Slipstream (1989)

Directed by Steven Lisberger. Starring Bill Paxton, Bob Peck, Mark Hamill, Kitty Aldridge, Eleanor David, F. Murray Abraham, Robbie Coltrane, Roshan Seth. [PG-13]

It’s the future, and a poorly-explained environmental disaster has led to powerful wind currents dominating the globe, scattering the remnants of humanity to hide in caves, valleys, and the like. The story, however, is a pretty standard pursuit melodrama, as bounty hunters Hamill and Aldridge hunt down enigmatic quarry Peck, but Paxton’s petty ne’er-do-well intercepts the fugitive so he can cash in on the reward instead. The lack of collaboration between the post-apocalyptic premise and the chase thriller plot engine generates vague dissatisfaction, and clumsy allusions to classic poetry and half-baked stabs at world-building (religious zealotry, class-conscious satire, etc.) emphasize the movie’s hit-and-miss nature. Has its moments, bolstered by some instances of eye-catching set-design/decoration and Hamill’s forceful performance, but the pieces were there for something more viscerally exciting and/or philosophically provocative. The film’s drastic commercial failure capsized the career of producer Gary Kurtz (of American Graffiti and Star Wars fame). Ben Kingsley cameos.

54/100