Black Cat Run (1998) from Tuna

Black Cat Run (1998), a made for TV thriller has everything, including excessive violence, lots of chase scenes, explosions, and Amelia Heinle, who shows her breasts in a very dark sex scene.
 So with all of the ingredients for an American thriller, how did they blow it? Well, they show a prisoner escape from a chain gang during the opening credits, then cut to a small town in Texas where the local garage owner's son wins auto races, dates the sheriff's daughter against his wishes, and pisses off the deputy who wants her. I am sure you can figure out the rest of the plot from here.

NUDITY REPORT

see the main commentary
 Part of the problem is that they take way too long to bring the prisoners into contact with the sheriff's daughter, so, by the time they do, I had already figured out the plot and stopped caring. The bad guys were one dimensional, and hence not very interesting. They didn't show nearly enough of Heinle. The love scene was so dark they could have skipped it entirely. 

The film was cut for violence in Germany and the UK. 

DVD info from Amazon.

  • no widescreen version

  • no major features

Scoop's note:

Amazingly enough, this made-for-TV actioner was written by Frank Darabont, who has written some damned good screenplays in his life, the best of which was probably The Shawshank Redemption.

The Critics Vote

  • no reviews online

The People Vote ...

  • With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 5.2 
IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a D.

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