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Freejack

Scott Manning
February 19, 2004


Director: Geoff Murphy
Release Date: 1992
Rating: R
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freejack-large.jpgSome of you may remember a Sci-fi movie back in 1992 called Freejack. This beauty stared Emilio Estevez, Anthony Hopkins, and Mick Jagger. That's right, Jagger from the Rolling Stones.

At the time, I was 12. I recall it being somewhat tolerable, but I also thought the same thing about The Punisher at the time. My curiosity got the better of me last week and I have to watch it again to see if it was as good as childhood version remembered.

The plot
In the year 2009, the doom and gloom of the hard-line environmentalists has come true. That hole in the Ozone layer actually means something and the water is just poisonous trash. It's a revisit to the dark age where the middleclass has been absorbed into the very wealthy and the poor as hell.

But none of that stops technology from advancing. Not only can people from the past with unpolluted bodies be teleported into this hellish future, but their bodies can be taken over by others through a "mind transfer". These teleported bodies are known as "Freejacks". This fountain of youth has turned into to quite the profitable business.

That brings us Emilio Estevez who plays Alex Furlong, a famous race car driver who died in the early nineties. Seconds before his death, he is teleported to the future as a candidate for a "mind transfer".

But Emilio isn't your typical race car driver that is just going to sit like a dummy while they take over his mind. He manages to escape and run for his life. Having been "dead" for 19 years, he goes through a lame version of It's a Wonderful Life as finds out what happened to the only two people the movie ever introduced us to in the opening scenes.

It's big-time drama has Emilio attempts to find his old girlfriend, figure out who wants his body, and attempt to stay alive.

While I am first inclined to blame this crappy movie on Emilio (one of my ten worst actors ever!), he can't accept all the credit for it. I mean, even Anthony Hopkins looked ridiculous in this thing. The concept is there, but a combination of the writing and directing ultimately made this one very cheesy movie.

There were plenty of interesting aspects that could have been explored. For some reason, the writers decided to stick with the less-intelligent path of predictability. Freejack was adapted off of a novel entitled Immorality Inc. Cool title, but I'm not sure if it's better than it's adapted screenplay.

You may be wondering what the hell Mick Jagger was doing in this thing. I was wondering that myself. At the time of it's release, that was one of the high selling points. Jagger hasn't stared in any movies and the bit roles he has played were just singing. Jagger delivered his lines slowly and with an extra emphasis on his accent. After every line, I felt the need to imitate him.

This may explain why Jagger has not stared in a movie since.

12-year-olds may have found it cool at the time, but now it just sucks. Although one may get a kick of how silly this movie is or even Jagger himself, this movie is just a plain stinker.

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