Trespass (1992) User Reviews

Im not leaving without that gold!!!

[eddiemetal1 · 7/10 · 29 September 2003]

i was flicking thru tv channels when i came upon this film playing a few years back, im a big bill paxton fan so sat down and watched it, im glad i did as its great. basically it boils down to 2 fireman (paxton and sandler)getting hold of a map that shows a trove of gold which is buried in a warehouse on wasteland. they go to find it at and get interupted by a gang fued in the same warehouse they are in. the gang (ice-t, ice cube among others) find out why they are there and a standoff ensues leading to gunfire and carnage.....SWEET!

good acting throughout from all concerned (including lesser known stars). it is a simple idea for a film played out very well with lots of tension and bursts of violence.

it features a good rap soundtrack by the stars in the film too (considering im a metal fan and dont like much rap thats kinda shows its not too bad hehe)

well worth watching, i've just got to find it on dvd now hehe

Enjoyable enough for what it is.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 2 September 2008]

Trespass starts in Arkansas where two firemen Vince (Bill Paxton) & Don (William Sadler) stumble across a map showing the whereabouts of millions in stolen gold while putting out a huge fire, together they decide to find the gold for themselves & get rich. The map leads the pair to East St. Louis & an old abandoned factory, once there they start looking for the gold. Meanwhile local gangster King James (Ice-T) & his gang kill a rival who has ripped them off thinking no-one would be at the abandoned factory. Vince & Don witness the murder & are seen by King James & his gang, thinking fast Don takes a hostage & barricades himself & Vince a in a secure room. For the time being they are safe as there is no way into the room but at the same time there is no way out either so Vince & Don are trapped as King James & his men outside try to get into the room & kill them...

Directed by Walter Hill this is an entertaining little action thriller that I quite liked. The script by executive producers Bob Gale & Robert Zemeckis could be described as a more urban version of Panic Room (2002), only a decade earlier. The basic plot which really isn't too dissimilar to Panic Room is very good & I liked it, it's one of those plots where you tend to put yourself in certain character's positions & think about what you would do in their situation. Whether you would go hunting for the gold or how you would get out of the room without getting killed by the gangsters Trespass has a good story that holds your attention & definitely keeps you interested until the end. The character's are good if a little too simple, they are either good or bad with nothing between really although Don has a certain darker side. The script is fairly pacey although I must say that it can get a little repetitive at times, once Vince & Don are trapped in the room the film never really goes anywhere else & there aren't any sub-plots or anything else going on. The script also tries to throw in some moral dilemmas, in particular Vince & Don have millions in gold but it's completely worthless since they are more than likely going to be killed, it has a stab at trying to say money isn't everything & greed will ultimately lead to ones downfall. I suspect the main reason why Trespass isn't more well known is that there's a distinct lack of big action set-pieces, there's some shoot-outs & some scenes of buildings on fire but little else in the way of action. So what it boils down to really is whether you want lots of action or can get by with just a good solid intriguing plot, overall I liked Trespass but it's not a film I would probably want to watch again anytime soon.

Set almost entirely in an abandoned factory the film looks nice enough & the action is well choreographed. I suppose it's a fairly unremarkable film that won't last long in the memory in terms of looks & visual style but the plot does stand out & is something a little bit different. The violence is not excessive, a few people get shot & someone gets pushed off a roof. There is however lots of profanity as all the black gangsters swear like it's a religion, in fact all the language does get a little tedious & tiresome after a while. Just because you can say the 'F' word several times in a sentence doesn't mean you are hard.

Although set in St. Louis it was apparently shot on location in Memphis in Tennessee & Atlanta in Georgia. I must say that I am big fans of both Bill Paxton & William Sadler & I think they are both very good in this while the two named after small blocks of frozen water Ice-T & Ice Cube swear a lot. One of very few films not to feature a single woman during it's running time at all.

Trespass is a good tight little taught thriller with some nice action as well, the story is good & I liked it but it does get a little repetitive at times & if you can't get into the story then you will end up hating it.

Who's going to call the cops? The pigeons or the rats?

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 13 February 2012]

Trespass is directed by Walter Hill and written by Bob gale and Robert Zemeckis. It stars Bill Paxton, Ice-T, William Sadler and Ice Cube. Music is by Ry Cooder and cinematography by Lloyd Ahern II. Plot finds Sadler and Paxton as two fireman who learn of stolen treasure hidden in a disused building in East St. Louis. Upon arriving there they begin their search but are interrupted when a gang led by Ice-T's King James decides to use the building to execute an enemy. A stand off ensues....

It was held back from release under its original title of "The Looters" due to the L.A. riots in the summer of 92. Where under its new title it was released at Christmas and promptly bombed at the box office. A shame since it's a taut and claustrophobic thriller crafted with knowing skill by Walter Hill. Clearly an urban take on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, with dashes of Rio Bravo thrown in for good measure, film makes the most of the premise without using pointless filler and by not being afraid to up the racial hatred aspects of the stand off. Hill's construction of the action is first rate and smooth, and the cast are firing on all cylinders to make the material work in what is practically a one location picture. 7/10

Better than I was expecting

[ateelah · 23 June 2003]

I saw this film recently on cable and found myself more intrigued by it than I thought I would be. I hadn't heard anything about this movie so I really didn't know what to expect. It ended up being much better than I expected and, while not a great film, it is certainly one I wouldn't mind watching again. I recognized the elements of "Treasure of Sierra Madre" without having any information about the film. I've since learned that it was indeed echoing Huston's film.

I had no problem with the actors and actually found some of the conflicts on both sides interesting. Even some of the "bad guys" were struggling to deal with decisions they didn't necessarily agree with. I didn't really see the characters as all bad or all good. Each had their own demons that they brought with them and they were all susceptible to the lure of gold.

A lesson in greed

[allmagic-1 · 7/10 · 10 October 2003]

I thought this movie was very well done and didn't recieve the attention it deserves. I saw it a long time ago and have asked my video store to get it in stock on DVD so I can again rent it. I can't even find it for purchase through Columbia House! Great movie!

Simple good action fun.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 7/10 · 27 June 2012]

This is a movie perhaps more in the vein of a silly '80's genre flick, that is heavy on the fun and action but not really on its story.

In this case however it's a good thing that the movie doesn't have a too complicated story in it. It's actually being one of the movie its strengths that the movie has a simple story to it, that doesn't ever make things needlessly complicated or hard and annoying to follow.

The story is mostly being kept simple by the fact that most of the movie is taking place at just one location; an old abandoned factory. And the movie doesn't need an awful lot more than that, to simply create a good and fun action flick with. It uses its settings well and handles its concept in a good and original way. The movie is still filled with plenty of surprises, in terms of that you just never really know what will happen next or how the movie shall eventually end.

It never really makes this a boring or tiresome movie to watch. There is always something happening and there is plenty of variety to it all, even though it has restrained settings and a quite simple and straightforward story in it. All reasons why this movie is definitely way better than just the average genre attempt. And that's a real fact!

Walter Hill has never been a director of any truly great movies (except for "The Warriors" perhaps, though I still had plenty of problems with that movie) but he always was a guy that knew how to handle '80's type of action in his movies, perhaps also thanks to it that he had worked with many other great directors from that time period, as a writer and producer. And the movie truly benefits from this. It never becomes a big or spectacular action flick but it still really feels like a big action movie, probably because the movie never stands still.

The acting is a bit of a mixed bag but then again what action movie does have impressive and flawless actors and acting in it. It's always nice to see Bill Paxton in a leading role and he actually pulls all of the action stuff quite well as well. I have a bigger problem with the gangsters and villains in this movie. I never have been all that impressed with Ice-T's acting and Ice Cube also isn't always too convincing with his acting. But oh well, guess that in some way their acting and the characters that they play add somewhat to the nostalgia- and cheesy fun value of this movie.

Definitely a good and also entertaining enough movie to watch.

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Nothng But Nastiness

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 2 September 2006]

This is a nasty movie - very nasty. It's extremely profane and doesn't feature a nice guy in the bunch, just a bunch of extremely low-life profane people.

Bill Paxton, William Sadler, Ice Cube, Ice T and whatever other stupid rappers name you can think of cuss and shoot each other in an abandoned warehouse for much of the film. There is no one to root for and Paxton's character is the only one who has at least a shred of conscience. Also, this is a Walter Hill-directed film so you know you're going to get a lot of violence. I also didn't care for the rap soundtrack, although it wasn't overbearing or too loud.

Having said all that, the film did keep my attention, to say the least. I have to admit: this was a very interesting story. If you're in a violent, testy, irritable, hostile mood and you want a movie to go with it, this is it! Not really recommended but better than I've described it above. Just b ready to have your ears assaulted.

Really really stupid movie

[krycek19 · 1/10 · 16 August 2009]

First of all I hate those moronic rappers, who could'nt act if they had a gun pressed against their foreheads. All they do is curse and shoot each other and acting like cliché'e version of gangsters.

The movie doesn't take more than five minutes to explain what is going on before we're already at the warehouse There is not a single sympathetic character in this movie, except for the homeless guy, who is also the only one with half a brain.

Bill Paxton and William Sadler are both hill billies and Sadlers character is just as much a villain as the gangsters. I did'nt like him right from the start.

The movie is filled with pointless violence and Walter Hills specialty: people falling through windows with glass flying everywhere. There is pretty much no plot and it is a big problem when you root for no-one. Everybody dies, except from Paxton and the homeless guy and everybody get what they deserve.

The only two black people that can act is the homeless guy and the junkie but they're actors by profession, not annoying ugly brain dead rappers.

Stay away from this crap and watch 48 hours 1 and 2 instead. At lest they have characters you care about, a sense of humor and nothing but real actors in the cast.

A tense, well-crafted action film

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 10/10 · 26 September 1998]

A bizarre mix of creative talents went in to making this movie. Not the kind of thing that happens too often these days. A script from Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, direction by Walter Hill and his usual gang (strong editing from Freeman Davies, cool photography from Lloyd Ahern and score by Ry Cooder), Bill Paxton and William Sadler as the 'heroes' and Ice T and Ice Cube as the bad guys. It makes for a truly original movie.

Much like Judgment Night, Trespass is about two worlds colliding after bystanders witness a gangland execution. Two firemen on a treasure hunt in a huge, long abandoned East St. Louis factory. This happens to be the same territory as King James (Ice T) and his cohorts. They off some unwise punk by chucking him thru the glass roof and are pretty mortified upon discovering Bill Paxton and William Sadler are watching them. Ice T's crippled brother is taken hostage by Sadler and they seal themselves in old apartment. Several other bad guys show up and totally box them in.

What follows is a succession of stand-offs and shoot outs as Paxton and Sadler fight among themselves, T and Cube argue over who should be running the show, loyalties are challenged and each group begins to split into different factions. Stuck in the crossfire is poor old Bradlee, the innocent hobo caught in the middle as his apartment is besieged.

There are no clear-cut 'good guys' and 'bad guys' in Trespass. Just a bunch of guys who all came to the wrong place at the wrong time.

Originally called 'Looters' and scheduled for release during Summer 1992 the release date was changed to Winter and the title changed to 'Trespass'. Why? The LA riots were happening and Universal felt that there was enough racial tension in the media already. While I agree there is deliberate racism in this film it's nowhere near as bad as the morbidly extreme racism in such recent movies like Bad Boys II.

This new release by Universal is much better than the pathetic (and now OOP) release by Goodtimes. Gone is the snapper case. In its place is a sturdy keepcase and a nice bundle of extras. First of all there are some deleted scenes, a Behind the Scenes of Trespass featurette, the Ice-T/Ice Cube Trespass music video (it's the highly censored 'radio' edit) and a trailer. It is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 2.0 sound.

You should definitely get this as it's not the standard of film Hollywood studios produce these days. IE made by talented people.

Doesn't slow down for a second

[NateWatchesCoolMovies · 7/10 · 8 April 2017]

Walter Hill's Trespass could raise a pulse in a quiet graveyard, it's so relentless. It's one of those single location, breathless siege thrillers where two unlucky dudes, this time Bill Paxton and William Sadler, are barricaded in some unfortunate building while hordes of inner city criminals try to smoke them out. Billy and Willy are two firemen in the wrongest of places at the wrongest of times, led to a dilapidated St. Louis warehouse in search of a hidden cache of stolen gold. When one of them stumbles into a gangland assassination, the two are immediately branded as witnesses and hinted like dogs by boss King James (a snarling Ice-T), his lieutenant Savon (Ice Cube) and armies of their men. That's pretty much the premise, and simple as it is, action maestro Hill turns it into a ballistic bloodbath that barely slows down for a second once it gets going. Paxton and Sadler are soon at each other's throats in a feverish haze of adrenaline, whilst the two Ices argue amongst themselves about tactical logistics. Yelling, shooting, running, borderline parkour, cat and mouse games, beloved 90's action tropes and fight scenes that almost wind the audience as much as the characters. This is a lean cut of a film, concerned only with thrilling the pants off the viewer, hurtling by at a locomotive's pace without rest until that final shell casing hits the pavement.

Could have been better...

[CoolHand-4 · 5/10 · 19 February 2000]

Trespass had the potential to be a much better movie, but the studio decided to get two gangsta rappers to star in this movie, which was why it failed. Ice-T could not act to save his life and Ice Cube seems to have somre sort of a speech impediment. Combine this with stereotypical lines for both the white AND black "actors" really make this movie hard to watch. Creative camerawork helps this movie along and the idea is a good one. Too bad they decided to make the two white guys a bunch of sniveling wimps and the black guys too predictable. Walter Hill has done much better work, namely The Warriors and Southern Comfort.

Great late night TV film...

[mckillotd · 9/10 · 26 March 2004]

I have only ever seen this film at about 2-00 in the morning on late night T.V. but what a great show it was. Good action and adventure and a decent enough story for a low budget action flick. This was yet another average selling Bill Paxton film that was really good. For an actor that was outside the a-list, nearly every film he made was worth the watching and this is no exception. Definitely worth watching on T.V. although I don't know if it is the sort of film that you would pay to buy a copy of but if you come home after a night out and are looking for a film to watch to keep you going through the night, you could do worse than watch this.

Watching on bluray in 2018

[djpure1 · 7/10 · 8 October 2018]

Very good film. Nowadays this film would be rated 15 in the UK. Good action and story. Maybe one of the best Bill Paxton performances also. Fun ending

Forgotten thriller of mixed quality

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 13 March 2012]

Walter Hill is the director behind one of the most suspenseful thrillers of all time – 1981's SOUTHERN COMFORT, in which a group of greenhorn troops are stalked and murdered by unseen Cajuns deep in the American backwoods. Since then, Hill has made a number of movies, some of them appealing, some of them blockbusters, some of them virtually forgotten about today – and TRESPASS is one of the latter. Watching it today, I couldn't help but notice how incredibly dated it is, in that cheap-looking, superficial early '90s way. Far too much of the film is taken up with macho posturing between the likes of Ice-T and Ice Cube as each strives to outdo the other in terms of laughable swearing and huge egos. With the black gangsters fighting, shooting up and bickering throughout the movie, the actual plot gets forgotten about at times.

Which isn't surprising, as it's a weak one at best. In essence, a couple of treasure hunters are trapped in a room with a stash of gold and a murderous gang outside. Where do we go from here? Well, it could be a set-up for some fine claustrophobic heroics recalling the likes of DIE HARD (an obvious inspiration), but instead the film plods along until an (admittedly) fiery climax. Hill's direction is limited, the script is poor and some interesting developments on an artistic level (like having one character taping events with his video camera, around seven years before THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT popularised the technique) get left by the wayside.

The most interesting thing about this little movie is the cast. Bill Paxton is okay as the journeyman hero, but William Sadler is the real delight, cast as a good guy for one of the rare times in his career (in fact, DEMON KNIGHT is the only other time I can recall). Even though he's ostensibly one of the heroes, Sadler still has a ball playing a borderline psychopath who'll stop at nothing – including kidnapping and murder – to get his hands on the grubby loot. Sadler's co-star from DIE HARD 2, Art Evans, also has a great role as a street bum caught up in the violence, while eagle-eyed viewers will note minor roles for Tommy 'Tiny' Lister (THE DARK KNIGHT) as a heavy and De'voreaux White (Bruce's driver in DIE HARD) as a thug.

Another stylish movie from Walter Hill

[albechri · 27 April 2000]

Another stylish movie from Walter Hill since Streets of Fire.

The interesting part is, none of the characters are good. So it's truly a story about wrong guys in a wrong place and a wrong destiny and luck.

Maybe the story gets dry in the middle, but if you enjoy Walter's style, you'll end up buying a copy of this movie and watch it whenever you need some stylish booze... Like me.

TRESPASS (Walter Hill, 1992) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 15 August 2007]

Enjoyable, fast-moving action flick which manages to make the most of its single situation – two white men in search of gold hidden years before are besieged inside a dilapidated building in a black neighborhood by a local street gang.

Despite the modern trappings (street-smart attitude, rap music, excessive foul language), the film is distinctly old-fashioned – in a good way – in its characters’ moral codes and plot development. One can see affiliations with John Huston’s THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) with the squabbling white men in the Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt roles, and the wily old black tramp who inhabits the apartment where the loot is stashed filling in the old Walter Huston part (the black gang, then, would be the Mexican bandits led by the scheming Alfonso Bedoya). Of course, this connection is tenuous at best (since the Huston film has much more scope, whereas this is mostly confined to its apartment-building setting) – but director Hill, or the surprising writer/producer team of Robert Zemeckis(!) and Bob Gale, may well have looked at the earlier classic for inspiration.

Needless to say, the cast of this one (led by Bill Paxton) is no comparison to Bogart et al but the rude and suspicious tramp character is fun – and, unsurprisingly, is the one to come out on top at the end. Thankfully, too, Hill has lost none of his flair in the handling of action sequences…even if, in the long run, the film doesn’t have the lasting power of his best work, namely THE DRIVER (1978), THE WARRIORS (1979) and SOUTHERN COMFORT (1981).

Caught off-guard; this was a nice surprise

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 9 December 2014]

For some reason, I've always lumped TRESPASS in with JUDGMENT NIGHT - a woeful misapprehension, to be sure. This movie shares more in common with the first two DIE HARD movies (and not just in the casting department). It greatly benefits from Walter Hill's tense direction and it's also refreshingly unpredictable; the twists weren't apparent, and it's a pretty good nail-biter as a result. Art Evans was a casting highlight, and brought a nice dose of humor to such a no-nonsense affair. And I love that the guys responsible for BACK TO THE FUTURE wrote this movie.

7/10

Trespass is a good action movie

[monkey-man · 6/10 · 28 January 2006]

Trespass (1992).

This movie is about how 2 firefighters are trying to get a men out of a burning building but they fail and before the man burned to death he gave them a map that leads to 1 million dolls in gold he stole.So the 2 men (Bill Paxton and Willam Sadler) go to an abandoned factory with tools and a metal detector to try and find the gold.But they are not alone there are some gangsters there in there turf and the gangsters kill a men and the firefighters see it and the gangsters saw the firefighters.And then the firefighters took the brother of the gang leader king James (Ice T) hostage in a room and bolted the door closed.There is no escape from the room because the gangsters are waiting out side the room and they are blocking the fire escape.So will the 2 men escape or get killed by the gangsters.

If i could summarize this action movie into one word the word would be exciting.There is a lot of gun fire in this movie and a few people die. Ice Cube all so stars in this movie and he acts OK and this movie is one of his best i have seen and if u liked him in this movie u should watch the good movie Boys n the hood (1991).

Over all u should watch this movie and if u are a fan of action movies u will really like this movie.And my rating for this movie is six out of ten.

There's gold in them there ghetto

[view_and_review · 2/10 · 26 August 2018]

You know what, I'm not even going to go into what this movie was about because I don't want to waste anymore time on it than I already have. It was a dumb movie full of dumb characters.

The entire movie amounted to a 90 minute standoff between East St. Louis gangsters and some Arkansas hicks over gold and a drug addict. The situation was absurd and the fact the Arkansans got themselves into the situation was absurd. I don't know what the message was if any: don't be a gang banger, don't be greedy, don't go to East St. Louis, I don't know. I know what I took from it: don't ever watch again.

Violent and thoroughly entertaining thriller

[The_Void · 8/10 · 14 December 2008]

I really had no idea what to expect going into Trespass having never heard of it before catching it on TV - but having seen Bill Paxton's name flash up on screen, and having that followed up by The Warrior's director Walter Hill ensured that I would be watching it anyway. And I'm really glad I stuck with it because Trespass is a brilliantly entertaining modern day blaxploitation thriller with a heavy helping of strong violence and morally destitute macho characters. The plot is not particularly important, but certainly interesting nonetheless. We follow two Arkansas firemen who, having found out that a valuable stash of gold may be hidden in a factory in East St Louis, set off to claim it. However, upon arriving at the factory; they are soon joined by a group of black gangsters and end up witnessing one of them being killed. Naturally, the gangsters want the witnesses dead; but when the fireman manage to hole up in one of the factory's rooms; a standoff between the two groups ensues.

The film is not completely devoid of themes or a point. Naturally the central point is the idea of blacks vs. whites, which adds in an element of controversy, and also we've got themes relating to greed emanating from the idea of the trespassers being in the factory to chase gold. These two do make the film slightly more interesting; although clearly the main focus of the film is on the violence and entertainment stemming from the violence, and that's what really ensures Trespass is successful. Director Walter Hill creates a thoroughly nasty atmosphere; helped along by the fact that not a single character has much more than a shred of decency. The acting is very good, with Bill Paxton providing the only thing like a hero and doing really well with the role. He gets good backup from William Sadler along with a handful of rappers including Ice T and Ice Cube. The film is engrossing for the duration and is not short on action. The way that much of it is focused in just one place ensures that we are able to get into the lead character's plight; even if we don't particularly like them. I was a bit worried that the soundtrack might be saturated with rap; but the director manages to keep this to a minimum which is definitely to the film's credit. Overall, Trespass is a very well done little thriller and one that I certainly wouldn't hesitate to recommend!

Smoking Action Flick Of Gangstas Vs Ordinary Joes On A Treasure Hunt In The Urban Wasteland

[ShootingShark · 7/10 · 5 September 2008]

Vince and Don are two Arkansas firemen who come into possession of what just might be a treasure map. The only problem is the gold is hidden in an abandoned building in East St Louis where some local drug-dealers have decided to ice a rival. The race is on, both for the treasure and to stay alive ...

This is a great gritty action/siege movie character piece for several reasons. The premise is terrific, the cast are allowed to go wild with their performances, there are no stupid women and Hill's direction is tense and terrific. It got pretty mauled on release by genteel white critics who found the situation ugly and the characters depressing, but they missed the point - this movie is fun. It's like an old western; the gangstas are the Indians, they use mobile phones instead of smoke signals, the abandoned building is the dangerous country outside of town, there's gold in them thar hills, the Apache warrior disagrees with his Chief, the white man can't be trusted, and so on. It's a wonderful contemporisation of a lot of old action movie themes, but with a setup and a setting that's never been done before or since. The burned-out buildings, courtesy of Jon Hutman's production design, are a fabulous labyrinth of corridors, stairwells and anterooms, like some Hellish proving-ground, which literally goes up in flames at the end. Ry Cooder's ultra-heavy slide guitar music snarls around the action, topped off with a great title song written and performed by the movie's two rap stars. The two Bills are wonderfully out of their depth as the treasure hunters, and the two Ices are equally great out-shouting each other as they squabble over what to do. I really like Ice-T's acting and I think this is my favourite of his roles (though he's also great in New Jack City and Tank Girl) - King James is shrewd, and his exasperation as he can't figure out why the firemen are there, all the while dealing with dissent amongst his hoods is finely judged. Also of note is Evans as Bradlee the down-and-out, and don't miss cult-movie favourite Lister as a wordless heavy with scary shoes. Written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale (of Back To The Future fame), this is a great tough-guy action piece, made by a specialist in that genre. It's maybe not quite as good as Hill's earlier classics, and the camcorder and mobile-phones date it a little, but it's still a tremendous gut-punching movie that grabs you and doesn't let go.

An absolute waste of time and talent

[kergillian · 4/10 · 26 May 2002]

This is an example of why the majority of action films are the same. Generic and boring, there's really nothing worth watching here. A complete waste of the then barely-tapped talents of Ice-T and Ice Cube, who've each proven many times over that they are capable of acting, and acting well. Don't bother with this one, go see New Jack City, Ricochet or watch New York Undercover for Ice-T, or Boyz n the Hood, Higher Learning or Friday for Ice Cube and see the real deal. Ice-T's horribly cliched dialogue alone makes this film grate at the teeth, and I'm still wondering what the heck Bill Paxton was doing in this film? And why the heck does he always play the exact same character? From Aliens onward, every film I've seen with Bill Paxton has him playing the exact same irritating character, and at least in Aliens his character died, which made it somewhat gratifying...

Overall, this is second-rate action trash. There are countless better films to see, and if you really want to see this one, watch Judgement Night, which is practically a carbon copy but has better acting and a better script. The only thing that made this at all worth watching was a decent hand on the camera - the cinematography was almost refreshing, which comes close to making up for the horrible film itself - but not quite. 4/10.

What Hill Is Good At

[BadRon · 10/10 · 19 March 2000]

This is a film independent film makers should take a look at if action films are of any interest to them. Not for the seen-it-all, heard-it-all plot and profane dialogue, but for Walter Hill's staging and execution of the action. The film has a terrific pace to it and the camera always shows an interesting angle. The locations are at a minimum, very cost efficient and capably creating a claustrophobic atmosphere. Very well done. Good, moody music score, again, by the great Ry Cooder.

it's just fun, so don't be foolish and judge it further

[rymphsklymptor · 6/10 · 28 August 2006]

Anybody that wants to go ahead and be critical of this film is an idiot, plain and simple. This film, and it's stars had to know going in that this was a film made for people looking for brain candy. It is good brain candy too! Treasure hunters encounter a gang of rappers and wannabe thugs and of course the guy least likely to get anything comes out on top..what could be better for a Friday night movie than these guys, hidden treasure, and a whole lot of ebonics? Whe it comes to Bill Paxton and Bill Sadler, these guys have been in both serious and comedic films, and their demeanor throughout this magnificent piece of pulp-film is not only engrossing and entertaining, but downright Oscar-worthy too. If only these kinds of films were ever considered for awards...aw gee!!!!

Shooting fish in a barrel

[peterpants66 · 5/10 · 17 January 2010]

Not even the Beatles could write songs everyone liked, and although Walter Hill is no mop-top he's second to none when it comes to thought provoking action movies. The nineties came and social platforms were changing in music and film, the emergence of the Rapper turned movie star was in full swing, the acting took a back seat to each man's overpowering regional accent and transparent acting. This was one of the many ice-t movies i saw as a kid and loved, only to watch them later and cringe. Bill Paxton and William Sadler are firemen with basic lives until a burning building tenant about to go up in flames hands over a map with gold implications. I hand it to Walter for quickly and neatly setting up the main characters and location. But i fault everyone involved for turning out Lame-o performances. Ice-t and cube must have been red hot at this time, and while I've enjoyed both their careers as rappers, in my opinion they fell flat in this movie. I got the feeling that everyone on set was sord of confused and just playing things off the cuff. There are two things i still enjoy about it, one involves a scene with a needle and the other is Sadler's huge 45 pistol. Bottom line this movie is like domino's pizza. Yeah ill eat it if I'm hungry and i don't feel like cooking, But I'm well aware it's not very good.