Oh, cut this fun and funny movie a break, whydontcha.
Here's a movie that revels – no, bathes – in its own ridiculousness to such a degree you really can't escape being charmed by all the fun everyone's having.
So here's the silly story: A college professor who doubles as an illegal street racer and triples as an intrepid archaeologist is in Russia on a teacher exchange program but is really seeking the lost treasure of the Knights Templar. Because yeah.
He befriends a kindly Russian vigilante strongman, woos the vigilante's Angelina Jolie lookalike sister, and runs afoul of drug dealers, a characteristically evil David Carradine, and Russian police who openly and inexplicably worry about "bad press."
Talk about uneven! I lost count of how many movies were going on here. It's a "Fast & Furious" mockbuster, it's a "Da Vinci Code"/"Tomb Raider"/"Indiana Jones" mashup, it's a clichéd drug melodrama, all duct taped and Krazy Glued together into one Frankenstein of a movie.
That said, "Treasure Raiders" is an idiotic delight; near perfect comic book escapism, with just enough unintentionally funny scenes like these to make it a big ol' hoot:
-- CUT to stunt driver speeding through the streets of Moscow, then CUT to ancient David Carradine gesticulating wildly with a steering wheel, obviously not driving at all.
-- Russian bodybuilder Alexander Nevsky is an expressive, genial teddy bear of an actor cut from Arnold's cloth, and is just as indecipherable as Arnold was back in the day.
-- And his girlfriend is, oddly, Sherilyn Fenn, obviously old enough to be his mother, who acts as if she wandered in from the movie set next door.
There's an ancient coded amulet, a secret bible, plot holes wider than Red Square, and a car that shoots rockets.
Actual Russian location shooting lend this movie some much-needed validity, and there are some stunts and racing scenes that are actually quite jaw-dropping. One involving a motorcycle that bursts from a window in the midst of an explosion is truly impressive for a DTV silly like this.
Know what I say? Woo hoo! What a Friday night, with "Treasure Raiders," some 7-layer dip and chips, and a coupla cold ones!
H8rs gonna h8. Don't listen to them. Listen to me. This is a fun one. Pick it up.
Here's a movie that revels – no, bathes – in its own ridiculousness to such a degree you really can't escape being charmed by all the fun everyone's having.
So here's the silly story: A college professor who doubles as an illegal street racer and triples as an intrepid archaeologist is in Russia on a teacher exchange program but is really seeking the lost treasure of the Knights Templar. Because yeah.
He befriends a kindly Russian vigilante strongman, woos the vigilante's Angelina Jolie lookalike sister, and runs afoul of drug dealers, a characteristically evil David Carradine, and Russian police who openly and inexplicably worry about "bad press."
Talk about uneven! I lost count of how many movies were going on here. It's a "Fast & Furious" mockbuster, it's a "Da Vinci Code"/"Tomb Raider"/"Indiana Jones" mashup, it's a clichéd drug melodrama, all duct taped and Krazy Glued together into one Frankenstein of a movie.
That said, "Treasure Raiders" is an idiotic delight; near perfect comic book escapism, with just enough unintentionally funny scenes like these to make it a big ol' hoot:
-- CUT to stunt driver speeding through the streets of Moscow, then CUT to ancient David Carradine gesticulating wildly with a steering wheel, obviously not driving at all.
-- Russian bodybuilder Alexander Nevsky is an expressive, genial teddy bear of an actor cut from Arnold's cloth, and is just as indecipherable as Arnold was back in the day.
-- And his girlfriend is, oddly, Sherilyn Fenn, obviously old enough to be his mother, who acts as if she wandered in from the movie set next door.
There's an ancient coded amulet, a secret bible, plot holes wider than Red Square, and a car that shoots rockets.
Actual Russian location shooting lend this movie some much-needed validity, and there are some stunts and racing scenes that are actually quite jaw-dropping. One involving a motorcycle that bursts from a window in the midst of an explosion is truly impressive for a DTV silly like this.
Know what I say? Woo hoo! What a Friday night, with "Treasure Raiders," some 7-layer dip and chips, and a coupla cold ones!
H8rs gonna h8. Don't listen to them. Listen to me. This is a fun one. Pick it up.