I have to admire the relentlessly downbeat approach of this film, which sees Daniels as a convict, imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit - aren't they all? - who keeps breaking out to try and see his daughter, only to be caught and dumped right back into cryo-stasis for another twenty years. After sixty years or so of this, you'd think he'd be sorry he ever jumped to begin with, especially since he was only in for twelve months... Due to the multi-decade timespan, Daniels has to carry this movie virtually on his own, and makes a good, sympathetic hero, though Combs comes close to stealing the show in the last fifteen minutes, as a cop who must be a descendant of Gary Oldman's character from Leon. The low-budget is woefully apparent - there are never more than two cops to be seen chasing the world's supposedly most wanted man - and the fight scenes are disappointing, given Daniels' decent pedigree in such things. But from a largely incoherent start, it steadily improves towards a finale which, while still immensely depressing, is actually surprisingly effective. Directed by Burr under a pseudonym (he did the shoot, then left the production), it's a good effort, given the obvious limitations, with a claustrophobic feel more reminiscent of Phillip K. Dick than a low-budget Hollywood SF action film. And look! Right through the review without one "spoiler" joke!
C+
