of an evening and the rental fee, even if the sappy ending serves to remind us that movies like this don't really narrate story – they just circle like an amusement park ride and drop us off exactly where we got on.
Marrebb replied
372 weeks ago