Christmas Rush a.k.a. Breakaway (2002)
It’s Die Hard…
in a mall.
Is the main character an average Joe?
Dean Cain is a cop who has turned in his badge and gun in the beginning of the movie because of using excessive force.
Sidekick?
Erika Eleniak again. She first took on the sidekick role in Under Siege and now returns to that position as the wife of Dean. Her name is Cat, but it would’ve been cooler if it was Jordan.
Any personal problems?
They had an argument on Christmas Eve morning, and he is suspended of course.
Is the lead character there by coincidence?
He just dropped by to make up.
Are there any friends or family in danger?
The wife again.
What’s at stake and why aren’t the authorities doing anything?
The life of a kid! Eric Roberts wants the $10 to $12 million which is located in the vaults of the most exclusive shopping mall in Chicago because his son needs a bone marrow transplant. As a transplant costs around $250,000 it isn’t all for a good cause. Since there are hostages the authorities can’t do anything other than the usual stuff.
Any charismatic villains?
Eric Roberts is the dad. He does his usual Eric Roberts way of acting which makes me wonder: has this guy ever played a good guy? Every movie or TV series he pops up in, he’s always a bad guy.
Is it any good?
This was the first Die Hard clone to be made for television. To those standards it got pretty positive reviews. It does really stick very close to the Die Hard Template including even a Christmas setting. It was later released as Breakaway on DVD. You can read my review here.
They are planning a remake, I would go for Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Joe Manganiello, Milo Ventimiglia, Tom Welling, Chris Evans, Chris Pine, Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Runner, Derek Theler, or D.J. Cotrona as Gabe Walker; and Billy Zane, Kevin Spacey, Dominic Pace, Alec Baldwin, Gil Banks, Hugo Weaving, Robert Knepper, Brian Van Holt, Travis Fine, Skeet Ulrich, or Dash Mihok as Qualen.
I think there is a way to improve The Taking of Beverly Hills, like instead an undercover Fed helped crippled a militia group and imprisoned many members including their leader. But the leader’s brother and a few members of the group plant bombs all over Beverly Hills, and threaten to set them off if the leader is not released, and the undercover fed seeks out the bombs while his partners buy him time.
Blast is good, but it would be worthwhile to note that, Agent Lisa Reed (Vivica A. Fox) finds out that Michael Kittridge (Vinnie Jones) is actually a mercenary named Skyler Talbot and had killed the real Kittridge and stole his identity to throw off authorities.
I would like to see Christmas Rush. Anyone know where to find it?
There are some sites that list it as streamable, but I don’t know how legit they are. If you own an XBMC player I would advise you to look on that network.
What is an XBMC Player? I have never heard of one.
In most cases they are mediaplayers running Android. Because they run Android they can download an app named XBMC from Google’s Play Store. XBMC allows you to search and stream movies
Don’t forget the other scenarios like Terminal Rush, Interceptor, Crash Dive, Counter Measures, 12 Rounds: Reloaded, 12 Rounds: Lockdown, Project: Shadow Chaser, Command Performance, Demolition University, Cyberjack/Virtual Assassin, Final Voyage, and Air Rage.
For Speed 2: Cruise Control, it should have been Direct to Video, and not a sequel to Speed. The lead villain should have been a pirate instead of soft ware designer turned mad bomber trying to blow up a ship.
Every time I see “Air Force One” I remember that in the Tom Clancy novels, the character of Jack Ryan becomes president. This film could have been part of the saga starring Harrison Ford, if he had continued it.