Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
NAVIGATING THE WILD FUTURE, November 5, 2005
Five Stars!! As a SciFi fan, this is one of my favorite movies. When the failures of mankind in managing the environment come to a tragic head, nature turns against us. The movie starts after a series of earthquakes, tidal waves, and such have virtually destroyed nations and economies and people are left to fend for themselves in enclaves. The major manifestation confronting mankind is a river of wind called the SlipStream, a virtual jet stream which has descended to the Earth's surface and literally destroys all structures. Major travel is by ultra-light aircraft and balloons between settlements.
Bill Paxton plays Matt, an opportunistic wanderer on future Earth who sees a chance to score some money by kidnapping a wanted prisoner with a bounty on his head. The problem is that he's already captured by the law in the person of Mark Hamill and Kitty Aldridge as Tasker and Belitski. Little does Paxton know that the prisoner is a special man and the two cops are not willing to give him up at all for a specific reason. The ensuing chase makes for a hoot of a SciFi romp through a fascinating future earth's places and people.
SlipStream boasts an outstanding cast with a riveting Mark Hamill as you've never seen him before, Bill Paxton in a great wisecracking role; Bob Peck as the object of everyone's desire; the comely Kitty Aldridge as one tough, trash-talking sexy cop; F. Murray Abraham and Ben Kingsley in terrific cameos; and others like Robbie Coltrane in a funny but ultimately tragic cameo. Plus, Eleanor David who steals every scene she's in. "SlipStream" is a frightening look into the possible awful near-future of Earth. Based on current events like the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, we may well be hurtling toward this type of future if we are not careful.
This movie has one of the best movie scores you will ever hear by the fabulous Academy Award-winning super composer Elmer Bernstein and please do sit through the credits to enjoy it all. I have it on my 'best of the best' cassette. And also sit thru the credits to enjoy the wild balloons. Five WINDY Stars.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
NOT ALL THAT BAD, September 18, 2005
For what it is, SLIPSTREAM is not all that bad a movie. It's got interesting characters and some good acting, and the storyline is tolerable if you're not looking for depth. Watching it's a good way to pass a rainy weekend afternoon.
To clarify, in regards to Savanthar's completely inaccurate review:
Mark Hamill plays the lawman bad guy with the blond hair and beard. Ben Kingsley is the leader of the settlement who gets trapped under the big stone wheel. Bill Paxton is the long-haired hero who streals "Byron" away from Mark Hamill at the beginning of the film. And F. Murray Abraham is the mustached leader of the underground museum group whom Mark Hamill clocks in the head with his gun.
Enjoy.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great, thoughtful sci-fi movie...weird packaging, April 18, 2007
I remember seeing this movie as a kid and really enjoying it. A feeling of nostalgia prompted me to add it to my DVD collection recently, and I'm very glad that I did. I just finished viewing this movie again after receiving my order from Amazon, and I'm pleased to report that even after a span of about 18 years, I still think this is some pretty good science fiction.
In terms of realism, the movie plays pretty fast and loose. You'll just have to take it for granted that Bill Paxton is a hardened scavenger living in the remains of a collapsed, post-apocalyptic Earth when what you actually see is Bill flying a little solar-powered airplane around for no apparent reason and then charming the pants off of every woman he meets...oh wait, I guess there was a reason for all the flying around.
What you essentially have here is a buddy/road-trip movie in a fairly compelling science fiction setting. Technology vs. Nature, Man vs. Machine, Duty vs. Self, it's all here and more. This really is some of the more thoughtful science fiction I've seen and enjoyed. The treatment of some of these concepts is a bit superficial and/or fuzzy in places, but hey, what can you expect: it's a 90 minute B-grade sci-fi movie, and even so, I loved it from start to finish.
On a side note, I must ask: why in the world is Bob Peck not shown or credited anywhere on the DVD packaging? I mean, his character (Byron) is only the central plot device of the entire movie, and he shares the lead with Bill Paxton...no reason at all to include his name or even a picture of the man on the DVD case, huh? Instead, we get busts of Bill Paxton, Ben Kingsley, F. Murray Abraham, and Mark Hamill on the front of the case, but for the life of me I cannot fathom why the pictures of these actors were not taken from the movie "Slipstream." I swear to God that the picture they used for Bill Paxton must have been lifted from Apollo 13 or Twister or something, because Mr. Paxton looks nothing like that for his role in Slipstream. Ditto for the other actors pictured. Mark Hamill is pictured on the cover with black hair and a black goatee. His hair in the movie, however, is so blonde it's almost white! Not that any of this packaging strangeness detracts from the movie, but I strongly suspect that Kraft Foods, Inc. may have been involved in the design of the DVD cover because it's definitely the cheesiest.
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