Customer Reviews

Terminal Velocity

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Terminal Velocity" is without a doubt Charlie Sheen's best action movie so far and one of the best skydiving movies. It's a Cold War story about a sky-diving instructor (Charlie Sheen) who has a not so great record. He unwillingly becomes involved in a major Russian scam after one of his students (Nastassja Kinski) cheats death and makes everybody think that she fell to her death when really she didn't. Now they both must try to avoid running into the Mafia so they can have a chance to stay alive.

"Terminal Velocity" is an action packed and exciting action movie. It has a lot of thrilling and exciting parts to it such as when Charlie Sheen is inside a car that is free falling down to earth. The skydiving sequences in the movie aren't the only good parts to it, however. It also has other good action packed sequences while Sheen and Kinski are eluding and running away from the Mafia, and it has some gun-shooting parts to it as well. The plot might be a bit choppy in parts, but it's still easy enough to figure out and the acting in the movie isn't bad either.

If you like good action movies that are fun to watch and suspenseful at the same time, I recommend getting "Terminal Velocity."

(no, not the Beach Boys song) ... Here I go again (no, not the Whitesnake song) defending certain Hollywood actors ... I *like* Charlie Sheen and I like him in this movie ...

Here Charlie plays his I'm-just-an-ordinary-guy-caught-up-in-this-thing yet again, and while it's not "Platoon", it's midway between that and "Hot Shots". Kinski is good and there's a pristine white Dodge Challenger here that meets an unfortunate end (I *hope* they used a double for the car!) ... Sheen has to "borrow" a beautiful yellow Corvette to catch the bad guys (at least he has style) ... And a Cadillac Allante' that takes flying lessons ...

Sheen is a skydiver down on his luck who accidently lands at what he thinks is a bachelorette party only to find out it's for children ... The Russian mafia wants to steal gold and eliminates anybody in their way ... there's a Chuck-Yeager-lookin' barnstormer pilot who helps Charlie catch the Russians in mid-air ...

The story will keep you guessing for a bit ... and I think Charlie *wants* his character to struggle ... he starts to put it together so he's not a total airhead here ... but he's *supposed* to be confused ... that's part of the story ... ummm, if he figured it out right off the movie would be over in 15 minutes, right? ...

"Drop Zone" is a skydiving flick too, and who can't help but like Yancy Butler? The story is a little more complex there, but it's a bit of a stretch too in places ... I have both movies and I like both movies ... I'd recommend both ...

This is a great action-mystery movie. The plot takes some twists and turns and grabs your attention. The stunts keep you on the edge of your seat. I really liked this movie a lot. I recommended it to some friends and they enjoyed it too.

I last saw this film when it first came out in theatres. It left a powerful impression in my mind that has haunted me for years now. I speak, of course, about the daringly experimental and enigmatic conclusion to this film, which is really the only part I remember. The whole film, the protagonists are trying to stop Russians (the antagonists) from reaching somewhere in a colossal aircraft with bombs or something. At the climax of the movie, they are forced to jump from this aircraft. Through some air craftiness of their own, the protagonists survive to continue fighting on the ground with russians that have, for some reason, parachuted after them. After throwing the bad guys into windmills (yeah you know, the ones that move at about four miles per hour) and watching them be cut to shreds, they give each other five. Then it cuts to the ceremony where they're receiving medals for their bravery in outwitting the Russians. This may sound like a typical hollywood ending but oh do look closer. Because the climactic battle took place on the ground, the commie aircraft was never stopped. Unless the people that parachuted after them were the entire rest of the aircraft'd crew, it arrived safely at its destination. So, upon close inspection, it becomes clear that the award ceremony at the desneumont of the film is ironic. Little do the characters in the film realize that they have, in all actuality, lost the "war" and that they're about to be bombed by russians or something simply because they forgot about the aircraft! As you might expect, this incredibly subtle and powerful satire was over the heads of most viewers. It even somehow escaped Leonard Maltin's review and Leonard Maltin is a particular brilliant man in my opinion. In conclusion, if you've ever felt that film these days is just too straightforward, that ends wrap up a little too tightly, heroes are worshipped too wholeheartedly, and that governments are put together too shabbily, this is the film for you.

This was a generally fun film that is considered an action movie, and rightly so, but has its share of good comedy, too. Charlie Sheen showed he was well on his way to being successful playing comedic roles, as he's doing on television right now.

Nastassja Kinski plays the typical new young macho-female role that introduced on screen in the past generation in which females beat up males. Give me a break! Anyway, I still liked her. James Gandolfini was the best of the villains, and also demonstrated how he was about ready to hit the big time, which he did on TV with The Sopranos. Christopher McDonald was another villain in here but was stupid, not fun to watch. He was angry all the time and his bleached hair looked ludicrous.

There are a couple of outrageous action scenes in this film, most notably when an automobile with Sheen and Kinski still in it is dropped from an airplane! Yes, to enjoy this film don't take any of it seriously! It's simply fast-paced entertainment. For that, it gets a good rating.

TERMINAL VELOCITY, released in 1994, is a movie that has aged
extremely well, except maybe for the KGB and end-of-Cold War
mood that was reminiscent of the era after the Berlin Wall
fell, and a new era was unveiled in the former one-party USSR.

The thrill and action aspects of this film, are as good as any
that the best Bond 007 movies had to offer, no doubt.

The 5.1 audio is phenomenal, as are the crisp, crystal clear
digital sequences on the DVD release.

Probably, it will mostly be the below 21 viewers who will
especially appreciate the extensive aerodrome and airplane
settings and sequences, considering that airplanes, even today
in 2007, are still somewhat exotic, as almost nobody has a
pilot's license, or has a parachute jumping training, for that
matter.

For the movie to show Charlie Sheen and Nastassja Kinski at
their best, in those sequences, brings a valuable commodity to
the finished product, which is its entire dream-like
atmosphere. This is what makes believable the otherwise
impossible turn of events, that favor the 2 protagonists against
failure, and against all odds, at each turn and moment during
the course of the movie.

The musical score is also exceptional, for a movie of this
genre, and is a pleasure througout the 90 minutes.

A last note, is the presence of James Gandolfini, early in his
career, presented as a "bad guy" obviously, yet ... this actor,
despite his later similar role in the Sopranos, is perhaps not
that much of a natural as a bad guy - this being one person's
opinion.

I liked this movie. Even though one of the villans was a little over acted. I've seen it several times and enjoyed it a lot. Charlie Sheen is great. Nastassja Kinski is great also and absolute gorgeous. James Gandolfini is excellent.

Suspenseful action comedy with Charlie Sheen and Nastassja Kinski. An American sky diver is urged by a former Russian female agent to help her in uncovering a gold smuggling. Nastassja Kinski is fascinating as always.

I watched this film for the first time during a long distance plane journey, many years ago and I just had to rewind the tape and watch it all over again as the film just enthralled me.
It is far superior to many action films that have done better than this at the Boxoffice.
Charlie Sheen and Natassia Kinski have great chemistry and the dialogues between them are really funny and engaging.
The director Deran Serafian does a great job of keeping the action, suspense and the story moving along at a fast clip and the tongue-in cheek humor goes a long way to keep everything in perspective.
Trust me and jump in for the ride, you won't be disappointed.

Terminal Velocity was a very straightforward movie. It described a believable and interesting tale of a young girl who got entangled with the wrong people but was saved by an honest skydiver who really cared. The idea of her faking her own death was intriguing and the way the deed was executed was brilliant. On the negative end, it became less watchable as she and Ditch constantly went from arguing to flirting. The acting of the antagonists was well-done. They look like mobsters and act like mobsters moderately well. At a few points in the movie, they seemed to be hard to tolerate, with their "know it all" attitude. But, the last few action sequences in the movie were excellent. After watching the movie, it seemed like a believable plot that really didn't stretch anything. The only other weak elements in this movie were the terrible attempts at inside jokes off and on throughout the movie. But they (the jokes) didn't mean anything to the movie and it is a movie that I recommend.