Rating: **
Producer: Joel Silver
Cast: William Baldwin, Cindy Crawford
This may not be a very good movie, but I've always had a soft spot for super model Cindy Crawford (or maybe that was a hard spot...). She's one of the few high profile models I can think of who seems to have no illusions about herself and has a pretty decent head on her shoulders. Anyway, in her film debut, Ms. Crawford plays a lawyer whose actions are getting in the way of some important dealings that some Russian mobsters have going down. So they decide to kill her. Lucky for her, these Russian sharp shooters have really bad aim, and she eventually gets out of harm's way with the aid of a handsome policeman (William Baldwin). In typical by-the-book fashion, they get caught, taken to the bad guys' hideout, learn the bad guys' plan, escape, blow up the bad guys' lair, foil the bad guys' plans, bring everyone to justice, and live happily ever after.
It works alright as an average low-brow action film, but my biggest complaint is with the treatment of Cindy Crawford. She's playing a lawyer in an action movie, not a super model on a photo shoot for "Sports Illustrated." Yet, it seems the filmmakers didn't realize this and insisted on filming her as a model instead of an actress. This inappropriate and incompetent filmmaking destroys the flow and continuity of the film. As far as Cindy's performance goes, she looks great, but her delivery is a bit flat and unconvincing. She's not afraid to get roughed up, though, and her brief light-weight action scenes are pretty good. Much to my surprise and disappointment, she falls for William Baldwin (who wouldn't?) and actually gets naked with him. It's tasteful and artistically done, but totally unnecessary and reeks of exploitive marketing. Much like "Barb Wire" (1996), this film could have been a lot better if they concentrated more on Cindy Crawford's action persona instead of her naked breasts. For people like Cindy, sexuality and sensuality come naturally through the subtle presentation of their characters. It's not necessary to shove it right into the viewer's face, which cheapens and ultimately destroys the desired effect (but still manages to sell a lot of tickets). Overall, it's an okay film with enough highlights to keep you awake.