Customer Reviews

Conspiracy

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

With a few pages from the Rambo film "First Blood," Val Kilmer as ex-Marine and Gulf War veteran "Spooky" MacPherson arrives at the border town of New Lago, in search of his USMC buddy who needs help building his new home in the nearby town of New Hope. Kilmer gets rousted by the Sheriff and his gang of red-neck deputies employed by the megalomaniac John Rhodes (played by Gary Cole - Midnight Caller, Talladega Nights, In The Line Of Fire, Pineapple Express) of Halicorp (a not-so-subtle liberal shot at the Halliburton Corp.) who seems to own the town and its environs; and who also belong to the "United Borders" force (another not-to-subtle shot at the "Minutemen" organization).

Anyway, to make a long story short. MacPherson is arrested, "washed down" (a la First Blood) and then the fun begins when the deputies assault him in his cell later that night. He of course escapes, kicking their butts in the process and then leads the bumbling red-necks on a car chase (he's in one of the deputies cars) which ends with him being shot over a small cliff. Oh, by the way, he suffers PTSD, which in a way, helps him survive and escape.

Well, of course he survives (we later learn he was wearing the body armor of one of the deputies) to be rescued and put up in a small Mexican village by Joanna (Jennifer Esposito - Crash, Related, Samantha Who?) who has been taken care of by the evil Mr. Rhodes. She wants MacPherson to bring down Rhodes. After telling her he's not the man to do it, she shows him the video tape of his friend and families murder.

After that, it's Hell on Earth for Rhodes and all his flunkies. Which concludes in an ambush, sniping and expertly aimed gunfire from semi-auto pistols by MacPherson with the help of one of the deputies (the one who shot him over the cliff) who just happened to be the brother of Joanna.

Very predictable plot after the first 15 minutes. But still an enjoyable kick-butt movie. Don't take this movie seriously. Yes, there's a message about Red-Neck racism, Illegal Aliens, The Minutemen, and the Halliburton Corp. But hey, it's a movie, and whether you take offense to it or agree with its politicized message, don't let it spoil your enjoying this film.

This movie vanished without a trace--but it's not a conspiracy. It's just no blockbuster. Adding to what has already been written above: Kilmer plays "MacPherson", an Iraq war veteran (I wasn't even sure which Iraq war he was in, but does it really matter? Presumably it was the latest one). His unit gets hit by an explosive device in a particularly nasty fashion, a bunch of men die and others are badly injured. He and another man spend months recuperating and become best friends. He returns home (somewhere in CA I think) and has PTSD. Friend keeps bugging him to come down to AZ. Finally he goes down, only to find said friend gone, and nobody admits to having heard of him, or that his address even existed. Meanwhile the only news in this 2-bit town is all the new construction going on by--like the man above said--Halicorp. Yes the bad guy is sort of a cross between Cheney and Erik Prince or something. He's virulently xenophobic but there must be more than that going on in his plans (exactly what is never quite made clear) because his construction project seems pretty big.
Well this really isn't much of an action film--it starts slowly and then--well kinda stays slow because Val Kilmer just isn't an action hero anyhow. The best we get is some closeups of his face changing emotion as he somehow transforms from a PTSD wracked vet going nowhere, to a man with a mission again--to figure out what happened to his friend--and then, to pay back a debt of gratitude to him. Gary Cole plays the villain "Rhodes". Greg Serano plays "Miguel", Kilmer's wartime buddy. Jennifer Esposito plays the romantic interest. The music isn't too bad. If you watch this with zero expectations, it's not too bad a film...

This movie sucks. Probably one of Kilmer's worst roles ever. There are absolutely no redeeming qualities to be found here.

There are a number of movies that arrive on DVD shelves that are sent straight there, never to play on the large screen. Some of these are overlooked gems. Some are movies that did well with critics but not with the public. And some are total trash. Consider CONSPIRACY in this last group.

I guess that's not totally correct. The movie does look extremely well photographed. But that's about the best thing that can be said about this movie that feels the need to talk down to every man, woman and child who view it.

The story concerns two soldiers, friends who are both wounded during Desert Storm. They both return home, one Miguel Silva (Greg Serano), to his family in New Lago and the other MacPherson (Val Kilmer) to a series of squalid locales. MacPherson finally follows up the requests of Silva to come visit.

The problems begin when MacPherson arrives to find that Silva and his family are no where to be found. Not only that, the people of New Lago don't seem interested in talking about them or finding them. With the unwanted aid of a local Mexican laborer, MacPherson finds Silva's homestead...which is now barren ground.

Returning to town MacPherson learns more about what is going on. It seems that the town is run by a man named Rhodes, a friend/advisor of the President. At present he is in the midst of making the town a place where "good people" can find a home. An exclusive locale that will be well taken care of on the backs of the locals, mostly Mexican-Americans.

Rhodes is also the main man behind a conglomerate known as Halicorp. This company seems ingratiated with making things happen and making people disappear. And of course, using the cheapest labor that they treat like dirt.

MacPherson also meets a young woman who owns a local store named Joanna (Jeniffer Esposito). Rhodes has a more than affectionate association with Joanna, who it turns out was friends with Silva and his family.

Okay so we now have the whole plan laid out before us. Bad guy takes over town to make it lily white, land owner gets in his way and disappears, good guy comes to the rescue and bad guy's gal helps good guy save the day. Sound good? Not really.

To begin with, the references to the classic film BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK are overplayed. The movie seems almost as if it were a remake of that film with none of the lines, acting, direction...well...about nothing other than the thinly veiled rehash of it's plot and even that is just slightly altered.

The biggest conspiracy in this film is that the movie seems more based on what the director and writer see as conspiracies in today's world than they do on telling the story taking place here and now. The plight of poor Mexican illegals and how they should not have to worry or concern themselves with immigration, how they are abused by the wealthy land owner and most glaring is the similarities drawn between Rhodes and his company. If you can't see the reference in what I've written alone between Rhodes/Halicorp and Cheney/Haliburton you're blind.

The story is so weak and more often than not someone takes a moment to make a speech about how bad some policy or action is (especially Esposito), all of which are references to current political stances of our government and President. I mean come on, I don't agree with everything he and the government has done but man, come on out and say it and don't try and make this movie a metaphor of the whole shebang. Once you go down that path you lose all credibility as well as the attempt to make a decent action flick. Didn't anyone learn when Steven Seagal tried to save the environment in both ON DEADLY GROUND and FIRE DOWN BELOW? Look where those to pictures took his career.

The story is weak, the plot develops at a snails pace to make room for the preaching, the acting for the most part is wooden and the action is nearly non-existent until the end and even that portion of the film seems boring. I say again, the film looked good, but that's about the best that can be said about it.

Worst of all is the fact that the star of the film is Val Kilmer. I've always thought that Kilmer was an unappreciated actor. Go back to his beginnings in TOP SECRET where he displayed a great sense of comic timing, TOP GUN where he gave smarmy new meaning, THE DOORS where he did Jim Morrison dead on, TOMBSTONE where his Doc Holliday helped form a complete ensemble for the film and even THE SAINT where he gave the action thriller a go for it. He's done great stuff. But in this movie he seems as if he's either asleep, drugged out of his gourd, bored or perhaps just walking quietly through it while he contemplates just how to murder his agent for landing him in this mess.

It was difficult to watch this film all the way through. I tired of the preaching, the lack of action for an action film and...well...how about everything? There is no way I could recommend this movie even to those who are die hard Kilmer fans. The director, Adam Marcus, was also responsible for JASON GOES TO HELL. In this case it is the viewers of this drek that are sentenced there. Fortunately there is an escape from this hell. It's called the stop button on your remote.

When we got this film, we expected it to be an action movie, something to pass an evening without much thought. We were wrong, this is an action drama with a really interesting take on immigration and the war in Iraq, government and so much more. We really enjoyed it. I would highly recommend it to all audiences.

The film started out rather slowly and Kilmer's acting is called into question when he is sitting there starring. How an actor can prove so terrible in playing a disassociated individual is beyond me. It actually picked up after that and it could have been an intriguing mystery with an action crescendo. Unfortunately, the liberal filth that spews from the writer/director Adam Marcus causes this film to get the lowest grade possible.

The only conspiracy one will find connected with this movie is a liberal one! It is literally sickening to watch this liberal hate filled rant by Adam Marcus and Debra Sullivan. Obviously, because people like me and millions of Americans are against illegal immigration we are racist murderous thugs. At least that is what this movie is stating.

We also get oblique references to President Bush and his lying about Iraq. "How does it feel losing your leg for a lie?" And, of course, Gary Cole, the evil villain, is a pal of politicians; like Bush naturally. He is a weapons manufacturer and also operates a company similar to Haliburton. The most disgusting liberal propagandistic filth is played out on screen. Members of the KGB would be proud of the makers of this beauty.

Any normal American, who isn't a card carrying member of the Communist Party, would be angered and insulted by this bold liberal/communist propaganda film.

Val Kilmer is a retired marine who visits a town to see his marine friend, only to find out that he got brutally murdered with his family. He then transforms into a "Rambo" and kills all the bad guys in this town.

The script was bad!

The direction was so bad! (low budget)

It is disappointing to know that some big actors such as Val Kilmer would agree to act in such movies.

The only thing that this movie got away with is that it somehow was able to not get you bored while watching it. I think its the action that kept us watching till it ended.

"Conspiracy" is not a great action movie, even by DTV standards, because Val Kilmer is not an action hero. It also doesn't help that this is only the second film that director Adam Marcus has made in the fifteen years following his less-than-grand debut of Jason Goes to Hell. Lastly, it's unfortunate that the movie was only made to appease New Mexico's Film Investment Program, since such programs are prone to picking up the first offer that falls in their lap just for the sake of it, even if it's obviously only a half-there project like this is. Essentially, "Conspiracy" is a run-of-the-mill DTV movie that's built on the clichés of bigger films and features a strong-willed plot that takes too long to get exciting.

The story: ex-Marine, war veteran, and amputee "Spooky" MacPherson (Kilmer) is haunted by memories of the warzone even as he tries to build himself a life back home. At the urging of fellow vet Miguel Silva (Greg Serano, "Wildfire"), he heads down to New Mexico to work on Silva's ranch, but upon arriving, he finds only a growing border town run by the powerful businessman Rhodes (Gary Cole, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby) and no trace of his friend. Upon his investigation, simple intimidation tactics by the corrupt town officials turn into a full-blown war on MacPherson as he comes closer and closer to realizing both the fate of his friend and Rhodes' conspiracy against immigrant workers.

I've heard this film compared to a similar movie about a handicapped war veteran of which I can't remember the name, but I personally find it more akin the Dolph Lundgren's DTV film Missionary Man, which was released a year earlier and dealt with similar issues: both movies feature a lone hero riding into a remote town to see a friend and uncovering widespread of oppression at the hands of an evil businessman aided by ruthless mercenaries. The biggest difference, however, is that in comparing Dolph Lundgren to the award-winning Val Kilmer, Lundgren gives the better dramatic performance. Kilmer really isn't in good shape: he's put on some weight since Deja Vu and doesn't look nearly as dashing as he once did; worse yet, his actual performance could've been done just as well with two photographs of him displaying expressions of furrowed constipation and open-mouthed daydreaming. The rest of the cast remains a mixed bag: Gary Cole outshines just about everyone as the two-dimensional bad guy that you love to hate, and female asset Jennifer Esposito ("Samantha Who?") starts off decent before descending dramatically when her character has to become hysterical. Greg Serano makes the most of his limited screentime, as does unlikely hero Jay Jablonski (Everybody Wants to Be Italian), but the rest of the cast consists mainly of no-name actors playing racist rednecks and that you want to see less of.

Regardless, since this is an action film, there should be some good stuff on that account to keep the picture afloat, right? Well, not really: the action doesn't really pick up until you're halfway into the movie, and once it gets there, it can largely be summed up in three circumstances: MacPhearson's Rambo-style escape from prison which turns into a meh-level car chase, a one-sided shootout, and then the climatic shootout/brawl at the end of the movie. While the escape features at least one innovative move in MacPhearson leaping against a car door to crush an attacker and the final fight is a decently-balanced encounter, there's not nearly enough exhilarating moments like these throughout to keep the average audience interested, making us need to fall back on the story. Personally, I don't mind seeing the plight of immigrant workers examined in their favor, but this film is sure to alienate many people for its thoroughly simplified and overdramatized approach to the whole immigration situation. Throw in the plot point of MacPhearson's inconvenient blackout spots never really leading to anything, and you've got a story that seems perfectly muddled.

In short, "Conspiracy" is a bottom-of-the-barrel piece as far as Kilmer's career is concerned, a lackluster action flick, and an unconvincing propaganda movie: not nearly a must-buy.

If you haven't seen "Bad Day at Black Rock", "Rambo: First Blood", "Mississippi Burning" and a number of other far superior films you will probably find this quite enjoyable.

However this is mainly an updating of Bad Day At Black Rock (Spencer Tracy 1955 and not available to buy on region 2....) and as such it fails completely due to its lack of originality. Even the foyer in the Hotel is the same design. For those that don't know, in BDABR Spencer Tracy played a one-armed former solidier looking for a Japanese Friend of his after WW2. He never finds him. In this film Val Kilmer plays a one-legged ex-marine looking for a Mexican friend of his.

The leading female actress Jennifer Esposito effectively recreates the role of Frances McDormand in Mississippi Burning. She is actually one of the better things about the film, but I couldn't get past the similarity...

The films view of the US is very cynical, and some would say completely inaccurate, but there are elements that have the ring of truth about them. I certainly think most people will find it entertaining, and/or it will make them angry (because of its political stance). Just don't expect an original piece of work.

The last val kilmer movie I saw starred him as a corpse, so I didn't expect a lot out of this movie. I got a little more than expected, it was kinda slow, but eventually got to some action. Val was at least alive in this one and I thought I saw a shade of Doc Holiday for a second there. Better than I expected it to be, but poor Val....