Liberty Stands Still DVD (2002) (1 Disc) (UK)

Liberty Stands Still comes from similar territory as Targets & the upcoming Phone Booth . It appears to have crept out on video, possibly because it assaults Americans for their involvement in the arms trade & the perpetuation of gun culture. But more likely due to the fact its a very poor movie.

A simplistic approach is taken towards the gun issue, reminiscent of John Q - the films targets as vague as those Snipes picks out in this one as Joe/Alex. The opening twenty minutes are highly confusing, the writer/director having watched too many Oliver Stone films- employing the style of shooting/editing found in films like Natural Born Killers & Any Given Sunday. The problem is the audience has no idea who anyone is, or whats going on- until Snipes explains his M.O. half-an hour in.

The idea is quite intrigueing, a woman complicit with the arms trade being held to account in a public place- though her having republican connections & being involved directly in arms deals was too much . Bombs appear, bullets emanate- but dont ricochet anywhere, like in The A-Team. Cellular phones & shots of skylines from helicopter are meant to advance the narrative; added to this a ludicrous scene where Fiorentino removes her clothes . It takes the notion of people in cities looking the other way a la Kitty Genovese to idiotic climes. The ham-writer brings in a laboured Network/NBK-style media subplot, that goes nowhere & is dumber than that in the risible 15 Minutes. Perhaps someone like David Fincher could have brought this off?

The opening is where the film falls down- Snipes just looks cool wandering around to sub-Run Lola Run techno music, but we dont get to know Liberty, her lover or her husband- so why should we care what happens to them? The film is typified by a policeman who is shot, & the African-American who finds/saves him- both just occur & are quickly forgotten about. As for the denoument- where is the tension? What is interesting about Snipes doing exactly what he said he would do near the start of the film? What does the ending mean?- that Libertys gonna be a good girl now? I almost forgot the pathetic flashbacks of Snipes daughter- classic examples of filmic cliche. File next to the awful Nick of Time .

This film could have been OK, with a bit more focus & a lot more coherence; add to that some static scenes of exposition, so the audience could have worked out what is going on & gain empathy for certain characters etc. There are some pertinent points here regarding the ethics of the arm trade & US gun culture, but they are lost in the cacophony of fractured montage. Television like CSI & 24 is better than this- the film as a whole coming across as a TV-movie.

Michael Moores documentary Bowling for Columbine is far more effective on the issues of gun culture & films like Three Kings, Bob Roberts & Buffalo Soldiers are far more on-target in terms of satirical commentary on America. Avoid.