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Trespass (1992) -
Firefighters Vince (Bill Paxton) and Don (William Sadler) hunt for treasure in an abandoned factory that happens to be in gang territory in this loose riff on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It's lean, mean and full of men who are desperate and/or trigger happy, so it's a good thing that Walter Hill is at the helm. It's been said that the best acting occurs in confined spaces, and while Paxton and Sadler are no slouches, they still lend credence to this argument. Paxton's transition from a mere lover of exploring to a man who must fight for his life is as convincing as it is visceral. The same could be said of Sadler, who's not there just to play treasure hunter. It's also a joy to see Ice-T and Ice Cube, who play two of the more volatile gang members, simply be in the same movie because they play off each other just as well as the leads do. The movie's style makes it a relic of its time, especially in its use of camcorder footage courtesy of aptly named audience surrogate gangster Video (T.E. Russell). Some have said that this touch is distracting or calls too much attention to itself, but I like it for the uncertainty it adds as to how it will pay off. There are several "best laid plans" thrillers like this one, and even though it's far from the best one, it has enough going for it from the cast to its unpredictably to its close-quartered intensity to recommend it. What's more, Tiny Lister has a tiny...sorry, small part in it (too easy). Oh, and a fun fact: legends Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis wrote the script when they were just starting out.
Firefighters Vince (Bill Paxton) and Don (William Sadler) hunt for treasure in an abandoned factory that happens to be in gang territory in this loose riff on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It's lean, mean and full of men who are desperate and/or trigger happy, so it's a good thing that Walter Hill is at the helm. It's been said that the best acting occurs in confined spaces, and while Paxton and Sadler are no slouches, they still lend credence to this argument. Paxton's transition from a mere lover of exploring to a man who must fight for his life is as convincing as it is visceral. The same could be said of Sadler, who's not there just to play treasure hunter. It's also a joy to see Ice-T and Ice Cube, who play two of the more volatile gang members, simply be in the same movie because they play off each other just as well as the leads do. The movie's style makes it a relic of its time, especially in its use of camcorder footage courtesy of aptly named audience surrogate gangster Video (T.E. Russell). Some have said that this touch is distracting or calls too much attention to itself, but I like it for the uncertainty it adds as to how it will pay off. There are several "best laid plans" thrillers like this one, and even though it's far from the best one, it has enough going for it from the cast to its unpredictably to its close-quartered intensity to recommend it. What's more, Tiny Lister has a tiny...sorry, small part in it (too easy). Oh, and a fun fact: legends Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis wrote the script when they were just starting out.