Hard Rain (1998) User Reviews

Good action flick

[pootc · 7/10 · 10 March 2006]

Hard Rain is a nifty action thriller, set during the middle of a titanic flood in a small town in Indiana. Christian Slater plays a local security guard, attempting to transport the loot out of town with his partner, but as always, it all goes terribly wrong. On the run, from a band of determined thieves, led by Morgan Freeman Slater hides the money and takes refuge with the town sheriff and his band of officers. Only they're seeing green too and Slater is on his own.

The sodden atmosphere of this film is unique and impressive, as is the set design. The film is technically very cool, clever too and working with so much water must've been hell for the crew. The performances are all well rounded enough in Hard Rain but the script lacks the spark to truly make this great or memorable. Sure there are some exciting moments, but what action film doesn't have some excitement? With such a unique setting, I'm surprised that there just wasn't more of a good thing. Overall, I enjoyed it. This film is good action flick. Nothing more, nothing less.

Fast, exciting action flick with too much shooting (and everyone a bad shot!)

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 2 May 2006]

Christian Slater plays an armored truck guard who has to deal with thieves, the crooked police, a fierce Indiana rainfall, and a flooded town while trying to protect three million dollars in the company vehicle. Well-done action flick isn't epic-scale, but does have many suspenseful close-calls and colorful characters, plus good performances by Slater, Morgan Freeman, Minnie Driver, and Richard Dysart and Betty White as an elderly couple who didn't evacuate when they were supposed to. Randy Quaid overplays heinously as a trigger happy sheriff, and the continual shootouts in the final third get repetitive, but this scenario (an entire town slowly being submerged) is exceptionally well-captured and the filmmakers didn't forget to add some good humor into the mix. **1/2 from ****

more watery action than Waterworld

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 8 February 2016]

Huntingburg, Indiana faces flooding as the dam is forced to open the gates. Sheriff Mike Collins (Randy Quaid) is directing the evacuation even though he lost the election. Tom (Christian Slater) and his uncle Charlie (Edward Asner) are collecting cash in the armored truck but they are stranded in the flood road. Jim (Morgan Freeman) leads a group of thieves looking to rob the the truck. They kill Charlie as Tom escapes with the money. Karen (Minnie Driver) knocks him out thinking he's a looter.

The story is contrived. Mikael Salomon is mostly a TV director. Compared to Graham Yost's earlier hit Speed, this has all the action but lacks the fun. Betty White is able to add a couple of laughs. The acting is perfectly fine although they're not doing any heavy lifting. The rainy water action gets a bit mind-numbing with its sameness.

I dig it!!

[jadolie · 17 March 2007]

This is a great film that should have made a bigger splash at the box office. It really isn't just another run of the mil action flick. It's more of a natural disaster meets crime movie; which make for an awesomely unique story with one of a kind scenes to take place. Christian Slater dominates the screen as he does best; I only wish he was still leading man material instead of getting bit roles. I do admit there are times when you know what's going to happen before it does but you do still get some great surprises in there. I love the humor, there is a lot of it but they don't go over the top with it to where you can't take the movie serious. Big thumbs up for this underrated film. Love it!!

No rain no gain.

[searchanddestroy-1 · 7/10 · 13 August 2022]

You could compare it with Rob Cohen's HURRICANE HEIST, not the story itself but the overall scheme and atmosphere. Heist disaster films are not so common after all. This one, despite being predictable, remains interesting, because you have several levels of characters armored truck drivers, hoodlums and rogue sheriff deputies. Morg Freeman is unusual in a gangster role, though not a brutal criminal either, rather sympathetic compared to the sheriff. Good photography and overall directing, good scenes, it's a shame that Mikael Solomon did not continue in the big screen movies business but instead TV series one.

Give me a towel, please.

[comquest · 4/10 · 14 September 1998]

Hard Rain is all wet. Literally! Too much water and too little attention to telling a believable story. Since all but four characters are crooks, 'who shot who' quickly becomes unimportant amidst non-stop boat chases, chin -deep wading and a water level that never stops rising.

If you decide to watch this klinker, pack extra towels and don't be surprised if you skin turns a bit prune-like.

An insult to disaster movies.

[john-ehughes · 1/10 · 20 December 2006]

I tried to watch this film without counting the inconsistencies but gave up on the whole contrived mess after about 45 minutes. So, here we go; Why did the bank decide to move the cash on such a night? Didn't they read the weather forecast? Do whole populations in America leave town without any kind of security and how come they saw the weather forecast but the National Guard didn't? Why was every light in town left on? How did the gang know about the movement of cash but the police didn't? Why did the security guards get lost so quickly? Why was a psychopath included in the gang? How did the gang know in which direction the guard had gone? How did such a moron get a job as a deputy? Surely the guard would be required to carry his I.D. at all times? Are all jails in America so easy to get into? Do all female art restorers carry a Swiss army knife? How come all the doors inside the college were open, making it convenient for a speedboat chase, but the emergency panic-bar ones were locked? How did the water rise so fast and so selectively without flowing and how did it stay so clean? Why didn't Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater read the scripts before getting involved with this turkey? I know the makers of this film didn't want it to be just another disaster movie but instead they have churned out a disaster of a movie.

Water and Greed

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 15 November 2015]

In Huntingburg, the armored truck with three million dollars driven by Tom (Christian Slater) and his Uncle Charlie (Edward Asner) gets stuck in the flooding and realizes that the town has been evacuated since the dam does not have capacity to hold the storm. While waiting for the National Guard, they are attacked by Jim (Morgan Freeman) and his gang formed by Kenny (Michael Goorjian), Mr. Mehlor (Dann Florek) and Ray (Ricky Harris) and the clumsy Kenny kills Charlie. Tom flees with the bags of money and hides them in the cemetery. Then he is hunted down by Jim and his gang and he hides in a church. Out of the blue, he is knocked out and awakes locked in a cell. Soon he learns that the restorer Karen (Minnie Driver) believed he was a looter and hit him. Sheriff Mike Collins (Randy Quaid) and Deputy Wayne Bryce (Mark Rolston) go to investigate Tom' story while Officer Phil (Peter Murnik) takes Karen out of the town by boat. However she escapes with the boat and goes to the church. Meanwhile Tom is trapped in the cell full of water and Karen rescues him. He decides to return to the armored truck to retrieve a shotgun but he is captured by Jim and his men and learns that Charlie was part of the gang. He tries to retrieve the hidden money for the gang, but Sheriff Collins and his men have already taken it. Soon Tom learns that the Sheriff wants to keep the money for him and his men and Tom and Karen are witnesses and he teams up with Jim.

"Hard Rain" is a combination of disaster genre with crime and action. Despite the negative reviews, the action scenes are spectacular, the cast is excellent and the plot has a great twist based on the ancient proverb "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Tempestade" ("Storm")

Absolute pants!

[maddog-1 · 2/10 · 27 August 2001]

This movie is absolute pants.I found it trivial and annoying.I know that action movies are not always the most realistic and consistent of films,but this was ridiculous.Without giving too much away lets just say its amazing where people will park their boats.Its a real shame as it had some good actors in it,notably Morgan Freeman who's one of my favourites and has done some great movies......but this ain't one of them.

Action packed thriller with amazing cinematography.

[Fella_shibby · 8/10 · 19 February 2020]

I first saw this on cable tv in the late 90s. Revisited it recently after more than two decades. This film came in the era wher lots of action films were already ruling the box office. Films like Broken Arrow, Face Off, Con Air, Rock, T-2, Speed, Die Hard 3, Point Break, Bad Boys, Mission Impossible, etc. The list is endless. These movies had already raised audiences expectations n this is one of the reason Hard Rain got sidelined. Another reason is that during the same era disaster films like Twister, Daylight, Dante's Peak n Volcano, has already satiated the audiences. The last reason is that audiences were not ready to accept Morgan Freeman as a villain, especially after his performance in Shawshank n Unforgiven. This film has lots of action n thrill throughout. I enjoyed it even after so many years. The scene where Freeman goes on a shooting rampage with both hands is amazing. It has some nasty death scenes, watch out for the guy whose eye gets shot thru his spectacles.

Brainless Fun

[Rumples · 6/10 · 29 September 1998]

If you are looking for a movie that has some action and is moderately entertaining without requiring much cerebral activity, this is right up your street. It suited my purposes at the time I rented it so I quite enjoyed it. I had heard nothing about it except for the preview I'd seen. Yes, it's no brilliant piece of movie-making, and no it won't change your life. But it is fun and entertaining and doesn't claim to be anything else. (I was pleasantly surprised with Betty White's performance, a long way from 'Golden Girls')

I am 38 , a film lover & believe good movies derive from realism

[cargy-2 · 1/10 · 17 July 2000]

I only watched the first thirty minutes of this film which I would have thought would be enough for anybody. Its characters are shallow, devoid of personality and given no time to develop before the so called action begins. I watched Enemy Of The State just before it and the two films were like chalk and cheese. Where Enemy Of The State takes the time to develop character and narrative, Hard Rain dives in (pardon the pun)without any thought of character development or realistic story. It uses actors of the ability of Randy Quaid in an unbelievable storyline in the hope that name alone will carry the film. >

Morgan Freeman as an armoured car robber?

[roostersmaling · 23 January 2000]

Though Morgan Freeman is an absolute legend, I can't see him being the bad guy robber at the beginning. After his stellar performance in "The Shawshank Redemption," he has left himself too open to being seen by fans as a "nice guy." True, he did play a convict in that movie, but you never saw him commit the crime that landed him there. Therefore casting him as an armoured car robber didn't sit right with me.

Christian Slater did a "Michael J. Fox" (The Concierge/Secret of My Success) by copycatting his own performance in "Broken Arrow" (same screenplay writer...).

The ending is too abrupt, but, overall, I did enjoy the movie all the same. For action fans only...

They just don't make em like this anymore...

[dlow-20825 · 7/10 · 7 March 2021]

They just don't make them like this anymore. The thing about miss about this era of movies is that there is a sense of morality.

You know who the good guy is, and you know who the bad guy is. It's so real yet so fake at the same time. It's a typical heist movie except it's being done in Town that's flooded. I don't know, the cute moments with the elderly couple that argues, or the little twist ending they give at the end. It's just an all-around good movie. Some people say it's like Die Hard in water and I could see that, but me being 30 years old in 2020 and seeing this for the first time just makes me long for a simpler more happier time.

Unusual action movie that pays homages to the westerns of John Wayne and the spectacles of Irwin Allen, and that's why it's good.

[dvc5159 · 7/10 · 16 July 2009]

The thing is, I'm an action movie buff. I've seen them all, from big-budget Jerry Bruckheimer fares to Golan-Globus cheese-fests. I borrowed this movie from my cousin because I was curious to know what Christian Slater made before he went DTV, and watched it finally one rainy afternoon.

I can tell you this: it's an average movie made good. I mean, the acting is pretty average; even by Morgan Freeman, who looks like he's having a blast playing the bad guy, and especially Christian Slater, who repeats his "Broken Arrow" routine here. Randy Quaid gives a good albeit repetitive performance as the sheriff, but Minnie Driver is tolerable in her "church-girl" performance.

So why is it good? Well first off it pays off homages to not only one, but TWO - genres of movies. The first genre is the western (action movies wouldn't be here if not for it). I mean, can you not notice? A small town miles away from civilization. The hero (Slater) protecting the money. The honorable outlaw (Freeman) and his bandits surrounding the hero the get the money (without hopefully killing innocents). The all-too-good sheriff (Quaid). The damsel in distress (Driver). The queer folk of the town (Richard Dysart and Betty White in hilarious performances). The "heroes 'n outlaws" story looks like it was told in the fashion of "Gunfight at the OK Corral", and "Rio Bravo" among others. Shootouts and mayhem occur, and they are perfectly paced and thrilling. Not to mention Slater wielding two guns at the same time! The other homage is what really gives the movie it's credibility, in which is pays homage to the disaster movies of the '70s. It's refreshing to see an entire city set flooded for real instead of using backdrops and CGI. And with all that rain pouring down on them, I can't really blame them for missing almost every shot they shoot! And for the final disaster sequence, it is spectacular (albeit pushing logic to the limit). It's as if a John Wayne westerner suddenly got thrust into an Irwin Allen spectacle. It's actually a lot of fun to watch these two scenarios combine, and you don't see a lot of movies like these nowadays.

The action sequences and cinematography are nicely filmed and choreographed (courtesy of cinematographer-cum-director Mikael Saloman); for example there is an exciting jet-ski chase through the flooded hallways of a high school which was very impressive, considering the painstaking effort the cast and crew went through (Slater did most of the stunts himself). The music by Christopher Young just screams of excitement and danger awaiting, and the editing is not to shabby.

Overall, this is a hugely entertaining action movie, and an unusually good one at that, given the circumstances faced. I was shocked to know this was a box-office bomb (clearly the critics are missing the point). I felt like this was a sure-fire hit. So, if you're a fan of action, westerns, or disaster movies in particular, give this movie a try. You definitely will NOT be disappointed.

Entertainment value: 10/10

Overall: 7/10

What was this for?

[Robin-49 · 1/10 · 16 January 1999]

Well, this movie is crap! After just ten minutes I knew this one is not going to be better. What a waste of a great actor named Morgan Freeman. All the characters are so flat and everything looks so constructed just to reach the feature length mark. I really can`t recommend this one. I wanted to flush it down the toilet but then I realized that it doesn`t belong to me. Sorry, 1/10...

What the hell is Morgan Freeman doing in this?!

[nalobcram · 5/10 · 19 January 2002]

The legendary film critic Pauline Kael (who passed on last summer) asked, "Is there a better working actor in America than Morgan Freeman?" (paraphrasing). Mr. Freeman in every role (even this one) is so commanding, believable with one of the best voices around...I just don't know why he keeps wasting his time on junk like this! Does he really need the money?

"Hard Rain" does have an excellent cast and some impressive set designs and effects. But it is so horribly written and cliché ridden it's distressing to see such a cast and budget wasted! When this film came out, Norm McDonald of SNL during the "Weekend Update" announced: "Christian Slater was temporarily released from prison so he could attend the premiere of his new film, "Hard Rain". After the first ten minutes, he was escorted back to jail." (!) In fairness, "Hard Rain" isn't THAT bad, but close enough.

Final rating: 5/10 A standard movie. You can watch it once, but then move on with your life."

(Trivia: The trailer for this film was released when "Titanic" first came out in December/January of 1997/1998. It was good, but it didn't help this film at the box office.)

Save this one for a rainy Sunday

[nathandm-75297 · 7/10 · 29 March 2023]

What do you get when you mix a natural disaster film with a heist thriller written by the guy who wrote Speed? You get the biggest flop of 1998 apparently.

It's kind of surprising that Hard Rain was such a major box office failure because in retrospect the film is a perfectly watchable action thriller that contains some seriously impressive set pieces and inventive action sequences. The jet ski chase in the flooded-out high school was definitely a highlight. I seriously wonder how the filmmakers were able to pull off certain scenes in this movie. Hard Rain still looks visually impressive today.

Of course, the film is far from being a legitimately great action movie. All of the characters are severely underwritten and none of the performances are particularly great. Both Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater are clearly phoning it in and Minnie Driver feels completely wasted. The dialogue can get pretty atrocious and the film's attempt at adding religious themes felt very half-baked.

But Hard Rain is a film where its original and dare I say, ingenious premise is enough to overlook some of those flaws. It may not reach the same heights as Christian Slater's previous action film Broken Arrow, but Hard Rain would still make for a perfectly enjoyable viewing on a lazy Sunday afternoon, especially if it's a rainy Sunday.

I love it! - Incredible an underrated classic, Christian Slater's solid Action disaster heist flick!

[ivo-cobra8 · 10/10 · 5 March 2016]

Disclaimer: If you are a viewer that mainly prefers art-house-type movies, then you might as well ignore this review. In addition, if you're not able to take a an underrated incredible Christian Slater's solid action heist classic flick, ignore this review, as well. We'll both be better off.

Hard Rain (1998) is a classic! An underrated incredible disaster action heist film from the 90's and one of the best Christian Slater's movies. My top 2 Christian Slater movies are Broken Arrow (1996) and this one Hard Rain (1998), which Christian Slater started and co produced him self. I love this flick and it is my favorite action flick! It is far way better than Stallone's Daylight (1996) which that disaster movie sucked and I hate it! Hard Rain is an pure action heist flick in which a gang of thieves try's to rob an armored car in which are $3.000.000 cared in the truck. An armored car driver Tom (Christian Slater) has to run for his life and hide the money from the thieves, because they killed his partner who was also his uncle and now they will kill him too, if he doesn't hide the money. The movie has a great cast, great score, decent performances and all round very entertaining. I love the score from Christopher Young in the opening scene the main theme. I love that the film shows flood and rain's and it is also entertaining filled with action. I think Hard Rain and Deep Rising which both come out the same year are both underrated action flicks that I love them.

Plot: The setting is the food-ravaged, evacuated town of Huntingburg, where armored car driver Tom (Slater) is in deep danger. A gang of thieves (led by Freeman) figures the flood is its chance to heist the $3 million Tom's transporting from local banks. But there's one thing the gun-carrying criminals don't count on - Tom. Come hell, high water or both, he's determined to deliver the money entrusted to him. But before he does, he'll have to survive a relentless pursuit filled with close calls, ever-rising waters, uncertain loyalties and heart-stopping heroics.

Get swept up in the action as Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Randy Quaid and Minnie Driver race against time and the elements in this high-energy thrill ride where survival and money are the core of it all. I love Christian slater in this movie and I seriously love his character Tom, just like his character Capt. Riley Hale from Broken Arrow, his character Tom is also heroic character well written. He wasn't selfish he was a real hero alongside with John McClane (Bruce Willis) Die Hard (1988) they are both a heroic characters. I love how Tom tried to help that young boy Kenny ( Michael A. Goorjian) from been electrocuted in the water, he came back for Karen (Minnie Driver) when she was handcuffed in the fence, up in the stairs, his character was decent and honest human been and he tried to return the money. I love the chase sequences in a high school in a jet skies. I like Minnie Driver as Karen her character also wasn't selfish she also helped Tom and saved him from prison. I seriously love the scene when Tom tried to saves him self in the prison when the flood raised and he accidentally grabbed the car keys and not the cell keys and his was talking with him self ha ha.

I love Morgan Freeman in this film which he was a good thieve, but he was also greedy, "Damn it I'm here for the money and that's it!" Randy Quaid was a decent villain as the greedy Sheriff Mike Collins, which he was outstanding in this flick. Director Mikael Solomon did a great directing job directing this disaster action flick. Even tough this film is a cheap because there was less actors playing in this film, it still outstanding and pure entertaining. I love it I just watched it on Blu-ray and I love it to death. This movie is actually pretty entertaining with some decent chase scenes even one involving jet skis inside a flooded high school. Morgan Freeman is good as always and one of the few bad guy/good guy roles he's had in his career. Christian Slater was decent as the main protagonist even is he was a bit generic.

Very good 90's action flick that is essentially a western set in a flooded small town. There's something really cool about a movie taking place entirely in one night in the rain and the script has some terrific one liners and the cast are all excellent especially Morgan Freeman playing a bad ass thief & Randy Quaid.

Overall: This flick is very underrated and for Christian Slater fan I must say, it is my favorite action flick, there are other movies he made but this one alongside with Broken Arrow is one of his best work. I love this action flick.

Hard Rain (also known as The Flood) is a 1998 American/British disaster action thriller film, produced by Mark Gordon, written by Graham Yost (the writer-producer team also behind the film Speed) and directed by former cinematographer turned director Mikael Salomon.

10/10 Grade: Bad Ass Seal Of Approval Studio: Paramount Pictures, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Starring: Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Randy Quaid, Minnie Driver, Edward Asner, Michael Goorjian, Dann Florek, Ricky Harris, Mark Rolston, Peter Murnik, Wayne Duvall, Richard Dysart, Betty White, Ray Baker Director: Mikael Salomon Producers: Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn, Art Levinson, Allison Lyon Segan, Christian Slater Screenplay: Graham Yost Rated: PG-13 Running Time: 1 Hr. 37 Mins. Budget: $70.000.000 Box Office: $19,870,567

Nothing more than mindless action entertainment

[DunnDeeDaGreat · 7/10 · 21 April 2003]

Hard Rain is nothing but mindless action entertainment. The film never takes its self really serious which is cool. Morgan Freemen and Christan Slater pretty much give paper thin performances but once again the film is full of action sequences and lots of good special effects. If you want to waste a rainy day then check out Hard Rain.

Another Sad Example Of How Low Actors Can Go

[ccthemovieman-1 · 1/10 · 2 April 2007]

What a profane film this is! For some reason, maybe because Morgan Freeman starred in it, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. I had also forgotten how much of a bitter, old and profane man Ed Asner has become and this role fit him, unfortunately. "Lou Grant," he ain't, anymore.

What's even more disgusting is Bette White in here. Yes, the "Golden Girl" and "Mary Tyler Moore Show" favorite, talks like a scumbag in here, too. It just shows you these classic-era actors are no morally better than the younger people of today. The only difference is that the veterans weren't allowed to swear. If had been able to, well, this film is an example of what we would have heard.

The language, which including six usages of the Lord's name in vain in the first 15 minutes, was too unappealing for me. The constant rain in this also helped the dreary atmosphere. Dreary, depressing, too profane with unlikeable characters. Yeah, I can see why this movie bombed at the box office.

Not exactly dry

[redkiwi · 6/10 · 14 July 2001]

It's wet, damn wet [Robin Williams - Good Morning Vietnam] one could say. Let's get the facts straight before we hit the review - Minnie Driver is a really bad actress, Christian Slater isn't much better and Morgan Freeman plays the same character in every film [although he is very good at it].

Actually, Freeman as a bad guy who is only interested in the money is refreshingly different from the norm, although of course he's not that transparent. Being Hollywood you can work out the rest yourself. Slater is a security guard who is tied up in the great crime, and there's a big flood.

That's about it really, but the effects were good.

Unbelievable

[fmwongmd · 2/10 · 1 August 2018]

The plot is completely unbelievable! It is beyond a suspension of belief. The action is good and suspenseful. Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater are good actors. The best part is the background . How they were able to film it and make it seem so real is impressive! That alone was the reason I continued watching it to the end.

Finally found it and watched it again !

[beraatgokkus · 7/10 · 27 December 2020]

I remember that I watched a movie on television when I was a kid and it was very entertaining and was very different action movie in a flood with Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater ! In my mind there was only the images of Freeman and Slater they were on boats in a city where is left by people because of a lot of rains ! 20 years later I found it on streaming and understood why I can not forgot it. Just you should watch it ! It's a great movie ! A mix of action/disaster/western movie with a lot of rains ! :)