Alicia I love this movie so much

Nonureva Really Surprised!

Tetrady not as good as all the hype

SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

sonthert How this movie doesn't get more acclaim is strange.The prophetic and imaginative Michael Crichton ("Andromeda Strain", "Coma", "WestWorld" directs his own screenplay. Michael Crichton had a prescience in his vision and this movie is no exception. Getting hung up on setting the movie "in the future" never presented a dilemma for Crichton. He just uses contemporary settings to bring the movie closer to home. The technology may be beyond our means, but it still affects us all today.The movie stars brilliant and eclectic Ben Gazzara ("The Killing of a Chinese Bookie", "The Big Lebowski"), Storied great E.G. Marshall ("12 Angry Men", "Creepshow"), Prolific Martin Sheen ("Apocalypse Now", "The Dead Zone") and Television guest star William Windom ("Star Trek: The Doomsday Machine", "Escape from the Planet of The Apes").The musical score is even composed by composer-great Jerry Goldsmith. Its reminiscent of "Hawaii 5-0", "McQ" or "The French Connection" a typical, but lively, 70s-style action cop-show movie background score. I love background scores like this. Its a really good one. The sunset of actual orchestral background scores. The story revolves around a political activist-millionaire-terrorist who steals a large supply of nerve gas and threatens to release it in San Diego, which is hosting the Republican National Convention.Sounds simple. The movie is really thrilling for a TV Movie, the story has a familiar contemporary feel, the acting and musical score are good. The movie was filmed in early 1970s San Diego and for anybody who loves or lives in San Diego (like me), the movie is a great archive piece to record how San Diego was 40 years ago. Much more watchable than "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes".Could the movie have been better? Sure it could. It suffered from low-budget syndrome. Michael Crichton's visionary writing shakes most of the deficiencies the move has and makes this a great TV-Special...certainly one of my top 10-made for TV Movies of all time.

BrianMemphis The good: From a historical perspective, very interesting to see all the classic elements of a Crichton story taking shape: medical mystery, technological danger, and a literal on-screen ticking clock. Big fans of Crichton's work (like me) who seek out this movie will definitely be able to appreciate it. And you can also see how Michael got better over time.The bad: Yes, I realize this was done for TV. And yes, I realize that watching in 2010 I have the benefit of seeing many slicker productions. But the camera work here could only be described as "70s cliché." Zooming in to a character while they deliver an important line is overused (there couldn't have been that many commercials right?). At the end, there is a wrap up discussion done in a long shot that drains all emotional impact from the lines. The Netflix DVD I watched was not remastered in any way, so there were jumps in the film and audio quality was abysmal.Gazarra and Marshall are fine actors, although I feel that Marshall was a bit miscast here. He seemed like he could play a good leader/planner but not so much a doer. Martin Sheen played his part very well, but was under-used.Maybe it's mainly a budget issue, but consider that WestWorld was just made a year later - what a better made movie that is! A few simple tweaks (and more money?) would have made this OK movie great.

JACK SOUTH (JSouth1) ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** I had been waiting to see this movie since i saw most of it 3 years ago while on vacation in myrtle beach, s.c.Was it EVER worth the wait!The subject of chemical weapons terrorism could be taken out of todays headlines. Perhaps that is why no network im my area has shown it. I was lucky enough to come across a used copy on e bay. I can't stop watching it!!Michael crichton's influnce is obvious here, with a plot that begins quickly, and builds to an unexpected twist in the climax. Though some of the early digital technology shows it age,(the control unit with lots of blinking lights and switches, as is the case with most early computer technology in the movies), this does not diminish from the suspense that this movie carries. An on screen digital countdown appears frequently, further alerting the viewer that SOMETHING BIG IS COMING.The cat and mouse action between ben gazzara and e.g. marshall is very intriguing. Every time gazzara thinks he is one step ahead, marshall surprises him.Near the end of the movie, marshall is caught and the nerve gas bomb is disarmed. ,or so it appears. Just when it seems that the good guys have won, crichton throws in one more twist. It is a race aginst time for a federal agent to find a hidden bomb that is a fail-safe, designed to release the gas onto san diego if the primary system is defeated.A heart-stopping sequence occurs when the agent has to race down many flights of stairs to get a bomb-sniffer, and then back up again ,because the elevators in the apartment building where the gas is at have been disabled. Of course ,the agent is able to save the day in the end.As I write this on september 10, we here in the U.S. are at orange alert as a result of terroristic threats.This movie was made 30 years ago, but with its plot of chemical terrorism ,it could have been made yesterday.If you like techno/political thrillers, and can find a copy of this movie, it is well worth your time.I rate this movie at a 9 out of 10!!!!!

Captain Kronos One of my local UHF channels showed this movie on a Saturday afternoon. Overall, it is very well done, especially for a made-for-TV movie. The movie moved along at a good pace and the acting was good all around. It is a little reminiscent of the early episodes of "Columbo". Ben Gazzara is pursuing E.G. Marshall, who he knows is planning to do something at a Democratic national convention in San Diego. The two repeatedly try to outwit each other, all the while knowing that the other guy is watching every move. This makes for some interesting plot twists and blind alleys. Crichton, as usual, pays very close attention to technological details, making the premise very realistic, unlike a lot of "caper" movies where plot hinges on an essential piece of knowledge the character could not possibly have had. I'm really surprised this hasn't been remade for the big screen, given Michael Crichton's popularity.