Out of Bounds

Out of Bounds may be, like a comic book, pulp entertainment, but it's artfully done pulp--a pictorial page-turner whose pages turn themselves. [25 July 1986, p.A]

None of it is very convincing, thanks to Tuggle's shaky storytelling: on the one hand, he sets up his plot twists with such elephantine emphasis that the payoffs are invariably anticlimactic; on the other, he relies constantly and shamelessly on the most outre coincidence. Still, the action scenes do have a certain punch and vigor, and there are a few fresh, offbeat views of the City of Angels. Part of the point of the project seems to be to prove that Hall can “act” (as if his comic roles were something else), and he does move honorably if not remarkably through a mumbling Method performance.

Richard Tuggle's new film wants to be a realistic thriller, but it merely acts out kids' fantasies of heroism and adventure, with drugs and rock music thrown in for a contemporary twist.

This movie, in fact, is almost the story of his metamorphosis, from likeable young actor to faceless action hero.

But even if Hitchcock’s chase thrillers were the inspiration, with their falsely accused heroes fleeing police through exotic landscapes, the master wouldn’t have approved of this tribute. Logic, character, coherence, psychology--all those vital thriller elements disappear as quickly as the Iowa corn.

A notice at the end of the movie assures audiences that the animals in the movie were not mistreated, but what about the animals in the theatre? Even connoisseurs of bloodletting and random violence will find Out of Bounds a poor excuse for escaping the summer heat. [29 July 1986, p.C8]

The script gives Hall and the other cast members so many foolish things to say and do that the viewer is left wishing that they would all kill each other early on and save us the pain of having to watch the rest of the film.