The Tower (1993) (TV)

Note des utilisateurs:

4.2/10   

Réalisateur:

Richard Kletter

Writers (WGA):

John Riley (story)
Richard Kletter (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 août 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Before Tony can get to work on the first day of his new job, he manages to lock himself out of his appartment...

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Human Versus Computer

Avis des utilisateurs:

Passable, but just barely

Ensemble

Paul Reiser	...	Tony Minot
Susan Norman	...	Linda Ferillo
Richard Gant	...	Wilson
Annabelle Gurwitch	...	Sally
Roger Rees	...	Mr. Littlehill
Dee Dee Rescher	...	Gretchen Wallace
Charmaine Cruz	...	Littlehill's Secretary (as Charmaine Cruise)
Dee Dee Wilkinson	...	CAS (voice)
Jennifer Richards	...	Connie
Carlos Allen	...	Operator

Durée:

USA:120 min (including commercials)

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Son:

Ultra Stereo

Classification:

Iceland:12 | Germany:16

Company:

Catalina Production Group, The

Guillemet:

CAS: The temperature is being raised for your benefit and comfort
Mr. Littlehill: Son of a bitch.

Passable, but just barely

Even given the fact that it's a made-for-TV affair, the execution, the screenplay, and the acting of the 1993 Fox-TV movie THE TOWER are inscrutably inane. The premise is certainly not the problem; the idea of a computer in charge of security in an L.A. high-rise going after its occupants is, in fact, dead-on perfect.

The problem is, however, that even the best stories, if executed either poorly or in a mediocre fashion (the latter in this case), lose their suspenseful effectiveness. Paul Reiser, of TV's "Mad About You", is quite the obnoxious one as a tenant of the building whose smart mouth and list of security violations makes him a target for CAS, the building's security computer (voice of Dee Dee Wilkinson). What we have then is a film whose malevolent computer is basically a more sinister female counterpart to HAL from Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and a setting clearly inspired by THE TOWERING INFERNO and DIE HARD, but whose execution couldn't hope to compete with those masterpieces unless a talent like Steven Spielberg was in the director's seat, and Michael Crichton or Arthur C. Clarke wrote the dialogue. Despite all this, I give THE TOWER a rating of '6' for the premise, as well as some pretty nifty special effects.