EssenceStory
Well Deserved Praise
Infamousta
brilliant actors, brilliant editing
Lidia Draper
Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
Philippa
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Comeuppance Reviews
Max Dire (Van Peebles) is one of the best and bravest officers on the LAPD. You might even say he has a talent for getting out of DIRE situations with MAXIMUM firepower (see, that's why they pay us the big bucks, heh heh). Because of his stellar track record as a crimefighter on the mean streets, he attracts the attention of Adam Garou (Payne), a mysterious man who wants Max to join his gang of underground vigilantes to clean up the streets in their own way. They even use a mysterious drug to give them superhuman powers. At first, Max is reluctant, but the clever Adam has Casey Spencer (Kensit) seduce Max onto his squad. The conflicted Max tries to make the best of the team of unkillable vigilante werewolves (how often do you get to say that phrase?), but in the end must face his demons on his own terms. Can he do it before the FULL ECLIPSE? We thoroughly enjoyed Full Eclipse. It's a lot of fun, and delivers everything you want. There's a lot to love and appreciate about this movie - not only is it a solid action movie in its own right, but it puts a nice spin on the cop/action drama. It even puts a spin on the vigilante movie, which we especially liked, because we love those, generally speaking, and if you add in werewolves, it's hard to lose. Another plus was the use of real, practical effects, no CGI garbage. And the great cast ties it all together, along with the fast-paced direction of Hickox.Mario Van Peebles was terrific as Dire: not only is he a quality 90's coolguy with his ever-changing beard stubble, loose ties and sunglasses, but you can feel his conflict as it relates to the unfolding werewolf situation. On top of that, he shines in the action sequences, as he fires two guns while diving through the air in slow motion, in true John Woo style. The opening "punks take over the dance club" sequence was indeed a movie highlight. Fan favorite Bruce Payne matches him, giving a totally committed performance. Sadly, only fans like us (and by us I mean not just US, but you reading this as well) will appreciate this - Payne receives no awards, never gets to chat on the late night shows, but is far more competent than many that do.The whole thing is classic 90's; just the type of thing you'd see on the pay-cable channels or in the video stores of the day. So while this even has a dash of the then-current "homie movie" (there is a drive-by shooting and Van Peebles has a tendency to say "yo yo yo"), Full Eclipse, in general, is a cut above the average DTV film, in our opinion. The only bad thing is that this was a point in time when annoying pop-culture references were starting to pop up in characters' dialogue.But the 80's weren't that far behind, as you know that Dire's partner, who says he's "getting married", is "too old", and is nervous and complaining a lot, that he's not long for this world. Full Eclipse, in general, is the next logical step up from Wolfen (1981), and the outing in general is never dull. It sports a killer concept, and a nice execution that lives up to it. We recommend it.
SmokeyTee
Let's face it this is a bad movie. It has a TV-movie average budget and an average b-list cast. But it keeps the pace up throughout most of the movie, yes a bit slow in places but if you like cheesy aging actions you will probably go in for Full Eclipse.If you want something just a little better try *One tough Bastard*. It doesn't have werewolves, the main actor is torture and the child's character is dumb as a fence post but Bruce Paine as the villain saves it with some of the best one liners you are likely to get in an action movie - much better than any of the Die-hard sequels anyway! Plus it scores about .4 points better than Full Eclipse. You can't lose!
r-c-s
Although made in 1993, the movie is typically 80ish. The special effects aren't that bad, but remind of say Lost Boys & other movies and the comparison is very unfavorable. That is your typical salad bowl movie: bada$$ honest cop loses patrol partner when sickos raid club...or so he thinks, because he's back the next day & performs like three vandamme 80's movies put together ( the action scenes aren't bad but they look like stand-ins & stunt-men a mile away ). Despite his new ability, soon the patrol mate commits suicide, and the bada$$ joins some undercover vigilante squad with mysterious powers... There is an attempt at virtuous camera angles and there is a salad bowl plot including some romance subplot & some cop-in-distress-going-through-divorce subplot...again trying to borrow here & there from more famous movies. Acting is lower average. mr.Garou isn't bad, although overacting is there. Peebles is just awful. Kensit is there just to show some skin and the others were probably just handpicked among the stand-ins. PS "le loup garou" is the french title of the Lon Chaney's "wolfman", so they give it away from the beginning.What spoils the effort is the final battle, when Garou turns into some sort of giant wolf...clearly some idiot wearing a carnival outfit. To make a comparison, Godzilla versus King Kong was more believable!Cheap cable TV fodder with some extra mileage.
Werewolf-6
As a self-proclaimed werewolf fanatic, I highly suggest this movie! After his partner dies, a dedicated police officer is invited to join a "special unit" on the force. the team is using a special serum, which gives them animalistic qualities. Our hero is forced to take the magic potion, which gives him quite a rush. But it doesn't compare to the shock he gets when he discovers were the serum comes from! Nicely written, good effects, and Paula Marshall! who could ask for anything more?