# Hard Rain (1998)

### reviewed by
Luke Buckmaster

    REVIEW:  Hard Rain (1998)

    by Luke Buckmaster

    2 stars out of 5

It was once said that in order to truly enjoy some of todays movies or novels, you must suspend disbelief. However, there is a distinct separation between opening your mind to ridiculous situations and believing a bunch of flat lies. It came as no surprise to me to learn that Huntingburg, Indiana (where the film is set), does not have a McDonald's, a Sears store, a statue of a man on a horse, nor even a dam close by.

Even if you can ignore these somewhat white lies (even though the dam is crucial to Hard Rains plot); there is still a bunch of things that just dont gel. Firstly, Morgan Freeman, possibly the greatest actor alive (after such films as Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Se7en), was cast as a shifty goon intent on stealing enough money for a healthy retirement. He _should_ have played the town sheriff, an experienced and somewhat intriguing policeman.

As a massive flood started by a dam accident overwhelms Huntingburg, its residents presumably flee as the water level steadily increases. I say presumably simply because we never know what happened to them; and it seems a tad strange that an entire town (with the exception of some folk who get introduced along the way) can vanish before the flood has actually started. But nether the less, armored guard couriers Tom (Christian Slater) and his Uncle are carrying three million dollars in the back of their van. With a heavy rainstorm causing depressing conditions and slippery roads, it doesnt take long for the van to end up stuck amongst mud and water off the side of the road.

Jim (Morgan Freeman) and a small gang of thieves locate the van and attempt to steal the three million dollars. But of course Tom is more than willing to save the day, so he takes the money and hides it elsewhere in town.

The local sheriff (Randy Quaid, whom most will remember as the drunken pilot in ID4) and a couple of police men investigate the situation, but their morals are soon overpowered by greediness as each character contemplates what he/she would do with their share of the three million dollars.

Director Mikael Salomon has made sure that Hard Rain ends up turning everything topsy-turvy, and whilst the film may at first appear to be a definite goodies versus baddies, there are numerous twists in its plot that make this a slightly more enjoyable experience. But by the time these interesting changes occur, its far too late in the film for them to have much affect. Hard Rains continuos corniness and lack of originality washes out whatever hope the script may have had; and although its cast is somewhat appealing most of its stars act well below par.

Not at one stage capturing what could have been a fabulous on screen battle between Slater and Freeman, we are left to reminisce on films that dared to do something different and achieved more than what was expected. Such titles as Broken Arrow (Slater and John Travolta) and Face/Off (Nicholas Cage and John Travolta) come to mind as films that have mastered silver screen confrontations. Strangely enough, they were both directed by John Woo and both star John Travolta.

We can forgive Morgan Freeman for giving a slightly disappointing performance since he is newish to the action genre, but Christian Slater could have achieved so much more had the amount of crummy one liners been reduced and some personality added to his character. If you had asked me whether Slater could perform well enough to substantially boost a movie prior to the release of Broken Arrow, my answer would have been a definite no. I now know that he has no excuse, and _can_ do better (if you dont believe me rent a copy of Broken Arrow from your local video store).

Although Hard Rain never really works from the start, I somehow felt feelings of missed opportunity when the credits filled the screen. The addition of an enticing sub-plot would have given the film time to breathe, rather than try to cram 96 minutes of action and disaster into a story that cant handle anything else. Despite the fact that Hard Rain fails on almost every account, if your standards are low enough you may find this to be a mildly enjoyable film.

No creative flair and no inventive scenes means that Hard Rain does not stand up well against its many competitors, but it doesnt really matter since the last thing you would want to do after shelling about $8.50 is compare this to other films.

For more of my reviews, visit Movie Zone: http://moviezone.alphalink.com.au bucky@alphalink.com.au

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