Gale Force (2002) (V)

Director:

Jim Wynorski

Writer:

Steve Latshaw (writer)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

Don't mess with mother nature

Plot:

A new reality-style game show, "Treasure Hunt" has invited a cast of contestants, including a Los Angeles...

Plot Keywords:

Hurricane | Treasure Hunt | Reality Show | Murder

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Treat Williams	...	Sam Garrett
Susan Walters	...	Susan Billings
Cliff De Young	...	Stuart McMahon
Tim Thomerson	...	Phillip Edwards
Marcia Strassman	...	Kim Nelson
Dave Hager	...	Whitney
Gretchen Palmer	...	Tina Mason
William Zabka	...	Rance
Eric James Virgets	...	Jeffries
Renee Ridgeley	...	Julie Connors
Bruce Nozick	...	Jack MacRae
Tamara Davies	...	Mindi Rain
Robert Clotworthy	...	Bill Cassidy
Curtis Armstrong	...	Steve Chaney
Michael Dudikoff	...	Jared

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

USA:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | USA:R | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden - 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA

Company:

Phoenician Entertainment

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: At the beginning of the movie, when the house gets blown up and the cop car gets blown back, the hydraulic bar used to push up and throw away the car is visible on the lawn.

Movie Connections:

Edited from Last Action Hero (1993)

HURRICANE meets SURVIVOR

Granted, GALE FORCE isn't going to win any Oscars or even be mentioned in movie guide books years from now. But it's a fun low-budget movie for those looking for a film with at least competent actors and a hair-thin story. Treat Williams headlines the cast as a maverick L.A. detective (what else?) who reluctantly agrees to be a contestant on a SURVIVOR-like show in order to make ends meet. "Treasure Hunters" places a group of people on an island, and branching into two teams, they must follow clues and find the buried treasure before the other. When a group of mercenaries infiltrate the island to take the loot for themselves, the game show quickly turns into a deadly cat and mouse game of survival. Williams carries the film pretty well considering he didn't even want to do it, but had to due to contractual obligations. B-movie action star Michael Dudikoff does a rare performance as the bad guy, leader of the mercs, and displays a fair amount of menace that might have been more intimidating had the direction been tighter. Rounding out the cast is B-movie veteran Tim Thomerson as a rugged ex-Navy SEAL; Susan Walters, the girl with a name that rhymes with a part of the female anatomy from a classic episode of SEINFELD; Cliff DeYoung, in his stock weasel character; and Cliff Armstrong from the REVENGE OF THE NERD movies. The film also borrows scenes from LAST ACTION HERO, PREDATOR, and BAT-21 to save on cost and time. On the DVD commentary, director Jim Wynorski and the cinematographer joke about their usage of pre-existing footage and acknowledge the fact the film is dumb but fun. I wouldn't necessarily call it a dumb movie (I bought the DVD after all because I'm a Dudikoff junkie), but it's certainly not a great movie. The concept is definitely a great starting point, and though this film handles it decently, I can just imagine what a big-budget studio film could do with it.