Dangerous Ground (1997)

Ice Cube, believe it or not, was convincing as a scholarly South African exile who returns home after the end of apartheid. I felt this movie had more meaning than any other typical "gangsta" movie. I also enjoyed Elizabeth Hurley. Sure, some parts weren't believable, including the very last scene, which was really lame, but overall, I liked Dangerous Ground. Very few films have been made about South Africa, and I'm glad movie writers have managed to look beyond South Central L.A. for a black action thriller setting.

I watched this on some lame cable channel that edited out certainthings, and eliminated swearing ("bulldirt?"). The only reason Iwatched this was the Elizabeth Hurley credit in the beginning. Shewasn't nearly naked enough. It's admirable that the producer'stried to make a movie with a message, but the social commentarywas undeveloped, and not very moving. I just wanted to seeElizabeth Hurley after the first 3 minutes, and that's all I had to lookforward to, once it became apparent that this movie SUCKED! Thescreenplay, and direction were laughable, and it seemed that thewriter of this thing had no idea how people speak in South Africa.The ending showdown scene has been done to death, and wasas cliche as the rest of the film.

This 'motion picture' is an absolute joke. It simply cannot be taken seriously; taking on the South African situation and inserting Ice Cube and Elizabeth Hurley just about sums it up. And it can't even be 'taken humorously' as the whole charade is so utterly joyless and deadly dull.This film is cliché-addled in the extreme; South Africa is presented, pretty much, as any old place; only distinguished by the occasional accent and the excessive crime rate. Any sense of reality is out of the equation, as is entertaining or useful usage of melodrama or other non-naturalistic forms. One has to laugh really; there's nothing else to do when you are presented with the posturing and faux-sincerity invested in the film by its average team of actors. But it is a hollow laugh, betraying not a jot of joy or insight.The weak storyline, which does not engage the mind on any level, is sketched out through dialogue by turns dull and absurd. As ever in 'serious' films inflected by her presence, Liz Hurley is a liability. The woman just cannot act it seems; thus, she seems more effective simply hamming up her own image in "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" and "Bedazzled". Her attempts at a South Africa accent gad around all over the globe; an embarrassingly inept effort, in truth. Yes, she 'looks good', depending quite upon one's own tastes, but it appears that that is the only reason she is here - along with her ubiquitous, 'dat skirt'-fuelled star name.So, a damn well disastrous film, and a real waste of time spent watching it.

Starts off nice, but later on becomes an typical American movie with drugs, guns and you even forget that the movie takes place in Africa. If it wasn't for the charming Elizabeth Hurley i would have shut off the TV. This Vusi guy comes back to his home in South Africa blah blah shoots some people smoke some heroin hits some white guys(I was kind of sad i wanted them to kick his fat ass) and the movie ends. Don't bother to see this movie.