The Alternate (2000)

Director:

Sam Firstenberg

Writer:

Bryan Genesse (writer)

Release Date:

14 May 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

The President of the United States, in the midst of negative puplic opinion, is kidnapped while attending a charity function...

Cast

Eric Roberts	...	The Replacement
Bryan Genesse	...	The Leader
Ice-T	...	Agent Williams
John Beck	...	President Fallbrook
Robert Madrid	...	Security Technician
Brooke Theiss	...	Mary
Larry Manetti	...	Agent Harris
Michael Madsen	...	Agent Briggs
Eliza Roberts	...	Chief of Staff Donaldson
J. Cynthia Brooks	...	Mrs. Fallbrook
Richard Steinmetz	...	Swat Leader
Heidi Jo Markel	...	Reporter
Ronn Moss	...	Fake President
Bill Kirchenbauer	...	Loud Texan
Sal Landi	...	Secret Service Agent

Also Known As:

Agent of Death (USA) (video box title)
The President (USA) (working title)
The Replacement (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

95 min | UK:91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | USA:R (Certificate #36670) | Australia:MA | Germany:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | UK:18 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Park Plaza Hotel - 607 S. Park View Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Nu Image Films

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end on the roof, when the 'replacement' picks up his pistol, it’s a black sleeved arm that picks it up, but he's wearing a white shirt and no jacket.

Really horrible

The Alternate, a story of President's mock-kidnapp that turns into a real hostage situation was aired just recently on nationwide TV here in Czech Rep. I saw it rather accidentally all through to the very end as I really wanted to know if every other minute will be as stupid as all the previous.

The Alternate really does it all, but unfortunately the other way out. All the plot twists (all places tha are supposed to be twists) are really the weakest links - the characters do almost always the opposite of what would any sane person do. The president just sits there (afraid of heights), our main hero makes silly phone calls with FBI in which he only says that he is fine and that he is the guy in the suit, and the bad guy (as well as the good guy) just always miss and in situations that should be filled with action, they just start with lines of stupid chat.

Really nothing in this movie was quite right. The FX were sometimes really silly, the martial fights were oscillating between acceptable quality and total crap and out of the thousands of rounds fired in the movie there is hardly dozen on target.

The act is horrible, but that is mainly due to stupid script and bad direction. You should see this only if you fancy B movies that are so stupid, that you can laugh at them.