Pressure Point (1997) User Reviews

Make a Point of working under Pressure -- Just like the film makers!

[Scott_Mercer · 4/10 · 28 November 2006]

PRESSURE POINT was a decently-shot and directed, but badly-acted run-of-the-mill action/spy drama. This film was not ultra-low-budget, since there was some actual expensive-looking location shooting in Chile and other locales. It was merely low budget. The action scenes are fairly well-staged and nicely edited. They also made good use of library music to make the movie seem more expensive than it is.

Steve Railsback made a quite good villain. I've always thought that he was a compelling presence in most of the productions he has appeared in. Larry Linville from MASH was definitely phoning it in, in what appeared to be an attempt to channel G. Gordon Liddy. An impossible feat, since Liddy isn't dead yet. Sorry, Larry.

In spite of its decent production values and competent shooting style, make no mistake, this is merely a vanity production written by its utterly obscure "star", the balding and affectless Don Mogavero, a charisma sponge if there ever was one. Not only does he have no charisma of his own, but he sucks any out of anyone appearing in a scene with him. Makes Steven Seagal seem like Bruce Lee. According to the IMDb, he had one other film, Jeckyll Island. I must now pick that up to see how he would handle a movie (which, like this one, he also wrote himself) that has him as a master thief. Holy moly.

Let me specify that I paid $1 for this DVD, and it was well worth a buck for mindless entertainment value. I give it a FOUR, for its decent action-film directing and staging. Fans of low-budget action flicks might find this an interesting diversion for a couple hours. If you like Andy Sedaris films, you'll be in familiar territory here. More demanding moviegoers should stay away. And paying substantially more than a buck is not recommended.

Hopeless

[bensonmum2 · 3/10 · 22 May 2020]

After CIA operative Sebastian Dellacourt (Don Mogavero) botches an assassination attempt, he's tried and sentenced to jail. Sometime later, one of Dellacourt's old bosses offers him a chance at freedom if he'll complete one last mission - bust up a dangerous militia bent on destroying the US government.

I think I've rated every movie I've seen from Edgewood Studios a 3/10. For Pressure Point, there are so many problems I could point to that it's really not worth the time and/or effort. The screenplay, the dialogue, the acting, the fight choreography - it's all so hopelessly pathetic. I suppose, however, that one of the biggest problems with Pressure Point is lead actor (and writer) Don Mogavero. He's pretty much the antithesis of an action star. No offence meant toward the man, but Mogavero looks more like he should be playing an accountant rather than a CIA hitman. He's got a dad bad, a disappearing hairline, and all the athletic grace you'd expect from a middle-age white dude. Now that i've written that, I realize he doesn't sound that dissimilar to me. Hey, maybe I'm an action star and I just don't know it!

There are many, many little things about Pressure Point that left me scratching my head. Things like: What's up with the total lack of security at that maximum security prison? I think I saw a total of three guards - and two of those were on a smoke break. Or, where is this film supposed to be taking place? Vermont? Delaware? Who knows? Or, is it really that easy to steal a helicopter from a group of law enforcement agents? It's like taking candy from a baby. Or, could Dellacourt's prison escape have been any more awkward looking? He can't run very fast, he has all the jumping ability of a walrus, and he's wearing a prison outfit that's about three sizes too big. Smooth it ain't. Or . . . well, you get the idea. From an empty six-pack of Diet Coke used as a weapon to sticks of dynamite in a microwave, there's a lot here to ponder.

Finally, I want to mention two things in Pressure Point that I actually enjoyed. First, Steve Railsback easily acts circles around everyone else in the cast. He also makes a fantastic baddie. The movie might have been better had he had more screen time, but i'm sure they didn't have the budget for that. Second, it was "nice" spotting Matthew Bruch in a small role. If you're a "fan" of the Edgewood Studios' classic Time Chasers, then you're all too familiar with Bruch. Go Castleton!

3/10

One bad apple...

[zaq7 · 2/10 · 2 April 2006]

Easily one of the most hilariously awful movies I have seen in a very long time. Bill Murray look alike Don Mogavero's brilliant performance was the one redeeming aspect of this film, and I was shocked to find out that he was neither nominated nor awarded an Oscar for his tremendous acting effort. For a man with such an obvious and visible affliction (male pattern baldness), this performance was truly revolutionary. The female lead really brought this movie down, and probably was the reason the film did not fare better at the box office and in VHS sales. The special effects were mind blowing and the action sequences did not disappoint in this tour-de-force.

Starts out nicely and then crashes!

[jsprine-2 · 17 January 2001]

This film started out nicely enough, and then plummeted into the abyss. * Spoiler*

The "CIA Assassin" blows his assignment, and then engages in a wild-eyed escape obviously taken right out of a comic book. Later, he blabs uncontrollably in an open court and is sentenced to life in prison...for the murder of the man he chose not to kill in the beginning!

The "Assassin" is described as a former U.S. Army Ranger, but he is one of those types who chooses to fight in slow motion, with people kind enough to line up carefully so he can punch and kick them into various states of unconsciousness.

At one point, he 'sneaks' over a hurricane fence, making enough noise to wake up an army of drunken zombies. Hardly Ranger-quality work.

And yes, this is one of those movies where the bad guys (in this case, U.S. Marshals) use their helicopters as fighter planes...apparently the pilots of these craft have never learned that their machines can hover.

Containing enough plot holes and lapses in plausibility to strain the term 'suspension of belief' far beyond its intended limits, this movie should not be viewed in a serious light, but rather as a comedy, and, better yet, one should consume a Martini...or five of them...before attempting to watch this epic.

I rate it 3.5 out of 10, but then I'm a kind-hearted soul.

With Rifftrax an 8, without them a negative 8!

[mhorg2018 · 1/10 · 30 November 2019]

What an insipid piece of trash. To paraphrase Dean Wormer from Animal House, this movie is slow, stupid and lame! Terrible acting (Larry Linville looks like he's about to die any moment, not a crack, the truth), the 'lead' a balding dumb looking guy is the slowest 'hero' I've ever seen. My absolute favorite scene, which had me nearly crying with laughter: Our 'Hero' is in a house when he notices six sticks of dynamite in a microwave. When he notices it, the counter is at 10, when he finally starts to run, it's at THREE! He gets out the window and the entire house explodes. I forgot to mention that his snowmobile hits a rock earlier in the movie and it to blows up. Anyhow there's some kind of plot about him being framed, escaping and stopping some white radicals from blowing up congress. It's a really lame movie but the Rifftrax guys make it watchable. DO NOT WATCH THIS STRAIGHT UP! You'll thank yourself.

RiffTrax version is hilarious...

[sixhoos · 1/10 · 15 December 2019]

The movie itself sucks donkey balls. Boring. Poorly acted.

Apple

[nadja-57986 · 2/10 · 7 July 2020]

Did anyone notice the apple moving when Dellacourt was hung up in the log cabin? Gave it a 2 for RiffTrax.

A solid action film

[grnhair2001 · 4/10 · 2 September 2020]

With modest budgets, Edgewood Entertainment's action films do manage to entertain. They're paced well, by and large. The action is what they can afford. Something blows up in every movie, and sometimes three or four somethings blow up. That's why people watch action films, and there's plenty of action in this one. There's generally a one-dimensional bad guy (JK Roberts, Rolland, the wonderfully bald Bruce Campbell terrorist), and this one has the cliche gang of small town thugs (none of these films are exactly advertisements for moving to Vermont, but Edgewood is not the Tourist Board, after all) and one more complicated and subtle bad guy.

There's always a B-plot romance, and the one in here is quite tepid, more a mild flirtation. I like the female character and actress, but if you're hoping for an R-rated sex scene, nope. Not in this one.

These films get skewered by the MST/Rifftrax guys, whom I'm a fan of, but these films are far and away above what they usually skewer. If you can't see that, it's because you are judging not the film, but the insults in riffing, like being a bully laughing along while a smarter kid makes fun of the kid in class who might just grow up to become Bill Gates. Quit doing that.

While it's true that this is a bit of a dorky-looking action hero, he's a good actor. And I just watched 2 years worth of Jack Ryan Amazon TV shows with the dorkiest looking Jack Ryan I've ever seen (and dorkier than I could have imagined), so that's hardly specific to Edgewood. In fact, I think that makes viewer identification with the hero easier. Hey, look, it's an average looking Joe, that's me, says the male viewer. I think it's a smart choice.

I could rate this higher to bring up the average rating, but I honestly think 4-5 stars is about right. You're never bored. It's interesting enough to keep me from playing video games while I'm watching the movies. The mystery in this one is pretty well done. Crap blows up. You spent 90 minutes being entertained. Isn't that the whole point?

Well, not good, but Edgewood gets points for trying...

[Aaron1375 · 3/10 · 31 August 2021]

I've seen many Edgewood studio movies, mainly due to MST3K and Rifftrax. Time Chasers was my introduction to the studio and I have also seen Radical Jack, Ice Breakers, some spider film I can't remember t he title to and this one, there may have been one more...Anyways, the movies are usually kind of bad, but they are not too horrible, seems they are getting better as they go as the spider one was a pretty good bad film. This one was not really good, but it was interesting as I was wondering where it was going after the hero got caught.

The story, a man leads a double life, his wife thinks he is a normal tech and who could blame her as the guy looks like he would have trouble mowing the lawn without injuring himself; however, he is a spy! A bad one as he keeps goofing up, still not sure how a guy can just walk in and make a cake for an ambassador. Well he fails the assassination attempt, gets arrested, loses wife and escapes prison wearing an overly large jumpsuit and while trying to expose an attempt to blow up the congressional building he wears a overly large crisp sweater. Seriously, who was in charge of the wardrobe!

As I said, I was interested to see where it was going because at first I thought it was going to be a very cheap True Lies, but the former wife and child have nothing to do with most of the film. The lead looks horrible and it does not help that he is wearing comically burnt clothes during most of the action scenes. The lady cop seems tacked on and the ending really did not have a good resolution, but it did grab my attention I guess...

Enter the singular world of Don Mogavero and Pressure Point. But don't say we didn't warn you.

[tarbosh22000 · 5/10 · 8 December 2022]

Sebastian Dellacourt (Mogavero) is a CIA agent that might be on the edge, but it's kind of hard to tell. After accepting the time-honored "one last job" from his handler Neil Kennedy (Linville), he flies off to Chile to assassinate an ambassador or some such thing. After the job goes awry, Dellacourt, or "Della" as Kennedy refers to him as (maybe it's not the most masculine nickname in the world, especially if there's a subconscious comparison to Della Reese) is sent to prison. His terms for getting out: accept "one last job". Again. Another one last job.

So Dellacourt travels from Wilmington, Delaware to the rural burg of Crittenden, Vermont, in the hopes of taking down a rogue militia masquerading behind a construction company. The head of said militia is the rather droll Arno Taylor (Railsback). While in Crittenden, Dellacourt runs afoul of the local good ole boys and local police officer Samantha Cole (Ljoka) comes to save his bacon. Naturally, sparks fly between them, especially when Sebastian Dellacourt gives his name as "Del Sebastian". The clever Cole quickly finds him in the crime computers, but the two have to team up to stop Taylor from blowing up a congressional office building in Washington, D. C. Will they do it? Or have the baddies finally found Dellacourt's PRESSURE POINT?

Pressure Point is from the same people that brought us Radical Jack (2000), and the main claim to fame of both films is that MST3K has mocked and ridiculed them. While Pressure point may be low-budget, and may be a mélange of both silly and face-slappingly stupid in the style that only a DTV movie of this sort can be, at least it got into video stores. There are some genuinely funny moments that were probably unintentional. The main problem, besides the obvious, is that it's too long. This should not have been 98 minutes. The pacing is well and truly off, because for every "laff" moment, there's a long stretch where things feel like a chore. The payoff is not exactly equal.

There are some classic clichés on display, such as Linville calling Mogavero "The Best", and also his utterance of "No More Mistakes". Movie highlights include the thrilling (?) prison escape and the infamous "dynamite in the microwave" scene. Railsback's complete character development consists of the fact that he likes apples. His speech about America was pretty sweet, though.

Sebastian Dellacourt also has an inexplicably hot wife named Karen (Gentile), and a nine-year-old daughter named Emma (Reilly). Emma has a stuffed bear named Mr. Paws. Surprisingly, Mr. Paws plays a pretty integral role in the plot. In terms of importance, Mr. Paws's billing should have been above Don Mogavero.

Mogavero is, let's just say, an unlikely action star. Typically, they aren't affectless middle-aged men with thinning hair. It was an interesting choice putting him front and center. There are other side characters worth mentioning, whether it be the annoying Walt (Keppel), or "The Prosecutor" (that's all she's billed as), played by Alex Datcher of Passenger 57 and Rage and Honor (both 1992) fame.

Pressure point is like a less-competent Malone (1987). There are also elements of Militia (2000) and Deadly Reckoning (1998) as well (the latter mainly because of the stuffed bear factor). Of course, the specter of Radical Jack is ever-present. Just like in real life.

So, if you're ready for your brain cells to take a serious beating, enter the singular world of Don Mogavero and Pressure Point. But don't say we didn't warn you.

A Mystery II

[hackraytex · 8/10 · 7 June 2020]

I am watching a very enjoyable movie starring one of the most underrated actors in history. I say that because Don Mogavero has been in Jekyl Island and I also enjoyed that one but I can't find it anywhere. Mr. Mogavero made just three moves and disappeared. What happened? There has got to be someone who knows why he disappeared since I really think he could have gone a lot further. It appears that he was also a good writer and obviously had success attracting experienced actors to work with him. Another good job, Mr. Mogavero.

Highly entertaining and far from stupid

[Petr-10 · 7/10 · 11 March 2000]

Action thriller. A CIA agent aborts his mission but serves life for murder anyway. He is sprung from the prison to do one more job... Don Mogavero is excellent. Everything is good about this film except the wife's acting. Thankfully, she is not there long enough to spoil this film. Not terribly original but all the familiar bits are nicely put together, the result is highly entertaining.

I can't imagine watching this straight - thanks Rifftrax!

[eclectic_girl77 · 2/10 · 4 October 2023]

You've got a wannabe James Bond lead character who's instead balding (with a clown afro wig stuck on the back of his head), paunchy, and with all the sexual and action movie appeal of your average family dentist. Who runs with the grace and speed of a toddler and escapes from a max security prison (which was apparently built over... an industrial... power plant?) in a jumpsuit sized for Andre the Giant. Hilarious, true, but action packed and heart pounding? No. The rest of the movie is just a mass of cliches and action movie tropes stitched together, making it utterly forgettable. Steve Railsbeck is wasted and Mr. Paws the stuffed bear deserves more screen time. I applaud the Rifftrax team (Mike, Bill, and Kevin) for being able to stay awake long enough to riff this movie so hilariously.