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ClockstoppersRating:
Release Date: 13 May, 2003 Retail Price: $14.99 OUR Price: $13.49 You SAVE: $1.50! Cast: Complete Cast (7 total) |
Clockstoppers Reviews
Good movie for what it is
Now, I'm not the type of guy who watches movies and rates them ridiculously with high expectations. In fact, I don't even watch any movie whatsoever with high expectations because I know very well that I'll always be disappointed. With that said, "Clockstoppers" isn't half as bad as all critics make it out to be. I will admit the fact that I was entertained for what they worked with. I do, however, have my set of alternative plot twists and other suggestions that could've made the movie better but that's just me. For what Jonathan Frakes dished out with the props used, there were some interesting scenes and French Stewart was great. The concept was nice and I got a few laughs from the scene where Zak first uses the watch and freezes that animal (a possum??) and ends up bringing it into the kitchen where Francesca is frozen too. There were some missing ingredients, yes, but I'm not gonna be some picky critic who sits there picking out all the countless amount of flaws in a movie rather than to just sit back and watch what has been made. Otherwise, movie watching isn't fun and instead, it'll be more like some kind of business venture or like a job of picking out fried wires from inside a comp unit. This movie is good for the kids and doesn't have to rely on mindless violence nor the sexuality that perverts always hope for. I don't even know why this is being compared to classics like the "Back to the Future" series. There's "Back to the Future" in its own and then there's "Clockstoppers" which is in its own too. Watch this as its separate piece. The story is simple, a guy named Zak finds a watch device that was sent to his dad from some scientist. Little does he know that the watch device has the ability to stop time and enable the user and anyone who touches the user to roam around in 'Hyper-time.' The scientist's boss wants to find Zak's dad in hopes of replacing him and getting back the watch. Anyway, give this one a chance and watch it without high expectations. If you're one of those picky hardcore film viewers who always needs rated R content or whatever, go watch something else. If you're one of those animated Disney movie freaks yet can't appreciate fun for just an hour, go watch something else. Otherwise, tune in!
"I'm officially freaked out now!"
The editorial review on Amazon for Clockstoppers (2002) starts out with the question `Who hasn't fantasized about being able to stop time and move things around?" Sure, I've fantasized about having the ability to stop time, but as far as moving things around? I've imagined of doing a whole lot more than just moving things around...but my own, perverse fantasies are probably not appropriate for posting on this particular product page (this film was produced by Nickelodeon, that network for kids...does anyone remember that show You Can't Do That on Television? Just wondering...). Directed by Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: Nemesis), the film stars Jesse Bradford (Swimfan) and the very edible Paula Garcés (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle). Also appearing is Michael Biehn (The Terminator, The Abyss), winner of the Whoopi Goldberg look-a-like contest Garikayi Mutambirwa (Jeepers Creepers II), Robin Thomas (he was the nerdy principal in the 1987 film Summer School), Julia Sweeney (It's Pat), and the French `I need a better manager' Stewart (Home Alone 4, Inspector Gadget 2).
The film begins with a cool looking sequence that ends in such a way that makes no sense, that is until you get further into the story, and by then you'll have probably forgotten all about it, unless you are writing a review, and trying to remember how the film started, like me...does that make sense? Probably not, but if you see this film, you'll know what I'm talking about...anyway, soon we meet Zak Gibbs (Bradford), a guy I initially confused with that character Xander, played by Nicholas Brendon, from the television series `Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. He seems like kind of a tool as he rides around on his bike as if he owns the street, and also later for continual pestering his father about wanting to buy, with money he scammed off Ebay buyers by misrepresenting junk, a boss Ford Mustang which he could never afford the insurance on...we learn Zak's father, who's some kind of science genius and teaches at a local university, gets a device from a former student named Earl (Stewart), and is looking for help. Turns out the device, disguised as a watch, is some kind of accelerated molecular do-hicky that allows the wearer to move at such a speed (called hyper time) that it makes the rest of the world appear as if it were standing still...okay...the problem is, extended usage results in rapid aging of the wearer...also, Earl works for QT Laboratories, which is run by a man named Gates (Biehn), and the project, which was funded for by the gooberment, has now been terminated and Uncle Sam wants everything that has resulted from the research, but Gates is evil, and the potential for such a device so great he's unwilling to give it up. Zak finds the device, begins using it, but soon finds himself the target of Gates and his goons as they try to retrieve what has been lost, and end up kidnapping Zak's father to take up where Earl left off...now Zak must figure out a way to break into a top secret facility and rescue his father...
If anything, this sure was a slick looking film...it had some really nice special effects, during the time standing still parts. As far as the story, well it just felt like there wasn't a whole lot there, and I wasn't even expecting much. The film is filled with plot holes, like when Zak was trying to break into the high security facility and finds unbelievably easy access via some incredibly large air vents, but I wasn't really willing to subject the film to harsh scrutiny as it appeared it was mainly a just for fun movie, one you kind of coast through and just enjoy. I did find the character (or actor) of Zak to be a little annoying, perhaps it had something to do with the ease at which he hooked up with that babe played by Paula Garcés. One aspect I will comment on that I found a little too outlandish was the use of liquid nitrogen (I think) as a weapon to slow down those who are in hyper time. I gotta think getting sprayed with this would do more than just slow you down, causing extremely severe tissue damage, but I'm no doctor (although I often play one on TV). I guess if I had to pick the weakest element of the film (the special effects are probably the strongest) it would be the story. Frakes moved the story along well, and presented things well (I guess directing those various Star Trek eppys paid off), and the actors all seem capable, but they weren't really given much. Take Biehn's character as the evil Gates...he was hardly even there...when he was, he was decent, but he didn't have the involvement or menacing presence I normally look for in an on screen villain. I believe Biehn's certainly capable, but his material was lacking. Stewart provides a few laughs, and his character really gets the beating throughout the film, but he also seems to have so little to work with...personally I would have gotten rid of Zak, his family, and friends (keeping Garcés cause she's hotsy), and had Stewart be the main character...perhaps not as it was written, but I thought there was a good deal of extraneous stuff that could have been lost or worked out...but then who would the younger viewers identify with? So it depends on who the film was marketed to...probably not so much myself...all in all, the movie's fun, but forgettable...oh yeah, I did like most of the music which featured artists like Smash Mouth, Fenix TX, Third Eye Blind, Blink 182, New Found Glory among others....I thought the remakes of songs Abracadabra (2002 Ralph Sall Remix) with Sugar Ray and Time After Time with Uncle Kracker were pretty good...
The widescreen anamorphic (1.85:1) picture here is sharp, and the audio, available in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround comes through clear. Special features include a making of featurette, two music videos, promotional spots and a trailer.
Cookieman108
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