Desperate Hours (1990)

	Directed by: Michael Cimino	COUNTRY USA GENRE Neo-noir/Action/ Thriller NORWEGIAN TITLE Desperate timer RUNNING TIME 106 minutes
	Produced by: Michael Cimino Dino De Laurentiis
	Written by (based on the novel by Joseph Hayes): Joseph Hayes Lawrence Konner Mark Rosenthal Michael Cimino

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Michael Bosworth	Mickey Rourke	½
Tim Cornell	Anthony Hopkins
Nora Cornell	Mimi Rogers	½
Nancy Breyers	Kelly Lynch	½
Brenda Chandler	Lindsay Crouse
Lexington	John Finn	-
Wally Bosworth	Elias Koteas
Albert	David Morse	½
May Cornell	Shawnee Smith	-
Zack Cornell	Danny Gerard	-
Kyle	Matt McGrath	-

Review

Almost nothing gels in this action/thriller misfire from Michael Cimino, a remake of William Wyler's 1955 film of the same name starring Humphrey Bogart. The entire premise such as it is presented here, of a gang of runaway criminals who barricade themselves in an upper middle class home and take the family hostage, is inherently preposterous, but this turns out to be the least of the film's problems. More severe is Cimino's inexplicably clumsy direction, from the wobbly action sequences to some truly campy and horribly overscored drama. As the end approaches, Desperate Hours isn't able to evoke any of the emotions the hammy score and balderdash images are suggesting. The actors are defenceless in these circumstances, with Lindsay Crouse the worst of the lot. And the casting of Anthony Hopkins and Mimi Rogers as husband and wife? They certainly are an odd couple, to put it mildly. The only redeeming quality in here is some beautiful shots of the Utah landscape.