Shakedown (2002)

In Los Angeles a deadly plague called the 'Pandora' virus is stolen from a high-security installation, and the F.B.I. calls in Agent Alec 'Mac' Mckay to follow up the leads. A trained ... See full summary »

Director:

Brian Katkin

Writers:

Dan Acre, Damian Akhavi,

Stars:

Wolf Larson, Erika Eleniak, Ron Perlman

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Wolf Larson	...	Agent Alec 'Mac' MacKay
Erika Eleniak	...	Julie Hayes
Ron Perlman	...	Christopher 'St. Joy' Bellows
Fred Dryer	...	General Wolf
Ray Laska	...	Agent Greenwood
Morocco Omari	...	Tony B
Matt Westmore	...	Agent Lee
Brandon Karrer	...	Scotty Hayes
Moe Irvin	...	J
Robert Arce	...	Dr. Wilhelm Siebert
Deborah Shelton	...	Agent Neal
Sam Scarber	...	Agent Taylor
Hugh Hodgin	...	Crozier
Charmaine Cruz	...	Ms. Grant
Rachel Riley	...	Hostage Girl

Storyline

In Los Angeles a deadly plague called the 'Pandora' virus is stolen from a high-security installation, and the F.B.I. calls in Agent Alec 'Mac' Mckay to follow up the leads. A trained virologist, he discovers the culprit is one of the world's top researchers. He discovers the man has a safety box in a bank vault and a trap is laid to capture both the doctor and reclaim the virus. Meanwhile, Julie Hayes discovers her do-well brother Scotty has become involved in the plan to rob a bank... The very bank that the F.B.I. is now watching in their bid to reclaim the Pandora virus. An unwilling accomplice, Julie tries to alert the bank staff, unaware that the man she thinks is a bank teller is in fact Mac working undercover. Things go from bad to worse when the errant doctor, looking tense and terrified, arrives with a tall, blond-haired, leather-clad man whom the watching agents identify as St. Joy, the leader of the L.R.A., a well-known doomsday cult. St. Joy wants Pandora. He wants Pandora...

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Plot Keywords:

bank | virus | fbi | agent | earthquake | 

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Taglines:

The Quake of the Century.

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 December 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Földindulás

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Califilm, New Concorde

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 92 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brian Katkin:  Helicopter pilot.

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Quotes

Christopher 'St. Joy' Bellows: I'm dying today, one way or another.

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Connections

Edited from Earthquake (1974)

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Soundtracks

"Everything Is Money"
Written by Christopher Farrell and Brian Katkin
Vocal by Brian Katkin
Silver Strand Music, BMI

User Reviews

Skip it, baby. (spoilers)

This is one of the worst action films I have ever seen. This is particularly due to much of the factual implausibility (like an obvious agent posing as a bank loan officer while making obvious that he is speaking to someone through a wire or the scene where the scientists assume it is safe to enter a room in which a virus has been released even though 'it has not found a viable host' does not mean that it will never find one), the cheap sets (the bank looks like it was poorly constructed to resemble a dungeon), and the bad acting. It is the story of an organized crime group that has successfully stolen a capsule of the lethal virus. However, the head honcho who decides to remove it from a bank security deposit box, does so at the same time a bank heist is going down, at the same FBI agents have been informed of this, and at the same time a terrible earthquake erupts. Needless to say, the aftermath of the quake is messy in more ways than one. However, the results do not make for an enticing action film, but instead, one that has been obviously z-grade junk from the beginning of the film. (Perhaps this is why some of the screen captures on the packaging look to be created with computer graphics rather than being actual screen captures from various sequences of the film). What the hell Ron Perlman was doing in this, I have no idea. I wonder if he was as embarrassed to be in it as I was to have watched it.