Where to watch Terminal Velocity
3 Stars
Ditch Brodie is a maverick skydiving instructor. One day, a beautiful girl comes in, wanting to take her first jump. Up in the air, Ditch takes his eyes off her momentarily, then looks back to find out that she has fallen out, dying on impact. Ditch is suspicious that all is not as it seems, because he distinctly remembers hooking her static line on…
Terminal Velocity sprang from the creative mind of writer David Twohy. Those familiar with the screenwriter’s work will recognize the hallmarks of his writing: quick-witted hero, beautiful and equally tough femme fatale, clichés turned on their ear. This was the second movie of 1994 to feature skydiving and other extreme sports, which feels reactionary given the surprise and enduring success of the classic movie Point Break.
Velocity starts out at a breakneck pace and never lets up; it’s an exuberant, humorous, and rousing action adventure. Sheen is well-cast in a role that presumably was written with Tom Cruise in mind. This would be the last straight-up action role for Charlie Sheen (the man with the tiger’s blood), and he’s damn good at it. If Terminal Velocity had been released a year earlier or later, it would have been remembered more fondly. It was unfairly overlooked by audiences high on the adrenaline rush of Keanu’s “Speed” and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s True Lies. In retrospect, Velocity holds up just as well, if not better, than either of those titles.
Directed by: Deran Sarafian
Written by: David Twohy
Starring: Charlie Sheen, Nastassja Kinski, James Gandolfini