Tripwire (1990)

Director:

James Lemmo

Writers:

B.J. Goldman (writer)
William Lustig (story)

Release Date:

January 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A terrorist (Warner) and an FBI agent (Knox) fight out a personal feud with one another. |

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | Dead Boy | Murder | Government Agent | Terrorism

Cast

Terence Knox	...	Jack DeForest
David Warner	...	Josef Szabo
Isabella Hofmann	...	Annie
Charlotte Lewis	...	Trudy
Andras Jones	...	Rick DeForest
Sy Richardson	...	Turbo
Marco Rodríguez	...	El Tigre
Viggo Mortensen	...	Hans
Yaphet Kotto	...	Lee Pitt
Tommy Chong	...	Merle Shine
Meg Foster	...	Julia
Dean Tokuno	...	Mizoguchi
Jon Richard Platten	...	Major Riley
Richard Stay	...	Jeff Szabo
Lou Bonacki	...	Reese

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 | USA:R | UK:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Company:

Cinetel Films

A surprisingly well-made action film that delivers the goods.

Ruthless international mercenaries trained to kill have decided to hijack a speeding railroad train loaded with a full arsenal of powerful military weaponry capable of threatening world peace... The only hero who can intercept the villains' scheme for world domination through the endangering of the human population is the irascible Jack DeForest (Terence Knox). He's an over-the-counter secret agent working for the U.S. Government who must thwart left-wing terrorists led by Josef Szabo (the ever-reliable David Warner).

However, the battle between good and evil has escalated into a personal fight of reprisal when DeForest accidentally dispatches the son of the notorious terrorist Szabo. This gruesome murder of the terrorist leader's loved one has instigated plenty of evil's unprecedented wrath! Seeking an all out retribution, Szabo launches an attack pinpointing DeForest's family...resulting in the untimely murder of Jack's wife and the abduction of their only teenage son...

Now, DeForest must fight not only for his country...but for the one he truly cares about...

TRIPWIRE will not win any awards for creativity, novelty in the storyline or even for longevity. TRIPWIRE, unfortunately will not stand the test of time. Thanks to this film's dearth of originality, it will relinquish on the video shelves along with hundreds of mind-boggling action films.

That, having been said, I was pleasantly surprised to find TRIPWIRE to be a not-so-bad thriller. TRIPWIRE is an action-packed tale with lots of standout moments from the eye-opening intro involving breathtaking motorcycle stunts to the taunting conclusion. The exhilarating skimobile pursuit between the protagonist and a fugitive is fun to watch as well.

TRIPWIRE is a complex thriller which entertains just as easily. Character development is rather innovative throughout, with DeForest's son as among the best characters. The actor is great portraying a troubled teen. David Warner as well chews the scenery as a hard-bitten, very bitter terrorist who vows revenge on the one responsible for the untimely murder of his son.

Considering this movie's limitations with its low budget and the anonymity of this motion picture to the general public, TRIPWIRE is a well done action film with an even pace and characters who are not so repellent. The film is on-target all the way from the explosive, high-caliber overture to the screen's fade out... This movie is worth a look for genre fans.

RATING: **1/2 out of ****.