Hard Rain (1998)

Shot as 'The Flood' in 1996, re-shot as 'Hard Rain' in 1997, and released into cinemas with virtually no publicity in 1998 it's a shame that this film sank with out a trace (pun intended). But you have to wonder why the studio abandoned it when it took investment from multiple backers to keep the production afloat (pun intended again).

I recall seeing publicity shots in 1997 for scenes (and characters) that aren't even in the movie. I guess we'll never know what Graham Yost's script was originally about. Paramount figured that the public had had enough of disaster movies and re-tooled 'The Flood' as a heist flick midway through filming. I can't say if it's for better or worse, but Hard Rain is still an exciting action ride.

Yes, the characterization is thin, but it avoids the cliche of making them all annoying as a quick way of defining them (something Twister, Volcano, and Dante's Peak were guilty of). The stragglers caught in the deluge as Huntingburg, Indiana is swept off the face of the Earth don't need to define themselves. They are who they are. Since the movie virtually takes place in real time there's little room for meaningless development.

Minnie Driver's unconvincing accent aside, the cast do pretty well with the material, and Slater makes for a better action hero here than he did in Broken Arrow (ironically, by the same writer).

Hard Rain works best in the cinema. It's too bad that it flopped because the big screen is where it deserved to be seen. Too many folks have seen and criticized this film from TV viewings that do the scope of the action no justice whatsoever. The water and chaos is very well shot and brilliantly staged. The bouncing, shaking, wobbling camera was an innovative idea, and if you like the slow-motion fire-fights of John Woo movies then you'll get a kick out of Hard Rain.

Another strong aspect that has gone overlooked with the rest of the movie is Chris Young's powerful score; the orchestral sound of violence, mayhem, and nature taking over. Seriously, it's great stuff and you really ought to get Hard Rain: Music From The Motion Picture.

Despite the bad reviews and poor box office returns Hard Rain is still a highly entertaining B-movie. We'll never know the full story behind its trouble production (there hasn't been anything close to a Special Edition DVD, and Mikael Salomon has never spoken publicly about it), but I recommend it to all action movie junkies. You won't be disappointed.

Hard Rain might have a twisted plot, pitting an armored truck guard against some robbers who are trying to steal 3 million dollars, but that doesn't really make it a bad movie. All the while, they're surrounded by a massive flood as their main obstacle. Hard Rain has some of the best actors such as Morgan Freeman and Randy Quaid playing the leading roles and they all do great jobs. Hard Rain also has some good action sequences and a lot of suspense throughout the film. It's like a wet and wild goosechase with everybody trying to catch Christian Slater in order to get the money. The special effects with all the water and rain couldn't have been done much better. Hard Rain is just another usual action movie until Morgan Freeman joins Christian Slater and they both team up and try to survive against the other robbers. That's when this movie gets a lot better with all the suspense and action.

If you like good action movies with some suspense added in, you will probably like Hard Rain. The only drawback is the twisted plot, sometimes you might wonder what the movie is really about. But watch it and you'll figure it out without a problem.

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HARD RAIN is enough to make you never want to see it rain again. Filmed entirely during the horrific storm and with the threatening collapse of the local dam, this movie requires some squinting of the eyes just to tell who's who. Director Mikael Solomon keeps things moving, and if the whole plot wasn't so darn preposterous and absurd, this could have been a classic. There are some great chase scenes, double crosses, etc., etc. It's just not very believable.

Christian Slater's laconic performance is reminiscent of a young Jack Nicholson, but he seems awkward and clumsy as an action hero (ditto BROKEN ARROW), but he's pleasant. Morgan Freeman reprises his bad guy role from CHAIN REACTION and the future NURSE BETTY with his usual grace and precision. Morgan's probably never given a bad performance. Randy Quaid is grim and vile as the sheriff gone bad, and Betty White/Richard Dysart provide some fun comic relief as an elderly couple who refuse to leave town. (Wonder what happens to them though---last we see them they're stuck in a tree?).

HARD RAIN may have benefitted from a more believable lead, say Bruce Willis, but it's entertaining and delivers, in spite of its silliness.

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Yup the plot does stretch your ability to suspend disbelief, but it stops short of actually asking you to hang it by the neck until it's dead the story is unlikely, but there are no obvious plot holes to disrupt the fun.

Morgan Freeman dishes up his usual excellence in this role a crook looking for a retirement fund, with a typical crew to help a screwup 20s rowdy, an unemployed high school science teacher, and a scripture-quoting pro.

Christian Slater is, well, Christian Slater I've been a fan for years, and this is yet another appearance of the wisecracking, intrepid guy that Mr. Slater plays so often. It'd get repititious if it weren't so much fun. He's at the end of a "clean out the banks before they're flooded" run, with $3 million in the truck when it's stuck in a deep spot in the ever-present water.

Minnie Driver does a fine, if understated, job as the woman who stayed in town too long, preparing a church she's been restoring to weather the flood, who gets involved in the scramble for the cash. While she's on the side of the good guys, there's no real steam between her and Slater.

Randy Quaid is the Sheriff who recently lost his re-election, and is bitter and angry, but determined to do a good job as long as he's on the clock until the temptation of that money proves to be too much for him.

For a film set almost entirely in a nighttime rain, the camerawork is amazingly good. The effects work nicely, the flood gives us an element that's unusual in action films, and the cast works well together, even when the script gets a tad overblown.

The widescreen DVD has a few basic features, but is pretty scant in extras no deleted scenes, no trailers for other movies, nothing you'd not have seen in the theatre but the trailer for this film which was a disappointment, but not fatal.

All in all, a fun 96 minutes of video, if you're not in the mood for something deep and meaningful.

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It's set, entirely at night, in the small Indiana town of Huntingburg which is being evacuated as a serious flood develops. But there are a few folk still around: Christian Slater and Edward Asner, the drivers of an armoured truck with $3M in the back; Morgan Freeman, the leader of a small gang of thieves with their sights set on the same 3M, Randy Quaid, a sheriff with some unappealing character traits; Minnie Driver, a churchwarden who has lingered rashly to protect her beloved stained glass windows; Richard Dysart and Betty White, an elderly couple stubbornly refusing to leave for fear of looters, thrown in for comic relief. Slater escapes from Freeman and his pals with the money which he hides in a cemetery. They pursue him on jet skis... Everyone gets very wet. Explosions. Gunfights. Hair's breadth escapes by lead characters trapped in rising floodwater. General mayhem. Credulity strained to breaking point. Significantly above average American action movie. More original than most. Quite good fun. Nothing special. But worth a look if you like this sort of thing.