I basically saw this movie through happenstance, and had no expectations whatsoever. I will admit to being shallow and expressing disappointment at not seeing Natasha Henstidge topless, but besides that, this movie was enjoyable. It has the feel of a converted stageplay, in the sense that it is essentially six people locked in a room for two hours. Maybe I'm completely out to lunch here, but it reminds me of other converted plays like 'twelve angry men' and 'lifeboat'. It definitely has that HBO/Sci Fi Channel feel to it. The acting was solid overall, though not exceptional. The best of the bunch I think was 'Bama'. Also, maybe I'm a tad naieve, but I found the surprise ending to be a big surprise. Maybe I got suckered by it all just like Jamie, the main character did. Hmph. On an overall scale of enjoyment, I'd have to give this a six or so.
5 Reviews
Bad but Robert Sean Leonard is good!
becky-9234613 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Standoff (1998) follows the FBI and Texas police as they storm the headquarters of a religious cult. This movie is incredibly forgettable. The acting is alright, with Robert Sean Leonard giving a likeable performance, but this is unfortunately the only praise I have for the film.
The cinematography includes some decent shots, but for the most part is rather dull and cheap-looking. The colour schemes are way too overbearing for me, and every frame feels overly saturated resulting in the film being extremely hard on the eyes.
The sound design is quite odd and doesn't really add anything notable to the film, and the score is very wacky and cheesy at times. I don't actually mind the score too much as I find its goofy nature somewhat endearing, as one would expect from a 90s film.
The characters are written to be fairly dull and lacking in substance, but the actors do their best with what they're given. Robert Sean Leonard is always a delight to watch and I found him to be likeable and fun. Also, Dennis Haysbert is good too and pretty intimidating!
The plot isn't strong enough and I find the filmmakers don't delve into the subject matter as much as they should. The film is sometimes pretty messy, and it's not one of those movies that keeps you entertained throughout. However, I do like the twist and found it to be quite unexpected.
The cinematography includes some decent shots, but for the most part is rather dull and cheap-looking. The colour schemes are way too overbearing for me, and every frame feels overly saturated resulting in the film being extremely hard on the eyes.
The sound design is quite odd and doesn't really add anything notable to the film, and the score is very wacky and cheesy at times. I don't actually mind the score too much as I find its goofy nature somewhat endearing, as one would expect from a 90s film.
The characters are written to be fairly dull and lacking in substance, but the actors do their best with what they're given. Robert Sean Leonard is always a delight to watch and I found him to be likeable and fun. Also, Dennis Haysbert is good too and pretty intimidating!
The plot isn't strong enough and I find the filmmakers don't delve into the subject matter as much as they should. The film is sometimes pretty messy, and it's not one of those movies that keeps you entertained throughout. However, I do like the twist and found it to be quite unexpected.
A Good Cast in a Low-Budget and Confined Thriller
LeonLouisRicci24 November 2015
A way to go for some Low-Budget Movies is to have a Confined or Closed Environment. The thing Is, if You go that way, the Characters and the Actors have to be on Their game or the whole thing collapses under its own restraint.
In this one the Setting is an Abandoned, Run Down Farmhouse in Rural Texas. The Backdrop of the Story is a WACO like Raid on a Nut-Case Religious Cult and some FBI Agents are Caught in the Crossfire and Holed-Up, Waiting for the Calvary.
The Cast is a Good One with Dennis Haysbert, Keith Carradine, and Natasha Henstridge (fully clothed). The Headliner is Robert Sean Leonard, whose Film Career Stalled early on and He went to TV.
The Interaction, Anxiety, and Paranoia of the Agents and Their two Cult Captives (both Women) are what's at hand here and it is a fine Dramatization of a Stressful Situation where Everyone Comes Unglued.
There is some Strong Violence and the Players have the Chops to make this work. The Plot may be Predictable or Not, but the Ending is Not the Big Noise in This One. It is a Character Study and the Script is a Good One for a Low-Budget Standoff.
This Virtually Unseen Movie that Captivates with the Crackerjack Cast and the Dialog. There are frequent Shootings In between the Character Confrontations and Overall it's Worth a Watch for some Good Acting and a very Tense "Pulled From the Headlines" Scenario.
In this one the Setting is an Abandoned, Run Down Farmhouse in Rural Texas. The Backdrop of the Story is a WACO like Raid on a Nut-Case Religious Cult and some FBI Agents are Caught in the Crossfire and Holed-Up, Waiting for the Calvary.
The Cast is a Good One with Dennis Haysbert, Keith Carradine, and Natasha Henstridge (fully clothed). The Headliner is Robert Sean Leonard, whose Film Career Stalled early on and He went to TV.
The Interaction, Anxiety, and Paranoia of the Agents and Their two Cult Captives (both Women) are what's at hand here and it is a fine Dramatization of a Stressful Situation where Everyone Comes Unglued.
There is some Strong Violence and the Players have the Chops to make this work. The Plot may be Predictable or Not, but the Ending is Not the Big Noise in This One. It is a Character Study and the Script is a Good One for a Low-Budget Standoff.
This Virtually Unseen Movie that Captivates with the Crackerjack Cast and the Dialog. There are frequent Shootings In between the Character Confrontations and Overall it's Worth a Watch for some Good Acting and a very Tense "Pulled From the Headlines" Scenario.
It was ok, but could have been better with cast changes and more originality
Monkey Bastard29 March 2000
Warning: Spoilers
I kinda enjoyed "Standoff (1998)" even though it wasn't the least original. A bunch of FBI agents storm the headquarters of a deeply religious cult Waco-stylee.
But the operation - which we never see, only in flashbacks - goes wrong and two of the agents, played by Robert Sean Leonard and Dennis Haysbert, get away. Sounds an awful lot like "Reservoir Dogs (1992)" doesn't it?
They hide in an old house with the vicious trigger happy cult members lurking outside. Soon more people, a couple of other guys who are also fighting the cult, show up. They don't like each other at first, but they all have to work together to survive and fight enemy outside. Sounds an awful lot like "Night Of The Living Dead (1968)" doesn't it?
And in the basement of this house they find more people, who also hide from the danger outside. Gee, for some reason that's sound very familiar... I've heard that somewhere before, wonder what it could be... Oh yeah, it's "Night Of The Living Dead (1968)" again.
From there, more things happen, problems appear and everything seems hopeless. I can't go on about the plot without spewing spoilers all over the place, so I'll stop right there. Let's just say that if you've even seen only one film in this genre, doesn't really matter which one, you know exactly what's gonna happen and you won't find the ending the least surprising. I spotted that one coming casually from a mile away.
What I liked about "Standoff (1998)" was that I, in all its predictability, actually found it sort of exciting. It's like when you're watching a "Die Hard"-movie, you know exactly what's coming (that's about the only resemblance, but give me a break, it's just an example). You know Bruce Willis is gonna blow stuff up, start bleeding, get dirty and sweaty, spit out a decent amount of one-liners and, of course, save the world. But somehow it keeps you on the edge of your seat, anxiously awaiting whatever comes next.
What I didn't like was some of the acting, Zeke Clayton was nothing short of being one complete disaster. Cliché and stereotyped anyone? But he was probably told to act the way he did by writer/director Andrew Chapman (son of Michael Chapman, wow!) so won't blame him for this flat performance. And I've never liked Robert Sean Leonard all that much. He reminds me too much of Hugh Grant, and that's about as far away from a compliment you can ever get. They both have that nervous appearance with the stuttering and the blinking and all that. No hard feelings though, I'm sure they're both really nice guys, I just wouldn't mind if they would cast someone else instead.
But the operation - which we never see, only in flashbacks - goes wrong and two of the agents, played by Robert Sean Leonard and Dennis Haysbert, get away. Sounds an awful lot like "Reservoir Dogs (1992)" doesn't it?
They hide in an old house with the vicious trigger happy cult members lurking outside. Soon more people, a couple of other guys who are also fighting the cult, show up. They don't like each other at first, but they all have to work together to survive and fight enemy outside. Sounds an awful lot like "Night Of The Living Dead (1968)" doesn't it?
And in the basement of this house they find more people, who also hide from the danger outside. Gee, for some reason that's sound very familiar... I've heard that somewhere before, wonder what it could be... Oh yeah, it's "Night Of The Living Dead (1968)" again.
From there, more things happen, problems appear and everything seems hopeless. I can't go on about the plot without spewing spoilers all over the place, so I'll stop right there. Let's just say that if you've even seen only one film in this genre, doesn't really matter which one, you know exactly what's gonna happen and you won't find the ending the least surprising. I spotted that one coming casually from a mile away.
What I liked about "Standoff (1998)" was that I, in all its predictability, actually found it sort of exciting. It's like when you're watching a "Die Hard"-movie, you know exactly what's coming (that's about the only resemblance, but give me a break, it's just an example). You know Bruce Willis is gonna blow stuff up, start bleeding, get dirty and sweaty, spit out a decent amount of one-liners and, of course, save the world. But somehow it keeps you on the edge of your seat, anxiously awaiting whatever comes next.
What I didn't like was some of the acting, Zeke Clayton was nothing short of being one complete disaster. Cliché and stereotyped anyone? But he was probably told to act the way he did by writer/director Andrew Chapman (son of Michael Chapman, wow!) so won't blame him for this flat performance. And I've never liked Robert Sean Leonard all that much. He reminds me too much of Hugh Grant, and that's about as far away from a compliment you can ever get. They both have that nervous appearance with the stuttering and the blinking and all that. No hard feelings though, I'm sure they're both really nice guys, I just wouldn't mind if they would cast someone else instead.
Actually pretty good
gabeangelob2 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I found this movie through a couple gifs of Leonard I saw online and had little to go off of from; I had little to no expectations for the movie whatsoever and watched it for no other reason than curiosity. It started off a bit ok to say the least but it serves the purpose well of introducing the characters Bama and Jamie. I expected Jamie to play a bigger role in the movie than he actually does, not saying his role is insignificant, just that not as much as I first thought. Who I consider to be the main character of the movie is therefore Jamie. Jamie throughout the movie goes through a lot of growth in the relatively short span of 1 hour and 30 minutes. From starting the movie almost freezing up at the sound of gunfire, to sprinting down joining the raid while limping with a bullet still in his leg. The movie deals with the conversation of cults and its interesting how they portray it. Nearing the end of the movie where Bama and Zeke are teaming up to kill Jamie, Bama is heard talking to Jamie, using words, phrases, and dialogue that resembles those said in a cult. I cant quite say for sure what this scene was aiming to say, be it that the government or government agencies act as some sort of cult, or that cults are broader than just a group of zealots. What the movie aims for is rather broad so it doesn't really talk about any specific aspect of the government or cults, rather it begs the question; either to if the government fights for good, the definition of a cult, etc. Racism is also part of the movie but it mostly comes from the character of Zeke, making them fit their stereotype more, it adds a different level on belief and morality and how people's treatment of others changed based on what "group" they're in and not just their race. The only thing that rather peeved me during the movie is a scene where Freebie is talking to Hank about what they do in the compound, and during so, flashes of scenes of Freebie engaging in intimacy is flashed onto the screen. I don't find this necessary, as the watcher themselves can piece together the same idea without it, and it acts as the movie babying the watchers and comes off as rather gratuitous. There are a lot of things that this movie brings to mind, but I consider them to be purely up to the watcher's response and I would just be going into some more semantics. I highly recommend this movie and I would watch it again in the future- a solid 8/10. I can't say much about the performance of the actor's in the movie, but hey, Robert Sean Leonard is in it and that's a win for me.
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