Slipstream Movie Review

Big-budget, handsomely made sf is set in a future where an ecological disaster has destroyed society as we know it. The climate has been radically changed, creating a strong wind current. Mark Hamill is an ill-tempered cop who flies a wild-looking plane. He and partner Kitty Aldridge capture poetry-spouting murderer Bob Peck, but before they can bring him to justice, he's kidnapped by dim-witted bounty hunter Bill Paxton. The chase is on. Unfortunately, the chase is filled with holes. At first that doesn't matter because director Steven Lisberger captured some stunning aerial footage and much of the Turkish landscape is exotic and fascinating. Whenever the action moves to ground level, it falters. The characters are poorly drawn and the dialogue is amateurish throughout. But when Ben Kingsley shows up in a cameo role, everyone begins to talk in fortune-cookie aphorisms that are apparently meant to pass for wisdom.

1989 (PG-13) 92m/C GB Mark Hamill, Bill Paxton, Bob Peck, Eleanor David, Kitty Aldridge, Robbie Coltrane, F. Murray Abraham; Cameos: Ben Kingsley; D: Steven Lisberger; W: Tony Kayden; M: Elmer Bernstein. VHS, Beta, LV VTR