Slipstream is far better than the review rankings indicate. The film is a nice break from today's frayed sci-fi kill the monster or be killed plot lines. Slipstream fits in more with the likes of Asimov, Bradbury, or Dick. Sure, there are some familiar plot points like a dystopian near future, environmental devastation, societal collapse, human movements back into nature (actually, sounds a bit like right now, huh?). Intriguing, though, is the common mode of transport, ultralights. With the shifting of the jet stream to cover more of the planet and closer to the surface, the pilots use these "slipstreams" to get around as ground transport is nearly obsolete. And these elements are kept nicely in the background, providing a tapestry for the story, which is a basic cop chase, double crosses, introspection, and interesting character (one of which is an android) interactions. It is worth watching the film for the flying scenes and the key exterior locations alone -- Cappadoccia, Turkey, and Malham Rocks UK. Director Steven Lisberger (Tron), Music Elmer Bernstein, Cast includes Bob Peck, Mark Hamill, Kitty Aldridge, Bill Paxton, Robbie Coltrane, Ben Kingsley, F. Murray Abraham? Come on! Get it!

1989—six years after the third and final chapter in the Star Wars trilogy: Harrison Ford is a Hollywood megastar, Carrie Fisher is a best-selling novelist, and even Warwick Davis is enjoying the high life, having been leading man in Ron Howard's fantasy flick Willow. Mark Hamill, on the other hand, is struggling to find anything other than minor TV roles and voice-over work since hanging up his light sabre. Could a major role in Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz's post apocalyptic sci-fi Slipstream be just the thing to revive his flagging career?Does a wookie like losing? Does C3PO enjoy space travel? Is George Lucas any good at writing dialogue?Despite Hamill's best efforts, the actor putting in a respectable performance as a ruthless bounty-hunter out to apprehend an android suspected of murder, Slipstream is a monumental stinker of a movie, one that attempts to be both popcorn entertainment and cerebral sci-fi, but which fails in both departments. Horribly flawed, charmless, and disjointed, this misjudged mess boasts soporific direction, dreadful characterisation, a rousing score that is completely incongruous to all that it accompanies, and (Hamill apart) terrible acting, with Bill Paxton giving one of the most irritating performances I have ever seen (God only knows how his career continued to thrive after this fiasco).

Futuristic for certain, poorly edited for certain, beautiful on location photography for certain, acceptable acting by name cast for certain, uneven score for certain, surreal adventure for certain, disjointed storyline for certain. What is not so certain is the entertainment value of "Slipstream". The movie seems to have a polarizing effect, in other words love it or hate it. I suggest that the stunning visuals are memorable, while the entire screenplay is so jumbled, that it is easily forgettable. The image of a human carrying kite will stay with me long after memory of the film itself has faded into oblivion. - MERK

The first time I saw Slipstream, it was one of those all night movie binges that I and a handful of friends had on regular occasions during our final year of high school. We'd passed all the important stuff, and took the opportunity to unwind, with B-movie greatness! I admit, I don't remember the first viewing that well, I was half asleep around 3am in the morning, but something about it stuck with me and it became a target the next time I went to the rental store. It's been a guilty pleasure of mine ever since.It's not the best, but it's a good romp through a very different Earth of the future, with a group of unlikely heroes and a very memorable adversary in Mark Hamill, and he's not using the Force folks, he packs a very big gun in this one! Hamill's by-the-book cop, and Bill Paxton's, fly by the seat of your pants pilot, looking to make the "Big Score", make great rivals. Throw in a joyride through a well shot landscape of varying future cultures and a mix of strange religions and hidden recluses, and it's well worth a watch on a rainy afternoon.The idea for the film seemed pretty well thought out, it's just that it came out at a time when anyone and everyone could get money to do a film, but maybe not quite enough to do it justice. I'd like to have seen what a bigger budget could've done, because Slipstream had potential. Would've been nice to see a bit more of the world, and maybe some more background material, but what you get does a good enough job of getting the "feel" of the movie across. My only sticky point would be the rather cut-short ending, but it's still a favorite and has a place on my DVD rack as long as it wants it!