The film has all the feel, graphics, CG effects, and dialouge as a made for TV film. Dennis Archer (Ty Hungerford) is supposed to deliver information to James, an FBI agent (Cuba Gooding Jr.) but dies before it happens, although they haven't found the body. Mild manner accountant Archer had faked his death before in NY when he was married to investigative reporter Rebecca Scott (Emmanuelle Vaugier). Rebecca did an article on an Australian billionaire who is now under criminal investigation. It just so happens her ex-dead husband worked for him before he died a second time.Rebecca goes to Australia to investigate her husband's death and ends up tagging along with Cuba Goodling jr. after his initial protest.The script is improbable to say the least, especially the main relationship. NY driver's licenses do not require fingerprints either. The film was far too predictable to make it enjoyable. The highlight of the picture is the occasional predictable banter that goes on between Goodling and Vaugier. Save your money and wait for Lifetime to show it.Parental Guide: no f-bombs or sex. Some distorted frosted shower scene rear nudity...and I think she was wearing a bikini on top of that. Some violence, but really doesn't rate an "R" in my opinion.

ABSOLUTE DECEPTION is another B-movie thriller from director Brian Trenchard-Smith, a man responsible for some great and some not-so-great films over the years. This is one of his better movies, a fast-paced story of corruption and murder and the crusading efforts of a couple of small fry to bring down the big bad guys.The film is set in Australia, of course, and features a gorgeous lead actress in the form of Emmanuelle Vaugier, who also delivers a pretty good performance to boot. Cuba Gooding Jr. hangs around the scenes too but has a very limited character although he handles himself well in the action stakes. Speaking of action, there's plenty of it here and it has a decent Bourne-style hard edge mixed with some of the old-fashioned stunts that Trenchard-Smith has always enjoyed inserting into his movies. Although the story is nothing special the bright and colourful cinematography makes this a fine-looking thriller and a film I enjoyed throughout.

Review: This is a terrible "made for TV" type movie with bad acting and a boring storyline. I lost interest earlier on in the movie because it was obvious what was going on. The director tried to add some wit to this thriller, which really didn't work, and the lady who played the leading role wasn't really that convincing as an investigator. I wasn't expecting that much from the film, so I wasn't overly disappointed, but the director could have at least tried to make a watchable film. The whole thing seemed cheap without that much thought so I would leave this one off of your rental list. Terrible!Round-Up: This must have been a simple pay day for Cuba Gooding Jr. I can't see him reading the script, thinking that it was that amazing, and you can tell by his acting that he didn't put his all into it so I will just out this down to another bad choice. The lady who plays the lead (Emmanuele Vaugier), who has starred in movies like Saw II and 40 Days & 40 Nights, wasn't that amazing in this film. She just became annoying after a while which made the movie more difficult to watch. I recommend this movie to people who like there cheap thrillers about a woman trying to find out what happened to her dead husband. 1/10

Aussie director Brian Trenchard-Smith's reputation for squeezing every penny while delivering action mixed with a somewhat warped sense of humour is on scant display in his latest project, Absolute Deception. Queensland's sun-drenched Gold Coast is the perfect backdrop for a high- stakes game of cat and mouse, and the film makes for a mostly tolerable experience, but lacks any point of difference amidst the stunted landscape of action-thrillers.Cuba Gooding Jr. plays a no-nonsense FBI agent who witnesses the murder of Miles, a man about to placed in witness protection. In giving the bad news to the victim's wife (the stunning Emmanuelle Vaugier), we learn that Miles faked his death two years prior, setting up a web of lies that seem to tie in with Miles' shady second wife and Murdoch-esque media mogul Mr. Osterberg.Gooding and Vaugier display solid chemistry as the reluctant tag team, and their snappy interplay forms the highlight of the film. Unfortunately, outside of these fleeting moments of creativity, there is little else to stimulate the senses script-wise. Even more surprisingly, it is actually Vaugier, as the nosy and fearless reporter Rebecca Scott, who drives most of the plot. Meanwhile, Gooding feels more like a bit player despite his top billing, leaving much to be desired considering he is infinitely the more interesting character.Although highly revered by a man who built an empire on cinematic thrills in Quentin Tarantino, Trenchard-Smith fails to impose his will on the film's direction. This isn't without giving it a decent shake-up in the process, but every time Absolute Deception looks primed for a step into the big leagues it grounds out in a blaze of unfettered predictability; a matinée shell of something that could've been a ton of fun. *There's nothing I love more than a bit of feedback, good or bad. So drop me a line on [email protected] and let me know what you thought of my review. If you're looking for a writer for your movie website or other publication, I'd also love to hear from you.*