"Terminal Velocity" is another one of those highly charged, average adventure films with over the top action and absolutely no plot.Director Deran Sarafian makes sure the action comes thick and fast, with some of the stunts being truly spectacular, especially one particular scene in which our hero finds himself hurtling towards the earth in a convertible car, from thousands of feet up! The movie is loud, fast and has an unrelenting pace which should keep most movie-goers too preoccupied to be worrying about the absent storyline.Charlie Sheen and Nastassja Kinski star, and both fit the bill nicely as the attractive, home grown (maybe not Nastassja) heroes, yet both have little depth to work with. What disappoints me is that Charlie Sheen is so much better than this. After struggling to make a name for himself, he really sky rocketed to stardom with two sensational performances, first in Oliver Stone's "Platoon" (86), and then again for Stone in "Wall Street" (88). Since then though it's been downhill all the way for Sheen as he quickly returned to selecting second rate scripts. Kinski (who still looks sensational) is also much better than this movie would suggest.David Twohy's script, about a hot shot skydiver who suddenly finds his world turned upside down when a mysterious 'student' enters his life, avoids the painfully obvious just enough. There's no obligatory love scene for instance, but all the villains are predictably wicked and two dimensional, and all get their comeuppance. Just another reluctant hero saving the world from evil clutches.Friday, February 10, 1995 - Greater Union Melbourne

It's impossible to deny that Terminal Velocity is a terrible, clichéd mess impersonating an action film; but then again, it's very difficult not to have a great laugh watching it. In the right conditions, this frankly rather dull action thriller becomes a hilarious comedy, and I'm glad to say that I saw the film under the right conditions. The plot is reminiscent of just about any other 'some guy gets pulled into a dodgy situation' action film ever made, and scriptwriter David Twohy clearly delights in throwing in cliché after cliché between and during several explosion infested action sequences. The film is held together by it's leading man; the laughably silly Charlie Sheen, who is just great in the role of Richard 'Ditch' Brodie, a skydiving instructor who is drawn into the 'world of espionage' after a young girl that he'd like to have sex with apparently falls to her death. It's obvious that the plot is just an excuse for lots of stunts because the object at the centre of the tale - some gold disk or something - never really figures properly in the story.The thing that makes this film so hilarious is the fact that you're never entirely sure whether or not the comedy is intentional. Certain one-liners clearly are, but then there's scenes such as the one that sees Charlie Sheen casually mutter 'goddamnit', just as he's about to plummet down a coal burning tower that ensure the doubt still lingers. Charlie Sheen's persona perfectly fits the very silly role given to him in this film. Seeing him swan around with a barrage of 'manly' gestures and a complete lack of modesty ensures that there's always something to laugh at during Terminal Velocity. The ending is about as original as saying that you've packed everything but the kitchen sink, and sees all three of the textbook action film conclusions appear on screen one after another. First we have the high-octane action stunt sequence, which isn't too bad despite being rather hard to buy, even in this sort of film. This is followed by the Mano a Mano dual between lead good guy and lead bad guy, but best of all is the cheesy sentimental final climax, which really had me in stitches. I hope the comedy in this film wasn't intentional.

Aaaah, what can I say about yet another action movie whose story must have been made up by a drunk and unemployed screenwriter with writers block. I'm sorry if that sounds a bit too hard for some people or if you are a big fan of this movie (it's not because I don't like it that you can't love it of course), but this movie really had nothing to offer that blew me away. I don't know why, but somehow it is almost impossible to find an action movie with a decent script or story.It's the same problem with this movie: Ditch Brodie (Charlie Sheen) is a maverick skydiving instructor with a reputation that has made of him a first page news item for several times, but that will also cost him his job very soon. One fine day, a pretty girl steps into his office, asking to learn her skydiving. Of course he doesn't say no and he takes her with him on her first dive. But than he makes a fatal mistake, he loses her out of sight for one moment and before he knows what is happening she falls out of the airplane, without having opened her parachute, right to a gruesome death. When he is accused of man slaughter because he didn't attach her static line, he starts an investigation himself, finding out that she had something to do with the KGB and the Russian Mafia who are trying to steal gold from an airplane.Normally this movie would have gone by me completely unnoticed, but because Charlie Sheen, Nastassja Kinski and James Gandolfini were in it, I gave it a try. The acting isn't too bad for the three actors that I just mentioned (although not excellent either), but the others really never exceed the level of the average action flick. In my opinion this movie isn't very good, but at least it isn't as bad as a Steven Seagal or Jean-Claude Van Damme film. I give it a 5/10.

The bad wrap this movie seems to have here is in my opinion a bit over done. Terminal Velocity is not a bad action movie. Actually it's pretty damn good. Over the top at times, but still very good. And by over the top, I mean some of the skydiving sequences. For example, the climax where the car drops out of the plane.. the fall seems to last an eternity. In the end though, stuff like that really doesn't matter if the rest of the movie is good. Luckily it is.This movie is also the last good movie Sheen did up until Being John Malkovich. And now after Scary Movie 3, maybe in time he'll end up back in the big leagues. Terminal Velocity won't change anybody's life, but as said, it is a good action movie.**** / *****