merklekranz Let's start with the kid. He is really unnecessary to the plot, what little there is. I mean it seems his only purpose was to hang onto a piece of evidence, which just as easily could have been found by Amy Madigan, thus sparing the audience this kid in a catatonic state throughout the film. I could also do without the General being involved, since his motivation is never explained. Why not just have a big nasty corporation cheating on the quality of their helicopters? I also could do without the numerous ridiculous moments, such as changing a tire in the middle of a car chase, simply so it could continue. What I wouldn't do without is Michael Ironside, since he is by far the best thing I noticed in "Nowhere to Run". - MERK

Woodyanders Amy Madigan is one of my all-time favorite unsung actresses: She's pretty in a modest, corn-fed sort of way, has one of those dry, throaty, worn-out alto voices which I personally find to be very sultry, and her often short, faded blonde hair ain't nothing to sneeze about, either. Furthermore, Amy also possesses a forceful, dynamic, wholly arresting screen presence, a goodly amount of fortitude, and has flair to spare. In short, Amy's my kind of girl, a gutsy, brassy and even sexy little spitfire who rarely (if ever) is given the full credit and attention she deserves.Fortunately, this bang-up action thriller features the terrific Ms. Madigan in peak plucky'n'punchy form as Barbara Cutter, the tough, but tender wife of marine helicopter pilot Rob (winningly played by Daniel Hugh Kelly). Rob discovers that faulty helicopter parts have caused two fatal chopper "accidents." Rob gets rubbed out by a pair of deadly thugs (one is nicely essayed by great, prolific, underrated fat guy character actor Maury Chaykin) who are in the employ of a ruthless, penny-pinching, cornering-cutting evil general (a perfectly detestable John Colicos; Balter on "Battlestar Galactica") who in turn is in cahoots with a bunch of illegal black market whirlybird thieves. Barbara and her son Johnny (a surprisingly strong and tolerable turn by child actor Robin MacEachern), the latter of whom has some incriminating evidence of the below-par helicopters hidden in his toy robot (!), survive the hit and hightail it into the woods, seeking refuge and protection from Rob's reclusive, tight-lipped Vietnam veteran survivalist buddy Ben (the always outstanding Michael Ironside).This surprisingly involving and exciting action thriller pip benefits substantially from Mario Azzopardi's proficient and energetic direction, a constant snappy pace, exceptionally stirring and well-staged action sequences (Barbara's climactic showdown with Colicos is especially rousing), top-notch acting from a sound cast, and a zesty, hard-driving score by the tireless Brad ("Just Before Dawn," "Fright Night") Fiedel. However, the glorious Amy Madigan clearly dominates -- scratch that, completely owns -- this film: Her gritty, explosive and thoroughly sympathetic portrayal of a courageous, take-charge, no-nonsense action heroine really hits the socko spot and makes this movie worth seeing for her superlative performance alone.

catalyzt In this exciting action thriller, an artistic widow fights to stay alive after her husband, a Marine who had discovered that the military was well aware that it was placing defective parts in its helicopters, is mysteriously murdered. Believing that the widow, a metal sculptress, has the damning evidence, the killers take off after her and her little son. None of them realizes that she too was a Marine and is more than capable of defending herself. The film is also known as Fatal Chase. -- Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

igj-2 I read a few different reviews praising this movie as the thinking-persons action movie with a strong female hero. It did have a strong woman in the leading role, but it also had atrociously bad writing and a believability factor of zero. Stick to Ripley or even Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight to see women kicking butt with the best of them.