Dennis Hopper to Peter Weller "Do you know who I am?" Weller "Yea the Jesus of craps". So it goes with witty dialog the best part of what is essentially a bad film. To enjoy "Top of the World" you have to ignore the plot, chases, shoot outs, and explosions. Instead focus on the often biting and amusing vocal bantering. With a frantic pace, the movie is only a couple minutes from the next priceless exchange of words. The list of character actors here is impressive, including Ed Lauter, Joe Pantoliano, Martin Kove, Peter Coyote, and David Alan Grier, among others. I say this. Go in expecting bad, and then simply be surprised how much there is to like. - MERK
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johnners11-707-4785531 August 2019This film is like the proverbial curate's egg: good in parts. The three leading actors are superb, and there is plenty of (admittedly sometimes violent) action throughout. But the plot is so generic and you spend the whole movie wondering if this is it, will it get any better. Sadly, It doesn't. The Hoover Dam sequence is exciting, though. Definitely worth it for the leading actors, especially Tia Carrere, and the stunts!
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vertigo_1427 November 2005There was something missing in this movie. Cheesy script, slow moving story, coupled with big budget effects and a cheesy ending. It could've been just the right kind of mindless shoot-em up action that Peter Weller and others in this film are perfect for. But, it wasn't.
This is the story of an ex-convict being released from prison the same day he and his wife are driving to Vegas to get a divorce. Unbeknownst to him, she's been in a relationship with an arrogant (but seemingly nice) casino and hotel owner who's casino is ironically being robbed (and not very well) of millions on the same night. This heist seems to go on forever and with a mounting body count of both the perpetrators and those trying to stop them, and once the owner's sidekick gets wind of it and the feds get involved, Peter Weller (1/2 of the soon-to-be-divorced spouses), who just wins a slot jackpot and wants to put the winnings in his wife's name, becomes a convenient scapegoat. Thus, this unbelievable cat-and-mouse chase beings. Only, the things that follow always seem just so convenient and without any real suspense.
The ending, of course, was the most laughable part with Weller, Carrerra (who plays his wife), and Hopper (who plays the owner) all duking it out on the wall of the Hoover Dam. -
Ex-cop Ray Mercer gets released from jail and is picked up by his estranged wife Rebecca. She is now seeing casino boss Charles Atlas and they stop off at one of his casinos on the ride to a cheap hotel for Ray. When in the casino Ray idly plays the games with his last few dollars and wins the jackpot. However before he can collect his money the casino is robbed leaving Ray not only trying to get his prize money but mistaken as part of the gang. With double crosses and shootouts all over the place, all Ray wants is his winnings.
This promises much look at the cast to see the potential. However what it delivers can be summed up buy it's weak plot. The story essentially sees Ray Mercer put in lots of action scenes using the thinnest of excuses to keep the story moving. For example Ray jumps onto an armoured car and hangs on the roof, the truck then crashes and drives through a huge explosion but Ray is unharmed. Likewise, we have the bad guys who do the robbery spend the whole film running round the hotel killing everyone looking for a way out but yet the armed police on the ground floor cant seem to catch them!
To be fair, the spectacle is good but it's bangs without substance. The action is OTT does no one ever run out of bullets? The action has no real tension or excitement to it and is really dull if you just want guns then you might like this, but really it's a poor action movie.
It's a shame because they managed to get a great cast on board. Weller and Tia Carrere are OK names and give OK performances. But add to that names like Dennis Hopper and Joe Pantoliano and you've got a good cast. Unfortunately none of them have anything to work with at all. The support cast also has plenty of familiar faces but again they are little more than cardboard cutouts who are there to get shot at or shoot people. These include Tagawa (from Mortal Kombat), Kove (Karate Kid, Cagney & Lacey), Peter Coyote (Sphere, Patch Adams).
Overall this is really daft plotting at it's worst. The action fails to ignite any interest and the whole think flops badly. What a way to waste a great cast the director has been making films since the 50's has he learnt nothing in all that time? -
truffles-114 June 2007I watched the ending of this film with total bemusement. If she has all that cash in the boot of her car why did she need to go into the casino's counting room to skim a few bills? I wouldn't leave that cash unattended and neither would she, but she had to be in the casino to get Peter Weller in and kick-start the ludicrous plot. The violence was cartoonish and the acting wooden. I was surprised to see the shadow of the helicopter in the opening shot but by the end it seemed symptomatic of the sloppy way it was all handled. And although I am not really conversant with the operations of Las Vegas casinos I would be amazed if anybody could steal that much money without anybody noticing - if it is all being monitored and double-checked, how would you do it, or did I miss something? I found the whole thing uninvolving and cynical to boot.
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koldgiraf7 June 2006This film is without doubt the most insignificant movie I've ever seen. Peter Weller did a very good job on keeping his face in exactly the same shape the whole movie. I don't think I've seen that done before, maybe except in a Chuck Norris movie. The cutting of the movie looked like the guy who did it, got drunk, fell asleep, and then when he woke up just cut the whole film into random strips and taped it together again. Besides I really never figured out what Dennis Hopper's character was named. I think I counted at least 4 different names. Last a sudden sunrise really nailed my feeling towards the whole movie, it sucked! All in all I would say the only good thing about this movie is that it only wasted 95 min of my life.
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EasternMafia14 January 2007o my god...
i have nothing to say... i even don't know why am i here. the actors the voices the plot the concept the guns the cars... all for a nothing. there is no one thing i can say is good or smart in this movies. especially actors. so mute dumb production :-) who is buying this type of movies? i wouldn't give u a penny for it. money invested in this movie should be better go in charity resources? dumb dumb hello knock knock hear i am. who is the owner of this idea. can u give us more of this candies? p.s. u should give a note on this movie 'only for age of 12'. or a Nintendo movie. -
credly12 January 2021The plot, writing and acting are OK, more like a 7, but the totally excessive use of very loud automatic weapons made this movie unwatchable after just over an hour. do yourself a favor and don't bother with this piece of dreck.
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cdaniel-16 February 2005Right from the beginning, you are thrown into a situation which typifies the entire movie: fun. Real fun - the way action movies are supposed to be, with great one liners (many silly ones that the block buster crowd cannot stand). Compared to the typical blockbuster crap fest, this is like an Oscar contender. Dennis Hopper is excellent, the slew of bad guy characters who never cease to entertain is amazing. If you are a fan of quirky comedy mixed with action with absolutely no regard for conventional movies then this movie is for you. However, if you like the big budget crap and think that silly humor is 'corny' then stay away. Clearly not intended for eyeball rolling tasteless viewers. Peter Coyote delivers one of the best lines in this movie - watch out for it..In fact there are funny lines by all the bad guy characters as well - The love angle between Weller and Carrere is mercilessly short giving more time for the bad guys to do their fun routines.
Watch this movie - its one action movie you would not just enjoy - it would make you happy.. -
Yes, it looks like a big bloated bomb. The production values aren't exactly top-notch. The camera angles are often far off, the acting can be very misguided (maldirected), some areas of bad sound, and David Alan Grier is in it. All are signs of a bomb to watch out for.
But surprisingly, this is one to watch. It has a unique story which is beefed up with actually funny jokes and genuinely offbeat characters. The action scenes are very well done, too. It has many old-school action sequences with no CGI's and great stunts. Its got nicely done shootouts and an excellent car chase, but somehow it doesn't feel structured around and for the action. It keeps its focus on the story, which I'll get to...now.
A uniquely fun Peter Weller plays an ex-cop, ex-con who gets out of jail on parole. The first thing on his agenda is to knock off his ex-wife's new husband (Dennis Hopper in one of his most generic performances to date) by swindling a way to win the jackpot at his casino. Or is his (HOT) wife Tia Carerra (at her most hot) in on it too? This one is, out of a lot of reasons, unnoticed because a bigger-budget but sub-par movie called "Ocean's Eleven" happened to be released four years later. "Top of the World" is much better, because the action is better and it doesn't need cutesy and lame humor to seek a wide audience's approval. Plus, I'd pick Peter Weller over George Clooney any day of the week...not to mention Julia Roberts isn't even 1/1,000,000 of Tia Carerra. -
bobshankjr-221 September 2013I think most viewers have missed the point in this very funny serio-comedic 'heist' film. It has a great cast of characters, some very well-done stunts (especially near the end), and had me rolling with laughter in my recliner during most of the film with the dialogue. The comedic lines alone are enough to give a serious viewer moments of hilarity. It was a gas, gas, gas movie and I highly recommend it to viewers with a sense of intelligent humor. If you're very dumb, don't watch it...you'll get confused. Sidney J. Furie, director, and writer Bart Madison, collaborated to produce a genuinely entertaining film in spite of it's low rating. Some of the special-effects are a little over-blown, and sometimes the stunts are often 'relieved' of their actual efforts. Nevertheless, this is a cleverly-done film, with enough action to stir even the most reticent viewer - and enough funny-lines to extract a 'guffaw' from almost anyone who has the guts to watch it.
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dave13-112 April 2012Good-looking production values here; obviously this thing had a middling decent budget, well used by an efficient, professional director (Sidney J. Furie). Unfortunately, nothing - and I mean NOTHING - here seemed completely new or original. EVERYTHING is a recycled cliché of the crime / revenge drama genre. Disgraced ex-cop (Weller) looking for answers among the crooks who framed him arrives in Las Vegas. He is also trying to reconnect with his estranged ex-wife (Carrere). Did I mention the crime boss who has a grudge against him (Hopper)? The problem isn't any one of these elements, it's all of them. There is just nothing new here. Peter Weller can carry a picture, and Tia Carrere makes a gorgeous object of desire and longing, plus Dennis Hopper makes a good villain, but we have seen them all do that before. The script gives them no new business, and over-familiar character types to work with. Every plot twist has been used before, every segment has a familiar feel to it. Las Vegas looks great and is well used visually as a setting, but I already mentioned that this is a professional, slick looking production. I found myself almost shouting at the screen to give me something I hadn't seen before. Didn't happen. Tia Carrere's cheekbones were the only things that kept me watching all the way to the end.
Not bad at all, but unless you are completely new to the crime drama genre, you will be hard pressed to find anything much entertaining here. -
kenshiro66624 October 2009Man how can people hate this movie? peter Weller is on fire with his one liners and there's more memorable characters than you can poke an Uzi at. Go and watch 10 of the newest action movies and you'll still come back to this like a cat to seafood.Look at the cast.PETER WELLER - the everyman action king , DENNIS HOPPER - the evil double crossin psychopath who sez man more times than Neil from the young ones , MARTIN KOVE - a hilarious crim who loves killing and might have a few skeletons in the closet , TIA CARRERE - the hot but useless action woman ,PETER COYOTE - who's character competes with Weller's for the most classic lines , and plenty more including a fat skinhead , ed lauter , JOE PANTOLIANO!!! and a useless SWAT guy that couldn't hit whoopi goldberg half a meter away.
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Keno272 June 2004This film is a great movie to pass the time! I was really pleasantly surprised. I bought it for $6.00 at Best Buy on a whim! I hadn't heard of the film and thought the worst after reading the three comments on here about it.
However, I'm always willing to give a new film a try and I'm glad I did! I didn't expect such a funny and quirky action movie. The cover doesn't lie about there being non-stop action. The pace of this film keeps moving.
Martin Kove is a delight to watch as the vicious yet soft hearted, dim wit of a robbing, murdering thug for hire. He is great! The best work I've seen him do although I basically only know him from one television role. After seeing his brilliant performance in this film, I can't understand why he's not in more films.
If you prefer to see a more serious action film or drama then this movie is not for you. I expected a lousy film and ended up with a delightful romp, of quirky characters, silly word play and lots and lots of action fun. Good movie! -
SAMMUM17 August 2003Unquestionably the worst movie of furie's career the film fails to hit the mark. This film boasts a good cast like hopper, weller and carrere. However the weak script and OTT special effects ruin the film and make the actors look bad. The major screw up in this film is the helicopter scene. When the copter starts to go out of control it is pitch black. However when the camera focuses out from inside its about ten o clock in the bloody morning. The bad guys cant seem to escape AND SPEND ABOUT 20 MINS ON ONE STAIR CASE! The main bad guy( dont know his name) is the worst performer in the film a major flop
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Wizard-88 March 2012This is a production from the Nu Image/Millennium Pictures movie company, and if you have seen any of their other movies, you probably know that on a technical level the movie will succeed. Indeed, "Top Of The World" is a very good-looking movie. The cinematography is great, there are some great locations that will make you wonder how the filmmakers got permission to run amuck on, and there are some good action sequences.
Unfortunately, some key parts of the movie are definitely lacking. The characters could have been better written - as it is, there is no real character that interests you and makes you hope he or she will prevail. These poorly written characters may be why the acting is not always very enthusiastic by the once-in-a-lifetime cast. Also, the various plot twists and character backstabbings become confusing after a while.
Not a terrible movie, but it's kind of lacking. I would only recommend you watch it if nothing else better is playing on TV. -
In TOP OF THE WORLD, ex-con, Ray (Peter Weller) and his soon-to-be ex-wife, Rebecca (Tia Carrere), head to Las Vegas for one final blast before their impending divorce. After winning big at the casino, everything seems great, until a gang of criminals moves in to poop on the party! Now, Ray must rise to the occasion.
Sound familiar? Well, that's no surprise, since this movie follows the same formula as every other post-DIE HARD, action movie of the 1980's-90's! Be it located in a high-rise, a train, a ship at sea, or a casino, it's always about the same. Endless gunfire, explosions, and impossible, unbelievable action sequences all go off like so many firecrackers.
The hero must overcome unfathomable odds to take on the bad guys, a group that is always outfitted like a small army, and usually led by an odious thug.
Unfortunately, such a film requires a Bruce Willis, a Stallone, or, of course, an Arnold to pull it off! In a pinch, perhaps Chuck Norris or Steven Segal. Weller just doesn't have the moxie! Make no mistake, he was fantastic in ROBOCOP! This just isn't his forte.
Without that uber-charismatic, or ultra-manly hero, it all crumbles into blandness, no matter how many lives are lost...