Addiction is a bitch! I know. I have a raging addiction to Grape Nuts. In fact, I just dumped a whole box of ‘em down my pants. Ooooo…the crunchy goooodnessss.
Jack’s got a problem. You see, Jack signed up as a guinea pig for some top-secret experiments in which the government administers brand new drugs to their test subjects to see how they react. Not knowing exactly what he is taking, Jack finds himself hopelessly addicted to the drug and decides to break into the lab to steal a whole crate full of the stuff. This is a big no-no with his higher ups and they send an army of gun toting thugs after Jack to get their dope back. Not being too shabby of a marksman for a junkie, Jack manages to blow away the first wave of thugs – John Woo style. Needing a quick escape from the lab, Jack decides to kidnap the first person he sees. This happens to be the attractive Molly. Jack forces Molly to drive him as far away from the crime scene as possible. As reluctant as she is, Molly quickly finds herself being wrangled into the whole mess due to her own excellent marksmanship, helping Jack waste bad guys as they follow them wherever they go. But Jack needs more help than that and he’s not sure what to do. Not only is he addicted to this experimental drug, but it’s also got the interesting side effect of granting him the power of second sight. These drug-induced glimpses into the future end up guiding Jack and Molly on a dangerous journey.
This is a film with style and there’re some good ideas here and there as well. First off, this film…is shot on film. Yaaaaaay! I’m a sucker for good old film grain, but this feature is also shot on black-and-white film and that’s extra punker points for the filmmakers. Add that black-and-white film to the Hong Kong inspired action sequences and you’ve got some prime watching here. Good show!
Secondly, the story is interesting enough to hold one’s attention for 81 minutes, but it would’ve have been more interesting if the characters were better molded. Basically, I didn’t buy the whole team-up situation between Jack and Molly whatsoever. Sure Molly was reluctant to join Jack on his blind crusade and yeah she wound up having to kill some people, but I saw no reason that she just couldn’t have run to the cops to end this whole fiasco or just plain kick this Jack guy in the nuts, take his drug stash and go hide in the mountains to get high with the sasquatch. And besides being unbelievable, there’s nothing really entirely fascinating about these characters except for the situation that they’re caught up in. For a junkie, Jack sure seems like a straight edge type guy throughout the
film. I figured some weird experimental drug that allowed him sneak peaks of future events would make him edgier. He just seemed too normal to me. And as far as Molly goes, I think it would’ve worked better if she played as more of a helpless victim who manages to lash out with violence when absolutely forced to. Instead, she’s a bad a*s right from the start, packing a heater and having little tolerance for taking s**t from anyone. There’s no tension there, nor is there any room for these characters to grow.
Still, I couldn’t help but watch. It reminds me of one of Guy Ritchie’s films – lot of style, very little substance, except this film is way better than anything that guy has ever done. I’m telling you, director Scott Adderton has the chops and the only thing keeping this film from being something truly great are unconvincing characters. Keep your eye out for this guy.
