Where to watch Trespass
2 Stars
Two Arkansas firemen, Vince and Don, get hold of a map that leads to a cache of stolen gold in an abandoned factory in East St. Louis. What they don’t know is that the factory is in the turf of a local gang, who come by to execute one of their enemies. Vince sees the shooting, the gang spots Vince, and extended mayhem ensues. As Vince and Don try to escape, gang leader King James argues with his subordinate Savon about how to get rid of the trespassers.
Trespass is an action thriller that aims to give modern audiences their generation’s ‘Treasure of the Sierra Madre,’ instead, the claustrophobic movie is mean-spirited, undercooked, and nihilistic. Walter Hill directs in his usual style– photographing action with a muscular and sometimes shocking effect. Hill brings more to the film than visual flair; he is familiar with flawed male characters stuck in life-or-death situations. While the script would seem to suit the director’s creative sensibilities, Trespass turns out to be the least appealing of Hill’s work from the 1990s.
Filmmakers Robert Zemeckis and his writing partner Bob Gale, responsible for a few of the biggest hits in cinema history, appear to have penned this tale as a throwaway writing exercise. The story’s uncomplicated nature is appreciated, but even at 100 minutes, Trespass grows stale long before the predictable third act concludes. The performances from Paxton, Sandler, and Art Evans show up the, at the time, awkward line readings from rappers Ice-T and Ice Cube. Trespass is only as memorable as the movie that paired up the two Ice’s.
Directed by: Walter Hill
Written by: Bob Gale, Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Bill Paxton, Ice-T, William Sadler