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Fantastic!

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

I'm really not a "disaster movie" kinda guy, nor am I a "heist movie" fan. When I'm truly honest with myself, I really only saw this movie because Robert Englund is one of my all-time favorite actors. He doesn't get too much work, so when he's in something that looks even vaguely interesting, I'm game. And I'm glad I took a chance on "Windfall" because it's actually surprisingly good.As expected, Englund does a great job here. He is a villain actor in most movies, so it was interesting to see him play a more heroic (Albeit mischievous, unlawful and chaotic) role here, and he handles it really well. He manages to give his character Scratch a lot of personality and a TON of charm, even managing to put in some nice comedic touches but never going over the top. Scratch is the kinda character that I wish I knew in real life, because Lord knows he'd be fun to hang out with. I'm not familiar with Casper Van Dien's other work, but he does a great job here and proves that he has the acting chops to be a leading man. Van Dien shows a ton of charm in this role and obviously had a ton of fun playing the classic "crook with a heart of gold" Ace, and his arc from thug to hero was done fairly well. He's a guy who wants to do the right thing, but something always seems to get in the way. Van Dien and Englund have great chemistry and I loved the camaraderie between Ace and Scratch. Ray Wise does a great job as John Wescott, the boss of the ex-con duo and the owner of the Casino they work at. He brings a lot of likability and charisma to the role as a sort of alternate mentor figure to Ace next to Scratch.The pacing of the film is very well done and not once did I ever find myself feeling bored. Given the fact this is a Direct-To- DVD/Made For TV movie, that's quite an achievement. The production value is pitiful and the budget minuscule, but for what they had, the action scenes are suspenseful and intense, the comedy is refreshing and the characters are likable and developed. Not everything works admittedly. The romance between Ace and his employer's right-hand-woman Amber feels extremely rushed. Don't get me wrong, Libby Hudson doesn't give a bad performance as Amber, and the two have serviceable chemistry, but their entire love story feels extremely forced in terms of writing and pacing. Gregg Henry also does a very poor job as the obvious and not at all subtle villain Bill Trask. He overacts a ton and the whole time watching him he felt like the very, very, VERY poor man's version of John Travolta. Overall, "Windfall" isn't a masterpiece, but it's a mostly well acted, funny and at times suspenseful action movie with some very likable and charming characters that are surprisingly well developed and easy to root for. If you're a Robert Englund fan, or if you love a good disaster or heist movie definitely add it to your watchlist, it's at least worth a rental.

I voted for 3 stars. It would have been a lot less had the movie not been so predictable. But now you could easily predict the outcome and laugh a bit whenever you were right. This movie has really failed in making the story coherent. We get a lot of information that doesn't lead anywhere and is never fully explained. It has also failed in directing the actors to show any sign of emotions. Sure, they try to be emotional by raising their voices, but that is not enough. They also have some harsh words to say when they dislike things, but a good dialogue doesn't help here. However, to mention two good things at least, I have to say that, first, you get unchanging, uncomplicated characters. Of course this means you have to put up with them being stereotypes. And second, that the beginning showed some promise. Unfortunately this wasn't fulfilled.

I suppose this is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, but here goes --- Think 70's TV show on a bad day. Dialog is idiotic and painful, plot... well never-mind, acting is bad and the award for high school acting class level goes to the assistant meteorologist. (Ray Wise is completely wasted here).(Spoiler of sorts follows) I will cite only one example of how badly this done. There is an A-Team like sequence, where two bad guys on motorcycles are chasing the "good" guys down a crowded pier, shooting at everything and everybody except the object of their chase. But nobody gets hit. Next they chase them in boats, but seem incapable of shooting above the gunwales of the boat. This is followed by rocket grenades etc. Now after all this, do you suppose any of the folks at the pier would have thought to call the police? No, apparently this just part of the normal entertainment.... My rating for this is Four Dogs.

As far as these "straight to video" action movies go, I've seen far worse. The production values were OK, and there were a few good chase scenes. Several things let this movie down though, most important being a plot that was silly at times, including such ridiculous events as people crowding onto a boat to sail off an island minutes before a hurricane is due to arrive, and bad guys who are comically inept at aiming guns at the good guys. The acting is pretty bad, with Robert Englund and Gregg Henry both hamming it up. Casper Van Dien's acting is the same as always- wooden and goofy but somehow almost vaguely likeable. Ray Wise is wasted in a supporting role with terrible lines. Libby Hudson is forgettable in a forgettable part. The bad guy's henchmen are all straight from central casting's low-budget division.But... some parts of the story were not too bad, and some of the chase scenes were quite good. As I said, I've seen far worse. Five out of Ten.