Spoiler (1998)
Roger Mason is a prisoner locked away in a futuristic fortress of a jail. Desperate to escape and see his daughter, he keeps making attempt after attempt to break free, but each one is foiled just as he's about to gain his freedom. As his punishments include being frozen in suspended animation for years at a time, he stays the same age while his daughter grows older. As more time keeps being added to his sentence, he despairs of ever getting out.
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Great movie, one of the few I bought to keep at home, shouldn't be underestimated just because it's a B-movie.It has enough action and sci-fi to satisfy most viewers, but the plot thickens as we see the revolving drama around Roger Mason's successive arrests, and witnessing his family dying as he stays young preserved in the cryogenic prison. It purely portraits the despair of a family man, for whom life is nothing without his wife and daughter, and in the end is "saved" by them, who call him to paradise as he is gunned down by the police.Gary Daniels portrayed the character's suffering and despair perfectly, 5 star to his performance.
Gary Daniels stars as a spoiler, an escaped convict in a prison system that freezes it's criminals for years on end while bounty hunters and police are always two inches behind our wrongfully accused hero. Gary Daniels is rather impressive and the movie far exceeds the expectations you have of it. One of the main reasons Spoiler works so well is that it relies more on the conflict between Daniels' personal tragedy instead of action. The action sequences (Especially the one on one between G.Daniels and Brian Genesse) are poorly staged but the story holds so much interest and the special effects are good (Especially considering the budget) that one is more inclined to go with the flow of the film and enjoy the movie's melodrama as Gary Daniels searches for his daughter. Indeed the movie ends on a depressing note and it becomes one of the few B.movies that actually leave an effect on you. Although the movie should not be taken seriously on its politics, it is admirable that the movie's real entertainment comes from the stylish directing and good acting from the cast.* * * out of 4-(Good)
The film chooses to be sci-fi and then it chooses to have melodrama as well? Doesn't work when there is little attention to acting, and the script is poor. There is one scene in particular that goes on too long and you just can't take it seriously, but let's have your viewing ruin it for you!
Why didn't one of the 8 voters post a review so I could have avoided this one. Billed as a sci-fi flick about an escape artist, there's not much clever escape stuff, not much acting, not much plot, and lots of big holes in it anyway. It's over-rated at 5, I'd give it a 3, about equal to the bummer Solders of Fortune, maybe on a par with Counter Measures. I can't see it appealing to anyone, it's even short on action. -Bob