Stunts

From the director of Truck Stop Women comes a respectful showcase for the stunt trade with a cool regard for the fast buck. Lester twins the investigations by an outsider woman journalist (Lewis) and insider stunt hero (Forster) into the 'accidental' deaths of stunt people on the location for some clapped-out all-action pic. The result is a rehash of Hollywood's pathetic dedication to the cult of the gambler, which sacrifices visual opportunism in order to sit awestruck at the risks it boasts as 'truth' ('You can't bullshit a stunt - it either works or it doesn't'). Without the courage to trust fully in the action set pieces or the suspense plot, it still gives a sense of the stupefying, routine greed of movie production...and almost makes us believe that this highly-paid freedom to smash things is the last hope of mankind. Less than cunning.