 Weather forecast: rain. Action forecast: Hard Rain, the torrential, excitement-swept thriller featuring a screenplay from the writer of Speed and the on-screen talents of Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Randy Quaid and Minnie Driver. The setting is the flood-ravaged, evacuated town of Huntingburg, where armored car driver Tom (Slater) is in deep danger. A gang of thieves (led by Freeman) figures the flood is the chance to heist the $3 million Tom's transporting from local banks. But there's one thing the gun-carrying criminals don't count on - Tom. Come hell, high water or both, he's determined to deliver the money entrusted to him. But before he does, he'll have to survive a relentless pursuit filled with close calls, ever-rising water, uncertain loyalties and heart-stopping heroics. Storyline: Set during a massive flood started by a dam accident in a small town, Tom (Christian Slater) is an armored truck guard who gets robbed by Jim (Morgan Freeman). Tom gets away with all the money and hides it. In a panic, he tells the sheriff about the area he hid the money in and the sheriff locks him up. Now Tom has to get to the money and keep himself alive battling the sheriff, Jim and his crew and the elements. Written by ShowBob Cast Notes: Morgan Freeman (Jim), Christian Slater (Tom), Randy Quaid (Sheriff), Minnie Driver (Karen), Edward Asner (Uncle Charlie), Michael A. Goorjian (Kenny), Dann Florek (Mr. Mehlor), Ricky Harris (Ray), Mark Rolston (Wayne Bryce), Peter Murnik (Phil), Wayne Duvall (Hank), Richard A. Dysart (Henry Sears), Betty White [I] (Doreen), Ray Baker (Mayor), Lisa Fuhrman (Mayor's Wife). User Comment: Mr Ben from Hampshire, England, 8 February 2004 • I remember seeing the trailer for this film some years ago and thinking it looked pretty good. Thankfully, the BBC decided to show it last night. Had it been something else, I might have ended up watching "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" on Five. Again. Besides, "Hard Rain" was largely met with disinterested shrugs upon release and that is a shame. Just because it's unconventional doesn't mean it's a load of old rubbish and you'd be a harsh critic indeed to describe this film as "rubbish". "Hard Rain" stars Christian Slater as a goody-two-shoes employee of a armoured truck firm who, together with his uncle, collect $3,000,000 from a bank in a town that's about to be flooded (phew!). Trouble arrives in the shape of the typically brilliant Morgan Freeman who, with his gang of cronies, are intent on collecting the money for themselves. Throw in Minnie Drive as the damsel in distress and Randy Quaid as the gun-toting' sheriff and what you have is the wettest Western ever made. Despite some dodgy CGI effects, the film is well worth watching. Freeman is by far and away the best actor on screen, offering depth to a character (if you'll forgive the pun) where most would take the role at face-value, like Minnie Driver. Credit too must go to the rest of the cast, who spend most of the film up to their waists in water which must make the action sequences especially dangerous and thrilling to watch. Leonardo de Caprio and Kate Winslet, take note. Speaking of the action, it is both exciting to watch and original. Highlights for me include a jet-ski ride through a high school, a shoot-out at a flooded cemetery and Slater's escape from a prison cell as the water rises around him. To break up the action, the bickering old couple still trapped in the town offer some genuinely funny moments and the change which comes over the characters during the film makes for a tense finale. OK, so some of the town looks like a model when the water comes crashing down the street and as I said earlier, some of the CGI could be touched up a bit. The church roof, for example, clearly isn't on fire as Slater et al speed away from it. But the fact remains that this is a highly recommended picture. It isn't the best action film you'll see but it is different enough to warrant your attention and certainly one which you'll enjoy. If you can forgive a little out-of-date CGI, occasional suspect editing and Minnie Driver acting worse than a piece of driftwood then this film could be the one to float your boat. Summary: Something a little different from the norm. IMDb Rating (03/14/15): 5.8/10 from 24,741 users IMDb Rating (01/15/10): 5.6/10 from 13,627 users IMDb Rating (06/01/01): 5.5/10 from 2,547 users
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
