Fugitive Mind (1999)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Excellent, smart action film.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The plot follows a man who discovers he has been brainwashed to kill a government official. This film was very good. It is a well made thriller that doesn't seem like it got the kind of audience that it deserved. Yeah it does have some lacking parts but none the less still holds up pretty well. I actually didn't know this film existed until a friend told me about it and they loved it, so I just had to see it. It is a very underrated suspenseful film with a good story and some great performances from Michael Dudikoff, who I had never seen in a film before but really impressed me with this film. Also Heather Langenkamp, best known for the Nightmare On Elm Street films, did really well and she also impressed me by proving that she could be great as a drama film actress as well as a horror film actress.

I couldn't help but think Total Recall while viewing this movie. I firmly believe Olen Ray was heavily influenced by that movie. The whole plot is similar in some ways to it; memory loss, forgetting who you are, being used for a specific deed. Ring a bell? For an Olen Ray movie though, it's actually quite tolerable. Michael Dudikoff has always been a capable B actor, and I've always felt he was slightly underrated. He's not a great actor by any means, but he has presence and charisma. I did get annoyed though at all the flashbacks. It was a bit distracting for me. I also felt Dudikoff and Langenkamp lacked chemistry. The best compliments I can give Fugitive Mind is that it flows well with an easy pace, and the acting is quite consummate. Michael Dudikoff does well as the lead. My only carp is that I felt he remembered things a bit too easy for my liking. It felt too neat and unrealistic. More character development with him would have been nice. Heather Langenkamp is one of my absolute favorites, so it's always a pleasure to see her. It's a bit upsetting to see her languishing in this type of stuff, but she made the best of it. She did scream a bit too much in my opinion, but aside from that. She was good. Final Thoughts: This is pretty hard to find, and I'm not sure if it's worth the effort to be honest with you. I like Michael Dudikoff for what he is, and Heather Langenkamp is one of my favorite actresses, but this movie is pretty mediocre. It's a low rent Total Recall in ways, but it's watchable. I suppose it's worth a look if you can find it cheap at a pawn shop or something, but do not shell out big bucks for it. 4/10

The plot is a good one and the acting is good,but the movie does not quite live up to it's potential. The story is similar to another film entitled "The Manchurian Candidate". Which is about a man who is brainwashed or psychologically programmed into carrying out an assassination. My recommendation is to rent or watch "The Manchurian Candidate" instead of this one, which seems like a pale imitation. This movie seems like a production that was hastily put together without much thought or planning. The result is that the movie doesn't seem quite convincing and instead rather weak. Watch this only if you have nothing else better to do with your time.

FUGITIVE MIND allows Michael Dudikoff to do a bit more acting that he has in the past. This time around, the focus is on his character and the possibility that his current life is masking a hidden one that has been programmed to resurface in time to commit a political assassination. As a result, Dudikoff gets to deal with his personality as he comes to realize he's not who thinks he is, and winds up on the run from the company he works for and his own wife! Heather Langenkamp is good as the only person who can help him figure things out. Like GALE FORCE (also with Dudikoff), it's a great starting point for a movie that is handled decently enough here to make it at least a good way to spend 90 minutes, but a big-budget production could really do wonders with the story.