Let's not kid ourselves : If you plan on watching this it's because Rutger Hauers face is on the box. And I say box not poster because I doubt anyone really ever saw this in any theater. It's the kind of movie that gets put on cheap sets where two films share a disk or tape , at least that is how I watched it.It being so cheap the publishers apparently reason giving it its own disk would be uneconomical is a massive plus though; you forgive all its flaws immediately because you do get far more then whatever you are likely to pay for it:Namely Rutger Hauer. And it's a good thing he's here !The writing is both the film's major flaw and in the hands of Rutger Hauer its best feature.Looking back on the writing alone feels like you are reading the overambitious project of someone who has previously only done short stories from time to time.It has some interesting ideas that normally don't work as well in a motion picture as they would in let's say a Isaac Asimov type collection of short stories. But while you can just feel that it would have turned into a absolute mess when left to others Hauer manages to emphasize every single tidbit that makes it worthwhile.And if you get past the made-for-TV hammy qualities of it all there are some genuinely good concepts here. It makes you think, What gives someone the right to decide when someone is fit to be part of society?, Where is the line between rehabilitation and brainwashing ?( it is crossed in this film by the way , do doubt about it ). What parts of life can you control ?Honestly the next time you go to your local supermarket you start thinking : What would be the reason they put this isle next to that ?, do i really want that bag of chips? And that alone is pretty impressive. Though it may not seem like a masterpiece its really memorable. The casting besides Hauer seems like they all would be at least third picks for the role in most other productions.They are the kind of people that would be seen mostly in commercials from the time that this was made. As such the supporting cast's acting is far more hammy then Hauers is but it adds to the film. These people are fake ; they are wearing masks , they are forced to be something they aren't, or deliberately manipulating people into perceiving them in a way they can exploit. You can't know if a character is lying or is genuinely badly written and acted, and it's amazing. Furthermore whenever it gets too annoying Hauer's character does something that will make you want to keep watching ,in fact he is more annoyed then you are! He is snarly , grumpy , and stressed out, while everyone around him is either manipulated to act according to a unnatural mold, or overtly against him. And he deals with it all in a way that makes you high five everyone in the room if you watch it with friends.It's not the worlds best movie by any standard , but it genuinely makes you question those standards. If it's not a good movie its still one of the best watching experiences I have ever had. It's more entertaining than some 'better' Rutger Hauer films in fact. I mean sure Blade Runner is a great film , but let me choose between Wedlock and Blade-Runners director's cut and I choose Wedlock!It has a enjoyable pace and a runtime that is short enough for a fun campy evening along a few other movies. I highly recommend watching this with friends, I watched it with my roommates a few days after i saw it alone and it was even more fun! And i think that is how this film is meant to be seen. It may seem like cheap entertainment because of that , but it does have cultural relevance. In fact although it's not as gory and a lot cheaper , it's a lot like Robocop. It's more than meets the eye.

I watched this film on an intranet in China while wasting a few hours during one Beijing afternoon. Both Hauer and (Mimi) Rogers are competent actors and up until this film I hadn't seen a bad performance by either. All that changed with this film as neither actor is believable. I have no idea why two fine actors like Hauer and Rogers would get involved with a film this bad.This film proves to me that many of the people in the film industry have no idea how to actually make films that people want to watch (perhaps they should ask a few real people!). This film was too violent for no reason, had too much bad language but, strangely, had little or no sex and nudity! I must admit that I did not watch the whole film; after roughly an hour of this rubbish I neither cared about any of the characters or what happened to them! In fact, I'd almost given up on life itself! I would be interested if it made any money for the producers because it certainly didn't deserve to.The actual plot idea is quite good - a high security prison where inmates are kept from leaving by hi-tech collars around their necks. Unfortunately, not the writers, the director or the actors knew what to do with it to turn it into a good film. If you have an IQ higher than 50 or you are above 13, avoid this piece of trash like a prison sentence!

DEADLOCK (1992 - MADE FOR CABLE TV) **1/2 Rutger Hauer, Mimi Rogers, Joan Chen, James Remar, Stephen Tobolosky.Pretty good futuristic action/crime story with prisoners (Hauer and Rogers, make a fine couple) fitted with collars that can cause their heads to be blown off (a la Schwarzenegger's "The Running Man") as they pursue their double-partners in crime. Best scene : after days of solitude the greedy warden, wanting to know where Hauer has hidden some stolen loot, opens a door where Hauser - up to his neck in water - tells him: "North Pole...ask for Santa" and laughs maniacally.

This movie is about a prison, where the prisoners get a special collar. They are "linked" with another prisoner (but don't know which one). If they try to escape, and are too far away from each other, the collars explode. Rutger Hauer plays a guy who robs 25 million worth of diamonds, but gets double-crossed, and ends up in prison. The first part is your basic prison movie, later as Hauer escapes with his 'collar buddy' the movie turns into a fugitive movie where they are chased through the United States. Although I like the collar idea (which isn't original; it was used in The Running Man for instance), the movie is executed very poorly. The characters lack interest, and most are played very bad. The script is boring, and so are the one-liners. You've seen it all before, only better. Some might still enjoy this movie, but I seriously recommend to avoid it.