Fugitive Mind (1999)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The plot follows a man who discovers he has been brainwashed to kill a government official. This film was very good. It is a well made thriller that doesn't seem like it got the kind of audience that it deserved. Yeah it does have some lacking parts but none the less still holds up pretty well. I actually didn't know this film existed until a friend told me about it and they loved it, so I just had to see it. It is a very underrated suspenseful film with a good story and some great performances from Michael Dudikoff, who I had never seen in a film before but really impressed me with this film. Also Heather Langenkamp, best known for the Nightmare On Elm Street films, did really well and she also impressed me by proving that she could be great as a drama film actress as well as a horror film actress.

CAUTION: Possible plot spoilers present.Electrician Robert Dean finds himself in trouble when a group of men try to abduct him. He goes to his wife for help but discovers her on the phone with the men. Finding a floppy disk hidden behind one of his photos, Dean sneaks into his workplace – the medical company Gencom – and runs the disk. He is surprised to find that he was actually somebody else – former soldier John Rice – who was captured & brainwashed into becoming an assassin for Gencom's interests. Along with a female friend who was also captured, Dean must expose the company's plans to assassinate a senator who is trying to expose Gencom's activities to the media.Ever since he served as DOP on the cult Nazi zombie classic SHOCK WAVES back in the 1970s, Fred Olen Ray has made a living making low-budget genre films. Unlike Jim Wynorski, Olen Ray does things with his own style of filmmaking – and he is not dishonest like Wynorski. Olen Ray's films do not aim too high but wear their cheapness as a badge of honour.Alas, even Fred Olen Ray can make mistakes. Fugitive Mind is one of those mistakes. The film models itself as a conspiracy thriller but doesn't actually expose the conspiracy coherently enough to be understood. Olen Ray for some reason doesn't put any humour in the film, playing everything straight to the film's detriment. The film's first act has us believe that Michael Dudikoff's tradesman is a victim of some sort of conspiracy but the second act drops the ball completely. It is never made clear what the actual plans of the Gencom company is – they are revealed to have an insider working for the senator but the purpose of this is unclear. Also there is a private detective trying to expose the conspiracy but he is killed off just when things get interesting.The film's cast are competent enough to survive the film's collapse but they must have had been hard up for the money to sign up for this dreck. Michael Dudikoff, who has been one of Royal Oaks' stock actors for much of the 1990s, does a decent job as usual, but the rest of the cast seem clueless as to what is going on here.

This movie is bad. You knew it was bad before you came here. But check out the inconsistencies in the movie, they are hilarious. 1. The "car bomb" planted in the PI's car (Pontiac Firebird) actually blows up a completely different car (Buick Riviera), shown in a completely different location. Hey, I guess they were both red. Yay stock footage!2. Dudikoff is supposed to be a "special forces sniper" that was dishonorably discharged, but he has no idea (apparently) how to fight with a rifle. Watch the silly fight scene at the end.3. When the two evil scientists are "made to return him to normal" at the end of the movie, which is supposed to be months later, they are wearing the same clothing as when they were caught. For that matter, so is the Senator.4. The entire movie appears to be shot in someone's house. In one scene, you can clearly see the kitchen through an open doorway in the "research and laboratory facility"

This movie is getting bad ratings because it deserves them. Do not be fooled, this is not a science fiction movie. It is a drama revolving around a plot to assassinate a politician.I have been a Michael Dudikoff fan for about 15 years. I have to say this is one of his worst films. The plot is underdeveloped. The acting is terrible, except for Langenkamp and Dudikoff. They do good jobs with what they are given. Michelle Greene however definitely deserves a mention here. Her idea of acting here is walking around in miniskirts and trying to convey "the ruthless woman" that lurks within her. She fails miserably. Hedison is miscast here. He does not present an authoritative figure, which his character is supposed to be. He comes across as confused and out of his element, more as a puppet than a decision maker.The visuals are never quite right; every scene being too dark, too bright, filmed too closely, filmed too far away, etc. The movie definitely could have been better. The sound is horrible. Even with surround sound and the volume being loud enough to produce the "static background" effect, the actors words are inaudible in some cases.I suggest passing this one up. If you want to see a good Dudikoff film, try Avenging Force, Strategic Command, the Silencer, or Soldier Boyz.