MOVIE REVIEW : ‘Terminal Velocity’ Races Into Romance and Comedy

“Terminal Velocity,” a rousing, good-looking action-adventure with romance and comedy, couldn’t be more up to the minute, yet its pleasures hark back to movies’ earliest days of exuberant, lightning-fast, cliffhanging serials of the silent era and the aerial exploits of such classics as “Wings” and “Hell’s Angels.”

The special effects are state of the art--how could they dare be otherwise nowadays?--but they don’t overwhelm the people. There’s a consistent sense of humor and lightness of touch that’s often lacking in such hard-driving pictures. “Terminal Velocity” succeeds because it’s without pretense, unashamedly offering pure entertainment. There’s an appealing throwaway quality to the entire undertaking that attests to the consistent sound judgment of director Deran Sarafian and writer David Twohy, who co-wrote “The Fugitive,” in not taking themselves too seriously.

The film is chock full of mind-boggling incidents, with twists and turns at every instant. At heart its premise is simple and timely, shrewdly not revealed to us and our equally bewildered hero, Charlie Sheen’s daredevil sky diver Ditch Brodie, until more than an hour into the story. Against mounting yet mysterious danger the filmmakers create imaginative and amusing characters for Sheen and leading lady Nastassja Kinski to play to the hilt.

Brodie is a warm and funny guy, a reckless grandstander and an uninhibited pursuer of beautiful women. When Kinski’s beguiling Chris Morrow turns up at an Arizona parachuting center, Brodie figures he can give her a lesson and wine her and dine her into a quick seduction, getting to sleep early. No sooner are they up in the air, however, than Brodie is hurtled into danger and excitement that it looks like he’ll never be able to stop running, let alone get some rest. He’s hard put to keep up with the tenacious, no-nonsense Morrow, who’s as formidable as Jackie Chan in outwitting ferocious bad guys James Gandolfini and Christopher McDonald. (Brodie’s crusty pilot is played by Melvin Van Peebles, a groundbreaking black actor/filmmaker of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s).

There’s no point in revealing what Morrow is up to, but, as the film approaches its climactic sequence, it pauses to allow Kinski a big scene in which her selfless heroine confronts Brodie with his immature All-American self-absorption and ignorance. Even the blithest of escapist entertainment needs a serious moment to give its people a crucial measure of reality.

* MPAA rating: PG-13, for scenes of strong action/violence and for brief strong language. Times guidelines: Although its violence is swift and cartoon-like, it may be too intense for young children.

‘Terminal Velocity’

Charlie Sheen: Ditch Brodie

Nastassja Kinski: Chris Morrow

James Gandolfini: Ben Pinkwater

Christopher McDonald: Kerr

A Buena Vista release of a Hollywood Pictures presentation of an Interscope Communications/Polygram Filmed Entertainment production in association with Nomura Babcock & Brown. Director Deran Sarafian. Producers Scott Kroopf, Tom Engelman. Executive producers David Twohy, Ted Field and Robert W. Cort. Screenplay by Twohy. Cinematographer Oliver Wood. Editor Frank J. Urioste, Peck Prior. Visual effects designed and supervised by Christopher F. Woods. Costumes Poppy Cannon-Reese. Music Joel McNeely. Production designer David L. Snyder. Art director Sarah Knowles. Set decorator Beth A. Rubino. Running time: 1 hour, 43 minutes.

* In general release throughout Southern California.