User reviews

This strange movie is about a 10 year old girl who is a witnesses a murder. In the rest of the movie she's pursued by the murderer. The special effects are great especially in the end when a ambulance (with the girl in the back) gets persued by the police. On the other hand, the story is realy bad. Clues appear out of nothing and everyone is speaking English which makes the story not realistic

When a so called lovable little girl is involved in a suspense story,what do you expect? Certainly not the unexpected! You can see in her eyes that the villains will not get the upper hand.The more helpless she seems ,the stronger she is when danger comes around.Dumb but not dumb! The supporting cast is wasted:William Hurt is cast as the father and all he has to do is wait ;Jennifer Tilly 's part is not much more exciting:all she's got to do is bemoan over her unfortunate daughter's fate.You will guess who pulls the string as soon as that villain appears on the screen.

Only the first scenes in the hotel can ,at a pinch,generate some suspense.But after that,it's downhill.The worst is that horrible "singer" ,pedophile at that!On the other hand ,Dennis Leary's junkie is quite nice.

Get "Amsterdamned" instead!

This ranks amongst the worst films I've ever seen. I bought the DVD based on the plot summary which sounded interesting and because William Hurt was one of the actors who normally features in great movies. After about 15 minutes, when we got to the gangster scene at the back of the hotel, I had to check the back of the box to see if it was a comedy rather than a "thriller with more twists and turns than the streets of Amsterdam itself". The ridiculous story line and the ham acting were making me laugh. I persevered to the end of the film in the desperate hope that there would be a great point or message but alas this film had absolutely no redeeming features for me. Truly awful. It says on the back cover "When you can't scream you can only run..." but I figured out another two options, cringe or howl with laughter.

In the first 20 minutes of this flick I began to wonder if there was an Amsterdam in the U.S. Not one major or minor role in this movie had a Dutch accent. This distracted me from enjoying an otherwise interesting story set in one of Europe's oldest cities.

Distraction then led to befuddlement. The Script writer seemed fixated on Amsterdam's reputation as a purveyor of child porn and pedophilia. There was more than a couple of instants were characters made reference to their own awful proclivity.

Add to that gruesome and astonishingly gratuitous scenes of violence which were oddly incongruous (ie. the ambulance wheel rolling over a para-medic's head mashing it like an over-ripe pumpkin.)

But most of all. I could not believe Oscar-winner, William Hurt or even Jennifer Tilly and Dennis Leary could associate themselves with this strange and uneven film.

I guess no one is Dutch in Amsterdam. Was there a shortage of actors that can at least sound like they are a local? I've been to Amsterdam a few times and yeah the majority speak English very fluently but you know they are Dutch. Anyone have an accent? No!

My husband and I were drawn into this film because we like both Hurt and Tilly and because the premise of the film sounded palpable. I'll bet it was fun to shoot because per capita, each actor only had about 20 lines to memorize. They must have had oodles of free time.

The icing on the cake came at the end. "I hope rehab works for him." Ick. Gimmee a break.

This may not be the best movie in the world but it is fairly decent to watch. It keeps moving and doesn't lag, and the levity, while brief and strained, can make you laugh out loud at times. The main redeeming point of the whole movie is the stellar performance by Michael Chiklis. Why he is not in more movies is beyond me. The performances by Jennifer Tilley and William Hurt are below average as they seem to be almost falling over one another's lines. Bottom line, it's a good movie and is worth checking out.

...by watching this tripe! I waited nearly 3 years to see this film because I really enjoy William Hurt's performances, so you can imagine how shocked and (yes) disturbed I was when I began watching it on cable last night and saw how unbelievably BAD he is in this movie. He has a ridiculous on-again off-again Southern accent, and he cannot say one single line of dialogue that sounds convincing.

The material he's given is horrendous, it's true -- badly paced, thoroughly uneven in every way: the plot veers from pathetic stabs (no pun intended) at black comedy to morbid, monotonous melodrama and car chases, with not one truly satisfying moment in the entire film. Jennifer Tilly, surprisingly, came off very well here - she was believable and sympathetic throughout. Actually, there WAS one satisfying moment -- when this torturous exercise in trashy tedium finally wrapped up and the end titles rolled on the screen. William Hurt must have wanted to visit Amsterdam really bad.

This is really much more of a comedy than it is of a thriller which does not mean it is bad. The action is OK, the story is OK, the actors are OK with some minor faults here and there, but who cares. The best thing here though is that it is quite funny. Never have I seen such a dumb and luckless hitman as in this one. I believe Corey Johnson who plays the hitman called Nasty has the best performance here although he doesn't act like Oscar – worthy he surely brings the most fun to the viewers. The kid, who actually is the lead character, is OK too and she brings a Home Alone feeling to this film.

The only thing that made me a bit curious is whether people in the USA really think that Amsterdam is like the worst place on earth because I mean, how could they? Are not NY, LA and so on much worse? Or is that just something we over here feel. Well I at least can say this. I've been to Amsterdam at least 3 times and I'm still living to report to you about this film, so how bad can Amsterdam really be.

Not bad, but I've seen better.

6 out of 10

What are Tilly and Hurt doing in this movie? Did they not read the script? What a pity. A good idea set in Amsterdam with two good actors and then someone hires a "writer" who clearly thought Stallone's script in "Get Carter" was the second coming of Shakespeare. Meanwhile the crass dialogue has Hurt confused as he changes to being from Alabama from time to time. Luckily he has a lot of help from the people of Amsterdam who are all from New York. Clearly this is New Amsterdam. One good point. Anybody who failed English language in school, and everything else, knows that they have a chance in Hollywood. What a real stinker.

Very funny send-up of action movies which is also exciting and has good special effects. Every cliche you've ever encountered is utilised: the corpse that won't die; the meeting which, unbeknownst to the protagonists, gives vital information to the killer; the drug-addict with the heart of gold; the mild-mannered, pre-occupied father who becomes a super-hero to defend his daughter; the vulnerable victim who effortlessly thwarts her vicious attackers. Add killings of violent comic book intensity, thrilling chases, some nicely observed satires on American hypocrisy and European laisser faire. Throw in some well judged, tongue in cheek performances from the starry cast, some good visual gags and witty one-liners and there you have it! Thrilling, funny entertainment that doesn't insult its viewers' intelligence by demanding that they take it seriously.

What can I say? It had humor, it had action, so I can't complain. Besides, how can you go wrong when you have a character who can hear but can't speak. I've had an appreciation for that gimmick since seeing 'Mute Witness.' So what if it had a few unrealistic parts? It still had some exciting, on-edge parts in it, and you still cared about what happens to Melissa. If you people would just lighten up maybe you would feel the same way I do. I think I'll watch it again tomorrow.

I don't know what people wanted to do here, I don't now either if this was a comedy, thriller or what...

A 10 years old girl escaping from a "pro-murderer", giving him some pain, driving cars, kicking faces, jumping from the roof of a 10 floor hotel, jumping from elevators... Are we stupid or Amsterdam's police department are more stupid than us? Home Alone was so much better than this and Arnold Schwarzeneger would like to fight just like this 10 years old lady. This is the worse movie ever...

Something good about this movie??? I don't think so...

1 out of 10 (overrated)

I'm in the middle of watching this turd on cable right now.

Despite all the good actors, all the performances are stiff as hell. William Hurt's performance is especially strange, with this bizarre southern drawl.

The feeble attempts at "humor" only serve to undermine any chance of generating suspense. Who the hell is supposed to scared of this half-wit hitman?

And the Marilyn Manson manque, oh wait, he's dead already. Good.

I'm going to sleep. Don't give a rat's ass how it ends (like I couldn't guess).

I have read through the several reviews of this movie that question what genre this film is attempting to follow...action? comedy? I think if you stop to wonder about the directors intent, you may have spent more time contemplating this movie than the cast and crew did filming it. Seriously, I don't think they did more than one take of any scene. Want to pick a genre? How about: le cinema BAD. As one reviewer so aptly noted, no one in the entire city of Amsterdam appears to speak Dutch...in fact, they all appear to be Americans and every one of them are just going through the motions. I half expected William Hurt to jump in front of a bullet just to end his own misery.

Well, first 10 minutes of the movie are convincing. However, starting with the murder, the whole movie starts sinking down the drain of stupid development, silly dialogs, unbelievable characters and of course - bad acting. Were all smoking pot when they were doing this movie or what ?

Ten year old girl kicking bad guy left and right, jumping moving elevators and tall building, being accused of smoking pot (yes, by the police), silly parents, a bad guy so nervous and shaking, only to become a Terminator and deliver some super stunt drive in the end of the movie.

Let me just say it ruined my evening tonight. If this is what European directors are able to come up with, then it is a shame. To be avoided at all cost.

This was the first American-language movie by director Dick Maas. And it sucks. The main idea could work, but the way it is brought to the screen doesn't. The acting overal is very bad, and it's strange to see Dutch actors and Dutch people in the movie speaking English when they are in Amsterdam. The script is very poor and doesn't make sense at all. Also the soundtrack is horrible. It's really cheap and outdated. It feels like I'm listening to the same synthesizers Maas used in his Flodder movies, which were comedies. It falls completely flat. The only positives here are some fine action scenes, with great camera and stunt work. But that doesn't save a very bad and forgettable action flick, with horrible acting and a terrible soundtrack. The endproduct is not something to enjoy.

Considering the number of car crashes, boats being blown up, shots fired etc, it was a bit too close to Jan de Bont's film Speed as an action thriller, but still I quite enjoyed this film, especially as I live in Amsterdam and had fun spotting local landmarks. The plot was quite good - mute girl lost in big city runs into trouble and can't ask for help but must fend for herself - although Jennifer Tilly's performance as the over-anxious mother was too silly for words. Dick Maas should have known better, as a Dutch director, to use Tilly as a mouthpiece for erroneous myths about the Netherlands being full of lawless drug dealers.

Some flaws - how come the mute girl was able to understand the Dutch dealer in the boat when he asks her old she is? He wouldn't have known she wasn't Dutch-speaking. Also the climatic chase sequence (some of which I saw being filmed incidentally) was very cut-and-paste in terms of logical progression through the streets. Those of us who know Amsterdam were astonished to see Hartman heading for the Central station one minute and only seconds later being completely on the other side of town in the Vondelpark. It's as if Maas was determined to cram in as many landmarks as possible!

Flaws aside, it was a good old-fashioned action romp in many ways with some deft touches of humour and it was nice spotting some of the local personalities regularly seen around town. Good fun but don't expect any big statements!

I found it funny and entertaining.

The entire cast was good - yes, even William Hurt...though the parents roles weren't much developed.

The movie wasn't about the parents...and maybe Denis Leary's part could have been a bit bigger.

I like the work he does...he draws so much character.

This is a cross between Home Alone and Die Hard but set in Europe and with a brush of comedy.

I think it was well written and kept a good pace...

The best action movie ever made? no...not at all...but it kept me interested...and it beats many other films which I own.

Funny and exciting thriller is an odd sort of cross between Mute Witness and Home Alone. Fans of Brian DePalma, if there are any left, should be impressed with director Dick Maas' considerable technical skill. The biggest flaw is a somewhat weak finale in which the girl must be saved by her distant father (William Hurt) in an unconvincing sequence that has him hanging from the side of a speeding ambulance. The film has very strong kid appeal (it was actually produced by Disney in Europe) but contains a couple bits of graphic violence that earn it an R rating in the USA.

Very weak in the beginning: the plane is too obvious a rendered 3-D model. Lots of stereotypical Amsterdam views: weed, red light district, Vondelpark, junks that are stealing from a parking meter,... Enough action and and special effects. >(Sneak Preview: Pathé Eindhoven: 19 september 1999)