Customer Reviews

Slipstream

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'd actually give this 3.5/5 stars. For the most part, the writing is fairly well done for such a film, though some elements feel a bit contrived.

The acting is surprisingly well done. Sean Astin pulls off the role as a socially awkward time travel researcher. Vinnie Jones works well as the sometimes menacing and sometimes lighthearted bank robber.

This movie keeps pace nicely and has some nice action sequences thrown in. The two bank shootouts are done interestingly, and the plane crash at the end was pretty cool.

I also really liked the soundtrack by Rob Lord. The music is matched with the scenes very well.

This is a good movie. It gives a perspective on time travel different from so many time travel movies out there, with entertaining characters and an easy to understand (if open ended) plot. Don't look for a lot of deep meaning here. But if you want a fun time travel movie, be sure to check this one out.

PLEASE NOTE: REVIEW DRAWN FROM AN ADVANCED SCREENER COPY OF "SLIPSTREAM" - FINAL EDIT, EFFECTS AND CONTENT MAY CHANGE BEFORE RELEASE. THANK YOU.

Although featuring a novel and seemingly fresh take on the nature of time travel, often creative camera work (plus a few cribs and a few camera shadows that can take you out of the moment), and good performances coupled with some solid and effective "time effects" (one I believe might be a first for any time travel film involving a jet - very well done), SLIPSTREAM is a great concept, but a standard film.

The trouble is, that while it is a time travel film, it borrows too heavily not so much from other time travel films (another first I believe for a time travel film - and just how many times have I repeated that phrase so far?) but from Guy Ritchie and RUN, LOLA, RUN. Starting with the concept of being able to travel (or here: replay) back ten minuets in time, the film adds into the mix two bank heists, two love affairs, two deaths and two second chances with one final twist - it's all good stuff, but the bank robbers come straight from the Guy Ritchie stock and trade of British Bank Robbers (rough accents, tough talk and guns, guns, guns - so much so, that VINNIE JONES, the brains behind the second bank heist was in LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS), and RUN, LOLA, RUN type "what if, or turn this corner instead" pacing - all of which is not bad, but still manages to drag the picture down with the feeling of "seen it, done it, rented it, returned it, caught it on cable" vibe.

Part of the problem is that the concept of time travel here is so fresh that you can't help wishing the film made it more of its focus, as opposed to pushing it into the background (the whole gimmick is run from what looks like an iPod, which our hero Stuart Conway (Sean Astin) seems to drop or lose at just the right and wrong moments - which is a cheap (and very SLIDERS) way of generating tension). In fact, it seems as if Phillip Badger (both story and screenplay) focused too much on making a gangster heist flick with time travel instead of taking the time travel aspect of the story to the next level - which is frustrating because that level is right there, all it needed was just one nudge to turn this from a run of the mill heist flick into a true breakthrough in the genre.

I don't want to give it away, but listen carefully to Conway's thoughts and speeches on time and moments (and repeating them) and you'll get the idea.

The ending is choppy and confusing - but since time travel is involved it might actually make some kind of sense, but you will be left wondering just how and what happened to Conway, and what, if anything, the ending has to do with the opening - (check out his watch at the start of the film and compare it to the time travel device during the film). Overall, SLIPSTREAM will play with your time as well, but may not bear repeating - but for the time you spend there are more good ideas than bad and some fun to be had.

If someone was firing a machine gun at you just several yards away, would you just stand there firing a revolver, in return? Most folks with common sense realize doing something so ridiculous will get you cut to ribbons! But not the filmmakers of Slipstream! I could not believe my eyes! And this was portrayed over and over again, ad nauseum! Memo to Hollywood: Machine gun wins over pistol, not the other way around. When being shot at make sure you have some sort of cover, too! Wow, did the filmmakers ever bother to take any courses in physics while they were in High School? I guess not!

Nor was there a single character I could empathize with! In fact, the story's hero was so shallow and obnoxious, it ruined any fun one could possibly get from viewing this dull, plodding, two-dimentional piece of trash!

I love time travel movies; in fact, it's one of my favorite subjects. So naturally I picked this movie up the moment I saw it. After seeing Sean Astin embarrass himself by awkwardly flirting with the bank teller he's ripping off with the help of his time-traveling IPOD, I knew this was going to be an unusual movie.

At first, the poor acting and unbelievable dialog offended me. After a while, I had to laugh, it was so incredible. I'm still trying to figure out what made the group of backward English bankrobbers choose southern California for their heist, which drives the (ahem) plot. And the FBI agent's boss helps provide the most unbelievable scene of the movie when he alternates between shouting and sighing about the disaster. If there was more blood, I might believe this movie was a TROMA special.

I would say never watch this movie, but it's worth the belly laugh to see a shootout at the bank filmed with all shooters in a circle as the camera that's in the middle pans around repeatedly to the sound of harmonica music. Oh, and no one gets hit. And the (ha ha) touching scene when the head bankrobber's fiancee is dying and they start discussing the end of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

If it hadn't been a time-travel movie, I wouldn't have finished watching it. If you're really into badly done B-movies, or if you enjoy time travel regardless of whether the moviemakers adhere to that old "suspension of disbelief" theory, you might want to see this. As for myself, I wish I had the magic IPOD, so I could get that hour and a half back.

In this movie Sean Astin plays a somewhat socially inept genius. (Where does Hollywood come up with all these unique characters?)He works for US intelligence and is being monitored by the FBI in a country that has people with British accents, American accents and some vehicles with the steering wheel on the right, such as a public bus, and others with the wheel on the left. He has created a device which allows him to go back in time a few minutes. Rather than test this device at a race track, Astin goes to a bank where he becomes crude with the teller, and then he decides to test the device. Now it just so happens as he is doing this bank robbers (British accents) come into the scene and shoot Astin as he attempts to go back in time 10 minutes. Now the rule is, whatever you have on, or are holding goes back in time with you, except lead bullets which might be buried inside your chest. The movie is a confused mess of bad ideas. A ten minute time machine is as exciting as a super hero with normal human strength.

First of all, there are a bunch of reviews declaring this the worst time travel movie of all time. Not even close. It's beyond a matter of opinion. You may hate this movie, and that is fair if you do, but it is nowhere near as bad as any of the following: Retroactive 2005, Thrill Seekers 1999, Time Chasers 1994, Timeline 2003, The Butterfly Effect 2004, and Lost in Space 1998. That list is also not including the awful 1950s and 1960s takes on time travel where it is stale, bland acting in a room that occasionally shakes to imply time travel.

Could all the negative comments be geared toward Sean Astin and not the movie itself? I don't know, but it's possible at least as a contributing factor. I can see how this movie is not for everyone, but it's nowhere near the worst ever. Are we all so much of a superlative society that everything has to be the best or the worst? Can anyone honestly say this is worse than Lost in Space (movie, not tv show)?

In this movie, Astin plays his role fine. Ivana Milicevic is an interesting actress, and she did a good job in this movie. She certainly kept my boyfriend's attention.

While this is by no means an Oscar winner, it is an entertaining time travel movie that makes enough sense to be enjoyed. The plot is intriguing enough to keep you watching more, and it's satisfying enough that I could see myself watching it again. The budget on this one wasn't terribly high, so don't expect mind-blowing special effects. However, the effects that are there are used well.

If you're looking for a great action movie, maybe look elsewhere. If you're looking for a good time travel movie, this one will probably work for you.

I always expect a good movie and good acting....not often get both. Still liked it...

Hands down one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Rather than write a long review, I'll save us both some time - don't even bother with this one. Horrible acting, ridiculous storyline, just a shameful movie.

I give it 3 1/2 stars. I enjoy time travel, jump, et cetera type movies. This one is similar to a couple others that involve a limited time slot for backing up time. The cast and story is decent. It revolves around a physicist and a device from the lab where he works and his plot to rob a bank. When a group of robbers come in before he can rob the bank, everything gets crazy and he uses his device to try to fix things that happen. As the story progresses people die and everyone has regrets about how things turned out. By the end of the movie everyone changes their atttitude on what they would do including the robbers. I found it entertaining enough to want to get a copy. Some known actors including Sean Astin, Tamsin MacCarthy (II), and Chantal Lambert make the acting worthwhile. Good quality DVD with limited extras. Decent replayability if you enjoy time travel and gangster movies movies like 12:01 and Snatch (Widescreen Edition) .

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