Maximum Velocity (2003)

Director:

Phillip J. Roth

Writer:

Brett Orr (writer)

Genre:

Action

Plot:

After a comet passes the Earth it causes a cataclysmic storm. Only a disbanded government unit with a secret weather-manipulating weapon can try to stop it. |

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Dale Midkiff	...	Dr.Timothy Briggs
Michael Ironside	...	General Amberson
Wendy Carter	...	Dr. Natalie Jamas
Gregor Törzs	...	Andy (as Gregor Toerzs)
Jennifer Jostyn	...	Karen Briggs (1973-2002)
P.K. Ewing	...	Commander Ricks
Alan Austin	...	Hitchins
Jeff Rank	...	Echolson
Ralph Goff	...	Ross
Jennifer Warkel	...	Sarah
Kate Goggin	...	Trish
Jeffrey Gorman	...	Security Guard
Tyrone Pinkham	...	Jack - Floor Director
Jon Barnes	...	Chet - Anchorman
Lance Chwan	...	Suit

Also Known As:

Mamimum Impact (UK) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some action violence/peril.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Sofia, Bulgaria

Company:

MV Productions LLC

Trivia:

In a wide shot of the plane dragging the purple lightening ball over a mountain, you can spot down in the bottom left corner of the screen, for the first three frames, a tiny image of "The Grinch". Artists snuck it in as a joke, because the mountain looked similar to the mountains from the Ron Howard film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the boom of the KC-135 broke off of the 747, fuel would not still be coming out the way it did. The boom has a shut off value, and once disconnected from the receiver aircraft the fuel would stop to flow.

OK for a sleepless night's entertainment

A good cast composed of war and sci fi veterans (Ironside) and up and coming talent (Midkiff, Carter, Toersz, Jostyn, etc) is assembled in this medium-low budget disaster film. The plot completely lacks any scientific plausibility, but tries pretty hard to generate a modicum of believability and suspense anyway. Essentially, the air force has been developing a secret weapon capable of producing or controlling an incredibly violent storm. This weapon involves flying a large aircraft into a hurricane at high speed. Just as the project is shut down, a stealth meteor has a near miss with earth and stirs up a super-storm which will make the East coast of North America uninhabitable for hundreds of years, if not forever. Note that the 'black comet (sic)' is apparently undetected by our planet's multitude of astronomers because it is black!!!! I am not kidding. So, the pilot and scientist who lead the original Stormfury team are reluctantly recalled to reverse-engineer the storm. A few subplots are tossed in for seasoning. Essentially, the plot combines poor comprehension of a number of legitimate contemporary concerns with a variety of pop environmental paranoias and adds Michael Ironside.

The film is not quite as bad as "The Day After Tomorrow" but don't get me wrong - it's still pretty bad. The acting is mostly good. The directing, editing, effects and cinematography are adequate - though not particularly interesting. Philip Roth produced and directed, drawing on his very rapidly growing repertoire of mediocre low-budget action and sci fi films to good advantage. Roth knows how to crank 'em out and keep 'em under-budget. Given the idiocy of the story line, this would have been a far greater disaster under less competent management. The script is pretty flat and limits character development but keeps everything moving and doesn't lose focus.

Just out of curiosity I did a wee bit of research on DEJ Productions. You might want to follow in my tracks. The Company has an amazing productivity and has been responsible for a vast array of low-mid budget films which span many genres. Among their portfolio you might notice the 2005 Academy Award winner "Crash". No connection, just a fun and fruity factoid.