User reviews

Watched it cos Hauer and Grier don't normally do rubbish. The plot could have been so good but yawningly dull.

As soon as I picked this one of off the shelf warnings were going off in my head ("Bad movie alert! Danger! Danger!). Call me ridiculously optimistic, or just plain dumb, but I still rented it just the same. Seventies blaxploitation icon Pam Grier ('Coffy', 'The Big Doll House', 'Jackie Brown',etc.) is a favourite of mine, as is Rutger Hauer ('Blade Runner', 'Flesh & Blood', 'Salute Of The Jugger'), and the prospect of seeing them act together was just too much for me to ignore. The packaging made this look like another tired serial killer "thriller", the kind that should star Michael Madsen or Eric Roberts or James Russo or Chris Penn and go straight to video. But it is in fact even less interesting than that. The movie quickly degenerates into a lame conspiracy mystery, and smells very much like a failed TV pilot. Grier plays a one dimensional sassy cop, Hauer a very dull Doctor who is initially her leading suspect. The chemistry between the two is zilch, and my goodwill towards both performers is still not enough to forgive this absolutely awful waste of time. I'm straining myself trying to think of anything it all about it to recommend viewing it, but coming up with a big fat zero. Avoid this one at all costs.

Rutger Hauer has Blade Runner money and Pam Grier should be doing just fine after Jackie Brown or even Foxy Brown, what are both of these two actors doing in this little project. While I hate to overuse the phrase that, "They just needed the paycheck", films like Wilder leave me no room for imagination or wonder. They had to just need some extra cash to spend with their children or pay their rent. Why would they attach their names to this film? From the opening credit sequence to the final moments that were meant to shake the bowels of justice in the comfort of your own home, Wilder proved that everything in-between was not as sweet as an Oreo cookie, but instead a murky lifeless substance that should have been left alone instead of released on DVD. There was nothing redeemable about this film. The sound was horrible, the acting seemed forced and honestly, non-existent, and the story was too big for its britches. Normally, I can ramble off at least one good element about the film that I just watched, but sadly, I cannot think of anything nice to say about Wilder. From the beginning it began imploding and falling apart at the edges, and it didn't stop until the final credits rolled.

The sound is a small, yet large element to a film. It gives us that extra punch in a finale, or an extra tear during a sad moment, or those dastardly violins that always seem to shrill whenever someone enters the room. Either way you see it, or hear it in this case, music pushes a film to a new level. So, when a film either chooses to use poor sound or no sound at all, you have to wonder why? Is it because the characters are the central focus and the silence symbolically adds to their meaning? Or is it because the production value was so low that Little Timmy from down the street was paid minimum wage to give a film … oh, let's say … Wilder a bit of noise in the background. I didn't hear music in this film, I heard recycled garbage going through the system. There was nothing prominent or distinguishable about the score of this film. Drunken monkeys with guitars could do better. It felt as if it was rushed together at the last moment, completely defacing an already troubled film.

I talk about the music first in this review because when the acting is poor, sometimes you can overcompensate with a decent score. That was not the case here. Since the sound was poor, I found myself listening to the actors longer than I should have. I have never witnessed a complete lack of emotion and care as I did with Hauer and Grier. They need to stop now and go down in the history books for what they have accomplished already, not erased from the books for what they are currently attaching their names to. Grier attempts hard to be that strong female lead character that teeters on feminism and violence to help her find the answer the she seeks. That is a tough concept, and Grier never gets it. She constantly goes in and out of character, giving us something new and fresh each scene that she does. There was no consistency, no solid character, no emotion at all. Grier read her lines and walked the paces and that was it. The same can be said for Hauer. He was even worse than Grier in the fact that his acting felt fake and directed. I am not supposed to be reminded by the actors that I am watching a movie, I want to be entertained. Take me to a place I have never been, not a reminder that I am on my couch in the middle of the night. If they were handing out imagination and enthusiasm at the beginning of this film, Grier and Hauer must have missed the bandwagon. They were horrible. You could just see the director's suggestions playing out in Grier's head, like counting out loud. While she was focusing on that, she completely missed her character. Finally, the chemistry between Hauer and Grier was one of the worst combinations Hollywood has created. They were never meant to be together and this film only proved it. It was obvious from the beginning that they were not happy to be together, and we were not happy to be spending two hours with them. On both parts, it was a match made in hell.

Poor sound, flimsy acting … what else could go wrong? How about a story that literally made no sense. I am not one to completely knock the writing of another (well, maybe I am) because of the hard work someone had to put into the finished product, but in the case of Wilder it was nothing but disaster. Nothing worked, nothing made sense, the actors were being lead on a blind ghost chase that somehow forced a conclusion on us all by showing us details that we may have missed earlier because we were falling asleep. There were just too many avenues to cross in this film that did not have the budget to cross them all. I also think that this final cut lost some of the momentum in the final cut. You could tell scenes that just seemed spliced together because they were incoherent and jumbled. We were moving all over the screen like a chicken without a head. Thankfully the final credits were there to put us out of our misery.

Overall, this was bad. The overwhelming story with low budgeting lead to horrible acting and miscasting by both Grier and Hauer, which lead to some bad music vomiting from my speakers, which ultimately lead to a straight to DVD release of this film.

Grade: * out of *****

Do you see that DVD cover on the IMDb page for "Wilder"? You know, the one with a police car being blown up, Rutger Hauer carrying a gun and Pam Grier carrying TWO guns? Well, it's pretty misleading: there are no car chases or explosions in this movie, Pam fires only one shot, and Hauer none at all. This is much more of a conspiracy thriller than an action picture, which may be a source of disappointment for some. But even if you can live with that, the story is pretty muddled, the direction lacks style, and the supporting cast (with the exception of Eugene Clark) is mediocre. Rutger Hauer is OK, but it's really Pam Grier who provides the main reason to see this movie. She's still beautiful at 51, and the fleeting glimpses of her past ass-kicking glory are great. Too bad they're just that: fleeting. (**)

Really strange movie. Feels like a failed pilot and first two episodes of a television show that didn't get picked up and was repurposed into a film screenplay and cast with new actors. I've really never seen anything like it.

Strange editing choices (not entirely sure sometimes whether they were deliberate choices for style or the product of a rushed production or what); incomprehensible plot advances; dumbfounding choices made by the characters; if I had to place it in a genre I'd call it "TV Grindhouse" - a genre both created and killed in a single product.

Overall I would say this is worth watching just to try to parse it.

This film is a loving nod to the films of the late 70's--in cuts, setting and music choices (note the rotary phone, the answering machines, the women's lib and PMS comments, and of course Pam Grier herself--who looks fantastic). Filmed in 2000, it does an excellent job in depicting many of the characteristics of the 70's, though some of the tech and procedurals are of the 80's in a kind of mash-up. The dialogue was a high point with some pretty funny lines: "The only chemistry between you and me is a DNA test..." ; or this: "Did he have any enemies? That depends on how many wives talk in their sleep." It works because it's done perfectly straight, no sly wink at the audience. Many of the complaints were not justified; some of the acting was downright good--especially the interplay between the main characters, and in particular Pam Grier who plays her role with her usual panache. Rutger Hauer is an unusually charming Rutger Hauer which was a nice change, and his acting was better in this movie than I've seen in many of his others--I really don't get the criticism in this regard. Several of the extras/character actors feel flat or come across as slightly off-kilter stereotypes, but given what the film was trying to do, that may have been deliberate. The plot is pretty standard but plays logically with some interesting and rather unexpected twists, and an interesting big-pharma take. Unlike many of these movies, it actually does pay attention to little details--like a uniform giving them a "look" while they're talking (loudly) about their case in the hallway. Admittedly, there are a few--uh, unrealistic moments, but they were original and unexpected (ANY man will have a visceral reaction to one particular murder scene) and fit with the tone of the film, so in that sense, are forgivable. So, take this movie for what it is, an affectionate nod to the past, and overall an unexpected, enjoyable non-cerebral piece of entertainment.

What bothers me in films like this is not the things that don't work in it. It's the thing that could have been done. It's not so much the visual lack of power and effectiveness of it, but the total mental poverty that surrounds it.

They picked up two mildly interesting actors, with credits on their hands and assigned them to this total mess, relying that the fact that they're in makes the whole think work on the financial side.

This is a total mess, a weak story, about some honest people fighting pharmaceutical interests, against all odds, the 'Fugitive' type. Pam Grier is assigned the extra role of being her past roles, associated with racial concerns and feminism. Both she and Hauer are cashing their checks. They could be doing better things.

Trying to get away with such a film is as much a deceit as it is the radioactive tests in the film.

My opinion: 1/5

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The movie clearly cashes in on Pam Grier's success with Jackie Brown. Again the main characters are two "old timers" who have their wild days of youth behind them. Instead of Robert Forster we have action veteran Rutger Hauer who seems to enjoy the part of a romantically inclined womanizing gynaecologist. Pam Grier as energetic police officer Wilder is great as always. This time she does not have a brother or a sister to protect but her two kids. Contrary to other comments I think the Grier character's troubles with her neighbours fit in well and help the story along. Grier and Hauer make a good, harmonious and quite likeable couple.

Wilder is no masterpiece, it does not show any of Tarantino's sophistication. The story - Grier investigates the murders of young women, Hauer is at first the prime suspect - becomes somehow too drab and serious for this kind of movie which is more a comedy than a drama. However, there are some good scenes and good acting performances, especially Richard Robitaille as an ambitious, overexcited salesman for a pharmaceutical company. All in all I should say this is good, solid entertainment for people over age 35.

You would think that after starring in "Jackie Brown", Grier would have used the success of that movie to reinvigorate her career. Yet just a few years later, Grier found herself starring in this Canadian made-for-DVD cheapie. To be fair, none of the movie's shortcomings can be blamed on her - even in her 50s, Grier looks and sounds great, and brings in some spunk. But the rest of the movie is a bore. It's slow-moving, with some bizarre editing seemingly put in as an attempt to make it more stylish. I know that the idea of teaming Grier up with Rutger Hauer may sound interesting, but they spend less time together than you would probably think. There's a little chemistry in the few scenes they share together, but it's not enough to save the movie. The funk-sounding soundtrack is a nice touch, probably done to remind viewer's of Grier's '70s movies, but that too isn't enough to make this movie worth watching.