Product Details

• Actors: Treat Williams, Lori Loughlin, Udo Kier, Blake Clark, Jack Betts
• Directors: Fred Olen Ray
• Writers: Sean McGinly
• Producers: Alan B. Bursteen, Alison Semenza, Jim Wynorski, Kimberly A. Ray
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Live / Artisan
• DVD Release Date: January 21, 2003
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 1.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00007G1TZ
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #133,497 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Critical Mass" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Prepare for nail-biting, heroic action when a dangerous terrorist group takes a nuclear facility hostage, determined to set off a meltdown the size of Chernobyl - throughout Southern California. Only one man, security agent Mike Jeffers, has what it takes to thwart the operation and divert the deadly attack.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Apparently they couldn't even make their own movie..., January 4, 2005

By	Risa Reif "Ninja Chick" (Denver CO America) - See all my reviews

I saw the preview to this and I saw clips of Terminator 2 and Universal Soldier in it. I told myself "that footage can't possibly be in the movie". I had to rent it to see.....and it is. Oh my God. What has the world come to that they have to edit in other action scenes from superior action movies into other movies to make them more exciting. The entire swat shootout from Terminator 2 is featured here and so is the semi / bus chase from Universal Soldier. How low could artisan entertainment sink to to allow this to happen. It's a shame that once decent actor Treat Williams has sunk so far and is forced to act in rip-off cinema like this to make a living. If you want great action, go buy Terminator 2 and Universal Soldier for the original footage and not this low budget footage stealer.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars So bad, it's a wonder it's not a cult movie!, August 11, 2004

By	Michele Knobel (Mexico) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I couldn't agree with the previous reviewer more--it's hard to believe that this movie could possibly have been made as a serious "action" flick. Right from the start, with the lead terrorist consulting his map of the building time after time after time, I assumed that the entire movie was a spoof! I'm still not quite convinced it 's not a tongue-in-cheek affair... I've watched it twice now with my husband, and we've thoroughly enjoyed creating our own running dialogue to accompany the movie and which points out all the things the characters overlook/do wrong/do poorly/don't do and should.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Joke, September 2, 2003

By	Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"Critical Mass" is so bad that it is actually enjoyable. There are so many holes in this plot that one wonders if there was actually a director assigned to the project. The basic plot centers around terrorists who steal nuclear material to make a bomb and then take over a nuclear power facility to blow it up. Amid numerous explosions and even a nice truck/bus chase in the high desert are enough plot holes to keep most movie audiences in hysterics. My favorite was in the Pentagon where top military brass are discussing the terrorist. The camera does a closeup of the dossier showing the actor's picture playing the terrorist. The next line is, "The terrorist, whose face is unknown..." Why tell us his face is unknown just after showing us his face? We had to replay this moment and then pause the DVD so my wife could stop laughing. Her favorite moment was when the terrorists are stealing the nuclear material and are walking around the facility. The leader has a little piece of notepaper which he keeps looking at about 7 times, as if he couldn't find his way up the stairs without looking at his paper. I wondered if maybe he had his lines printed there. Then you've got Andrew Prine playing a pompous state senator who is shooting an election commercial at the power plant when the terrorists attack. Prine and his lovely press secretary run for the door with security guard Treat Williams while the rest of the camera crew and reporters stand there allowing themselves to be shot. As the terrorists are running around the facility with automatic weapons looking for the them, Prine starts shouting at Williams in full voice. This happens repeatedly with the terrorists just inches away, but of course the shouting never attracts them. Also, when the bad guys get shot, none of the good guys picks up their weapons. Another moment is when Williams has captured and tied up a terrorist and sticks the Senator's tie in his mouth. Most people would just be able to take their tongue and push the tie out of their mouth and call for help; but this terrorist must sit there for 15 minutes until his buddy rescues him. You may enjoy replaying the moment where Andrew Prine steps on the explosive and is hurled through the air with a ball of fire. Most people would be burned or maimed, but Prine just winds up dead with a bit of fake blood on his nose. This is one of those movies where the plot is so bad that you can enjoy it as one of the most wonderfully incompetent films you're likely to run across. Another thing I like about the DVD is the special features. The only special feature is some previews of other films I never heard of. When you push it to watch the previews, it starts playing "Critical Mass" again. Have a laugh, you won't do much else with this clinker! Taxi!