Plot Details: This opinion reveals everything about the movie's plot.

15 minutes is a crass manipulative action movie with an obvious over-stated message that feels like the type of film Michael Winner (Death Wish) or Larry Cohen might have delivered to audiences circa 1979 if they had been given a big budget.

Walter Hill might have made a film like this ten years ago or even around the time of Natural Born Killer and Man Bites Dog , though even he wouldn't have staged the ending in the unbelievable way this film does. It's down-right annoying how the film repetitiously and obviously hammers home its messages about media irresponsibility ,the cult of celebrity or the way criminals can manipulate our justice system as if they are fresh in 2001. Most of the movie's messages are rooted in 1957's A Face in a Crowd and can be found more effectively stated in 1976's Network.

Let me quickly add that Robert DeNiro has some nice moments in the film. The film has some dark comic moments that almost work and as trash cinema goes, this one might wind up making your guilty pleasure list. It's not any good, and for many, it's repellant characters, over the top brutality and violence is going to make it quite unpleasant and prevent it from being any ‘fun' whatsoever. However, it has a couple of well staged action sequences and despite its cliche's, manipulations, obviousness, predictability and ridiculous ending–it's not boring.

Faint praise? You bet it's faint praise. DeNiro shouldn't be making junk like this, and film-makers shouldn't assume it's as easy to push audiences' buttons as writer/director John Herzfeld (who previously mimicked a combo of Quentin Tarrentino and John (Red Rock West)Dahl with 2 Days in the Valley) thinks it is. Michael Winner got away with this sort of thing in his original Death Wish film, Don Siegel got it right with Dirty Harry, but you need a lot more originality and freshness when you make this type of film, then is on display here.

Oh Herzfeld has done his homework. He's cast the film very well, he's written some strong-- good for the previews-- kinds of lines for his actors and he's paced it almost fast and furious enough to forgive the film its Monument Valley sized plot-holes. He even has a scene where DeNiro talks to himself in the mirror which parodies our memory of him talking in the mirror in Taxi Driver. The scene is actually one of the better ones in the film and doesn't come off as contrived and phony as you probably think it does from reading this.

The bad guys in this film are equipped with what must be the top ten of the best and most entertainingly repellant traits and tics of filmdom scum. I mean you've even got the scene where the main baddie chews a handful of aspirin (In Cold Blood) and cackles and laughs in the tradition of Richard Widmark and Snidely Whiplash. You will have to over-look how the bad guy pair are sometimes portrayed as socio-path versions of Dumb and Dumber and at other times are twisted criminal master minds to enjoy what happens here.

In fact you'll have to overlook all kinds of absurdities and inconsistencies and convenient only-in-the- movie occurrences. However the film's pace is furious and it's pushing our buttons hard as it races towards a climax and resolution that tries to have it both ways and winds up being up an utter cheat.

I'm not going to spoil a couple of the film's surprises on the off chance you don't already know what they are and you are still going to see it. I wasn't expecting a couple of the things the film does, which makes the way the film cops out at the end all the more disappointing. And I mean it cops out by dropping all ties to logic and believability completely. For a film that acknowledges audiences watching this film have seen a lot of action films before–it's particularly insulting that Herzfeld thinks he can get away with it.
The setting of the finale' is staged in the most contrived manner imaginable and conveniently most of the film's main characters are present for the last hurrah. Perhaps it will ultimately serve as a one stop education to film-makers of how not to stage an action film ending for modern audiences too sophisticated to believe such ridiculousness.

Do you need to see another good, but non-essential DeNiro performance in a film that is part 48 Hours, part Natural Born Killers, part Seven and part Lethal Weapon? How bad do you want to see an excitingly staged foot chase through the streets of Manhattan, and a well done trapped in a building-on-fire scene? Do you crave seeing cameos from Charlize Theron in a black wig -as an escort service madame? Kim Cattral as a network vice president? David Allen Grier playing a Central park mugger essentially for comic relief? Real life lawyer, Bruce Cullen (whose voice sounds just like Danny DeVito) playing himself ? Will you be impressed to learn that Edward Burns somehow manages to make a little something out of an utterly bland second banana role? Is watching Kelsey Grammar playing a slimy, immoral oily producer/host/field reporter of a reality t.v. show essential to your film-going experience resume'?

Can you suspend your sense of disbelief to not be bothered by the idea that the host of a top rated reality show would be allowed (or even want ) to tag along with a homicide detective as he tries to make what promises to be a very dangerous life threatening arrest? Can you over-look how police procedures are adhered to one minute or grossly violated the next, only as it serves the conveniences of a script setting up the next action sequence?

Get the idea?

THE STORY:

As the film begins we quickly meet our villians as they pass through customs at their airport. We recognize them as criminal Mutt and Jeffs right from the start. There's the Czech Emil (Karel Roden) who's a genius compared to his partner, the Russian Oleg (Oleg Taktarov). Quickly Oleg who dreams of being able to make a film like It's a Wonderful Life sees a sign in a 42nd street electronic store advertising a digital video camera and faster than you say America's Funniest Home Videos he somehow steals the camera and begins filming everything Emil and he do.

This includes visiting a Russian immigrant who managed to avoid arrest and keep the money from a robbery they all participated in, presumably in Prague. Well Emil goes nutzoid when he learns his share of the money is gone and as he brutally kills the man and his wife, Oleg films it all with the video camera.

Oh oh, there's a witness who barely manages to escape leaving behind her purse so Emil and Oleg can figure out who she is.

To cover the double murder, Emil and Oleg set the apartment on fire. This eventually leads to our main good guys meeting each other. There's celebrity Homicide detective Eddie Flemming (Robert Deniro) and anti-media circus fire marshal Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns). Yes, Jordy Warsaw later declares himself a polish-American so the film-makers can't be accused of seeing all Eastern Europeans as slimy criminals. Homicide Detective Eddie was made a celebrity by reality show producer and host Robert Hawkins of Top Story (Kelsey Grammar).

Eddie and Jordy butt heads slightly at the burnt out apartment crime scene because Eddie shouldn't be investigating the scene as a homicide until the Jordy, the fire marshal investigates it for arson. But everyone quickly realizes it's a homicide and an arson. Eddie makes a no-comment to the t.v. reporters and Jordy is berated by his boss for letting Eddie grab the publicity. Media image is EVERYTHING.

Meanwhile in a cheap hotel room, Emil and Oleg are over-dosing on Roseanne Barr hosted t.v. talk shows, allowing for Emil to spout of lines like: "I love America, no one is responsible for what they do!" Emil comically tries to find the meaning of ‘self-esteem' in his dictionary and gets mad again at his partner for speaking to him in Russian rather than in Czech or English. They go through the witnesses' belongings and find a card from an escort service. Quickly Emil figures out what this means and he requests the escort service send over a Czech or Russian girl hoping it will be the witness he wants to meet.

A prostitute arrives at the hotel room but it's not the witness and things quickly get out of hand and Emil winds up brutally killing the topless prostitute (in the shower) while Oleg films it all.

Through another convenience, Eddie and Jordy wind up at the crime scene together and realize something is up when its discovered the room has been registered to a Frank Capra, yet evidence shows two people were involved in the prostitutes murder.

Emil and Oleg are just a few steps ahead of Eddie and Jordy who are hot on their trail and a few scenes later realize some suspicious characters are filming them from across the street. Why it's Emil and Oleg and now it's time for a genuinely exciting and well filmed foot chase through Manhattan. Emil and Oleg slash and shoot their way through the streets of New York and barely escape capture.

You get the idea at this point I am sure. Emil and Oleg figure out if they kidnap a famous person their home movie becomes very valuable to the press and they might get away with their crimes if they use the insanity defense. They can become rich and famous and beat the murder rap with an insanity plea.

The film is pretty much a by the numbers type of predictable action film (with a message) for two thirds of its running time. What makes it feel a little different is DeNiro, who's playing a character that fits him like a well worn pair of house slippers. He can play this kind of tough, alcoholic New York City cop in his sleep, but he's putting in a real performance here that's a lot of fun to watch. But the brutality of the bad guys isn't fun to watch at all. So DeNiro's performance is part of a film that borrows elements lifted from films like Seven, Natural Born Killers and most unfortunately Strange Days (the ‘95 debacle with Raph Fiennes and Angela Bassett).

Eventually the film does deliver a surprise. I won't spoil it. Unfortunately, this is diluted by the film's predictable (but overly contrived set up of an) ending.

What's most disturbing for me to see in a film like this is how the most controversial elements of films like Natural Born Killers, Strange Days and Seven are muted and integrated into a film that's really nothing more than a formula action movie for the pop-corn crowd. Images that disturbed and repelled in earlier films are used here as gimmicks and black comedy devices.

The excuse for the brutality and violence is of course the film's message which at this point is obvious and dated.

After I wrote the majority of this review I learned most of 15 Minutes was filmed and slated for release in 1999. Yet two years ago, the film's messages and targets were just as obvious and stale. It's disappointing the film comes close and then misses so many opportunities to make richer and less familiar commentary .

No this 15 Minutes isn't for everyone. If you can stomach repellant characters, brutality, sadism and don't mind the lack of originality there might enough here to justify this mess as your trash film fix for the year. However, I suspect Hollywood will deliver more junk just as capable of
feeding your trash film cravings as this one real soon. Resist.


Christopher Jarmick,is the author of The Glass Coccon with Serena F. Holder a steamy suspense thriller which is now available (glasscocoon@hotmail for details).

Original portions of this review Copyright© Christopher J. Jarmick 2001. The above work is protected by international copyright law.

Recommended: No

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age