Bullet Points: Tripwire
Everyone has heard the phrase that “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” It’s a phrase that works as “a rule of thumb”… which in and of itself is a phrase that everyone has probably heard. Which leads me to another common phrase… “rules are meant to be broken”.
And where 1989’s Tripwire is concerned, I broke the rule… I took one look at the movie cover art and said… this movie looks awesome! Was this knee jerk reaction correct? Or would I pay the price for my totally superficial judgement? Let’s find out…
- Second Impression: The opening credits were done in a old school computer font (complete with typing sound). There were two credits in particular that caught my attention. The first was the fact that Yaphet Kotto was in the movie (getting the coveted “and” credit along with his character’s name). The second was that the script was based on a story by William Lustig and Spiro Razatos. And it wasn’t long until the Razatos influence became obvious…
- C’Mon Ride the Train: During the opening credits we see a train being boarded in an unorthodox fashion and for good reason… the train is moving full speed on its way to an ammunition depot to drop off some munitions and there really isn’t an orthodox way to board a moving train. Enter ATF Agent Jack DeForest (Terence Knox, Snow Kill), who shows up at the ammunition depot following a tip he received that a terrorist group may be interested in this particular delivery. Jack looks around for anything suspicious as the military personnel are unloading the weapons and putting them in a truck… that’s when Jack spots a motorcycle. The terrorists who boarded the moving train then make their presence known surprising the soldiers and negating them. The ring leader Josef Szabo (David Warner, Beastmaster III) then hops in the truck filled with the now stolen weapons along with his young apprentice, Jeff. At this point everything has gone to Szabo’s plan…. EXCEPT for the fly in the ointment that is Jack DeForest.
- Jackin’ Things Up: Szabo and his crew aren’t going to let Jack stop them, so they head out with Szabo leading the caravan… but when Jack gets one of the motorcycles, the chase is officially on! When Jack eventually gets to the truck’s driver’s side window after eliminating the rest of Szabo’s caravan… he sees Jeff pointing his gun in his direction, but Jack shoots him first… next thing you know Szabo has lost control and the truck goes off the road… when the truck comes to a stop, Szabo checks on Jeff and it becomes clear that Jeff was much more to Szabo than his apprentice. Szabo says his goodbye, then blows up the truck before slinking off into the wilderness… When Jack gets back to ATF headquarters he has to report to his boss, Lee Pitt (Yaphet Kotto, Eye of the Tiger). Pitt is pissed, Jack’s actions may have prevented the terrorists from gaining the weapons they were after, but those actions also interfered in a much larger investigation.
- This Time It’s Personal: A few days later, Jack is back at ATF headquarters getting the latest info on the Szabo case from his colleague Annie. While they are conversing a package arrives, inside is a video tape. Annie pops the tape in and Jack instantly recognizes the setting… it is his ex-wife’s house and on the screen is Szabo with Jack’s ex Julia (Meg Foster, Masters of the Universe)… Szabo says Jack took his son Jeff and now Szabo is going to take Jack’s family away from him… that means Julia and Jack’s 16 year old son Rick (Andras Jones, The Demolitionist)… Jack races over to Julia’s house, but when he gets there nobody is there… Jack then starts going after Szabo’s known associates, looking for information on where Szabo would have taken Julia and Rick, which once again lands Jack in hot water with Pitt… however this time Pitt has no choice but to turn Jack into internal affairs. After their investigation, Jack is forced to resign from the ATF.
- This Ain’t Over: With his ATF days behind him, Jack finds himself bare knuckle brawling in bars for money, until a newspaper headline makes him sneak back into ATF headquarters to see his old friend Annie… now I should point out that Annie is sweet on Jack and he takes full advantage of that, getting Annie to risk her job multiple times. The most egregious example is when Jack uses her credentials to get El Tigre, a known Szabo associate, out of prison under the guise he has to testify in an important case. But really Jack just wants El Tigre to spill the beans on where Szabo’s hideout is… and he eventually gets the info, but only after a well placed snow mobile chase between the two! …Jack can now rescue his son, a son that Szabo is trying to convert into his own son through the use of mind altering drugs!
Tripwire truly was awesome and a trip I wish I had taken much sooner. I would go so far as to call Tripwire a hidden gem. The cast is strong, the action is great and it is a movie more action fans should be talking about. It is also proof that sometimes you CAN judge a book (or in this case movie) by its cover.
I feel like if I didn’t include some Bonus Bullet Points, you would all judge me, so here they are…
- Familiar Faces: Szabo has some familiar faces who report to him… there’s Hans played by Viggo Mortensen (Boiling Point and American Yakuza) and Trudy played by Charlotte Lewis (The Golden Child and Men of War)… Sy Richardson of Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects and Ring of Fire II fame plays Turbo, a business associate of Szabo’s and the guy Jack tricks into setting up a meeting with Szabo… a meeting that doesn’t turn out well for anyone, Jack ends ups hospitalized and Turbo ends up dead, but only after being dragged by a car like the dude on the awesome Tripwire poster.
- If You Ever: ...wanted to see Terence Knox throw a security guard off the roof of a building, then Tripwire is the movie for you.
- New Record?: Meg Foster may have less screentime in Tripwire than she did in Blind Fury.
- Christmas Action: The events at the start of the movie take place on Christmas Eve.
