Liberty Stands Still

Last updated
Liberty Stands Still
Liberty stands still dvd cover.jpg
Official DVD cover
Directed byKari Skogland
Written by Kari Skogland
Produced by Ogden Gavanski
Gary Pearl
Starring Wesley Snipes
Linda Fiorentino
Music by Michael Convertino
Distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment
Release date
  • January 18, 2002 (2002-01-18)
Running time
96 minutes
CountriesCanada, Germany
LanguageEnglish
Budget$11 million

Liberty Stands Still is a 2002 Canadian-German crime thriller drama film starring Wesley Snipes and Linda Fiorentino. Directed by Kari Skogland, it is a thriller about a man seeking revenge for his daughter's death. Following its screening at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, the film failed to get a proper theatrical release and was released straight to DVD on October 22, 2002.

Contents

Plot

Liberty Wallace (Linda Fiorentino) is the Vice President of Marketing for McCloud Industries, one of the largest gun manufacturers in the United States. She's the daughter of the company's founder, and married to the company's ruthless CEO, Victor Wallace (Oliver Platt). While Victor trafficks in international armaments, Liberty takes a break to have a romantic affair with Russell Williams (Martin Cummins), an actor.

The balance of their marriage of convenience shifts when a sniper, Joe (Wesley Snipes), targets Liberty in a busy Los Angeles park on the way to her affair. Joe calls Liberty on her cell phone, ordering her to shackle herself to a nearby vendor’s hot dog cart. Liberty has no intention of acquiescing to Joe's wishes, until he begins shooting. Convinced, she locks herself to the stand, only to learn that it is loaded with explosives. If she calls for help, hangs up the phone, mutes the phone, or fails to co-operate, the bomb will go off. Joe has also armed a bomb against Russell, backstage in his dressing room at the nearby theater.

Liberty realizes she can not buy her way out of the situation, and she is forced to consider Joe's demand for an anti-gun forum. It is revealed that Joe's daughter was fatally shot at school by a classmate, who used a gun manufactured by McCloud Industries. Joe has decided to show Liberty what it is like to be on the other end of the weapon, and the horrors of what she has had a blind hand in for years.

Victor and Liberty have even bartered illegal deals that have resulted in easier access to weapons for street dealers, including the ones who sold the weapon that killed Joe's daughter. Joe wants Liberty to use her political connections and this incident to spark a public debate on the Second Amendment. Despite his past, Joe no longer supports the unequivocal right to bear arms.

Joe tells Liberty that she is going to die, but that she can die as a hero if she exposes her company's shady business dealings and political connections before she's killed. As Joe monitors and records her every move, Liberty reveals secrets about her past, and business dealings.

When Victor, who is also having an affair, finds out that Liberty has been taken hostage, he is torn between protecting himself and allowing Liberty to be killed, or going to help her. At first, it seems that Joe, who is actually a former CIA agent, is using Liberty as bait to attract media attention, but then Joe guns down news reporter Bill Tollman (Jonathan Scarfe), who is also the son of a hawkish U.S. Senator. Joe expresses his belief that this act will cause the Senator to change his pro-gun stance.

Joe calls Victor on his cell phone as Victor is finally acting on his choice to get out of town. While Joe is shaming Victor for leaving his wife to die, Victor suddenly recognizes the voice on the phone as someone he knows personally. Following the phone conversation, Victor orders his car to bring him to where his wife is. When Victor finally arrives on the scene, Joe calls him on his cell phone again, and Victor addresses Joe by the name Alex. They discuss the time they met in Colombia and how Alex had saved Victor’s life there. Victor also apologizes for having won a military medal under false pretenses for whatever transpired while they were in Colombia. Joe/Alex then shoots and kills Victor in front of Liberty. Alex then tells Liberty that it is all up to her now before informing her that a key to her shackles is hidden in a box, underneath the hot dog cart. Liberty retrieves the key and releases herself, and then she runs to Russell's dressing room. Together, they helplessly watch the timer on his bomb count down to zero. When the bomb does not explode, they realize that it was a fake.

Meanwhile, a police SWAT team has figured out which building Joe is hiding in. Before they can get to Joe/Alex he shoots himself under the chin, and dies; but he has already forwarded Liberty's recorded confessions to several newspapers.

Cast

Music

The techno score was produced and composed by Convertino, and orchestrated with sound design by Film Composer and Film Music Producer Robert Muzingo.

Release

Theatrical

The film premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 18, 2002, originally planned to have a worldwide theatrical release, but due to the film's critical reception, it was released direct-to-video in 2002.

Reception

Critical response

The film has received mostly negative reviews; critics praised Snipes and Fiorentino's performances, but panned the overall premise. The film was panned by gun-rights supporters as being very anti-gun and portraying all firearm owners in a negative light. Many noted the film's similarities to Joel Schumacher's Phone Booth , another film released around the same time. [1]

On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 20% based on reviews from 5 critics. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesley Snipes</span> American actor (born 1962)

Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor. He appeared in the films Major League (1989), New Jack City (1991), Jungle Fever (1991), White Men Can't Jump (1992), Passenger 57 (1992), Rising Sun (1993), Demolition Man (1993), Drop Zone (1994), To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), U.S. Marshals (1998), The Expendables 3 (2014), Coming 2 America (2021), and the Blade film trilogy (1998–2004), portraying Blade. In television, he appeared on The Player (2015). Snipes was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his work in The Waterdance (1992) and won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his performance in the film One Night Stand (1997).

<i>Alex Rider</i> Spy novel series by Anthony Horowitz

Alex Rider is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises fourteen novels, as well as six graphic novels, seven short stories, and a supplementary book.

Clorinda "Linda" Fiorentino is an American actress. Fiorentino made her screen debut with a leading role in the 1985 coming-of-age drama film Vision Quest, followed that same year with a lead role in the action film Gotcha! and an appearance in the film After Hours.

<i>Phone Booth</i> (film) 2002 thriller film

Phone Booth is a 2002 American psychological thriller film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by David Zucker and Gil Netter, written by Larry Cohen and starring Colin Farrell, Forest Whitaker, Katie Holmes, Radha Mitchell, and Kiefer Sutherland. In the film, a malevolent hidden sniper calls a phone booth, and when a young publicist inside answers the phone, he quickly finds his life is at risk. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was a box office hit, grossing $97 million worldwide against a production budget of $13 million.

<i>Time Crisis 3</i> 2002 video game

Time Crisis 3 is a rail shooter, released for the arcade in 2002 (JP) and 2003 (NA), the third instalment of the Time Crisis series. Like its predecessor, Time Crisis II, it allows for two players to cooperate in a link play environment and has the Time Crisis signature pedal system for hiding and advancing and the first in the series to change or select weapons. It was later ported to the PlayStation 2.

<i>Freejack</i> 1992 film by Geoff Murphy

Freejack is a 1992 American science fiction film directed by Geoff Murphy and starring Emilio Estevez, Mick Jagger, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins. The screenplay was written by Steven Pressfield, Ronald Shusett and Dan Gilroy, who adapted it from the 1959 science fiction novel Immortality, Inc. by Robert Sheckley. The film was produced by Morgan Creek and released by Warner Bros. in the United States on January 17, 1992. It received mostly negative reviews.

<i>Man of the House</i> (2005 film) 2005 American crime comedy film

Man of the House is a 2005 American crime comedy film directed by Stephen Herek. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones as Roland Sharp, a lonesome Texas Ranger who goes undercover as an assistant coach to protect a group of college cheerleaders who have witnessed a murder. Much of the film was shot in Austin, Texas on the University of Texas campus.

<i>The Art of War</i> (film) 2000 Canadian-American film by Christian Duguay

The Art of War is a 2000 action spy film directed by Christian Duguay and starring Wesley Snipes, Michael Biehn, Anne Archer and Donald Sutherland. It is the first installment in The Art of War film series. The film's title refers to the ancient Chinese text of the same name by war strategist Sun Tzu. The film was followed by two direct-to-video sequels, The Art of War II: Betrayal and The Art of War III: Retribution. The latter did not feature Snipes.

<i>Gotcha!</i> (film) 1985 comedy-action film by Jeff Kanew

Gotcha! is a 1985 American action comedy film, starring Anthony Edwards and Linda Fiorentino and directed by Jeff Kanew, who also directed Edwards in Revenge of the Nerds in 1984.

<i>Shadow Man</i> (2006 film) 2006 American film

Shadow Man is a 2006 American action thriller film directed by Michael Keusch, and also written and produced by Steven Seagal, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Eva Pope, Imelda Staunton and Garrick Hagon. The film was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on June 6, 2006.

<i>The Las Vegas Story</i> (film) 1952 film by Robert Stevenson

The Las Vegas Story is a 1952 American suspense film noir starring Jane Russell and Victor Mature, directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Robert Sparks and Howard Hughes with Samuel Bischoff as the executive producer.

<i>Unstoppable</i> (2004 film) 2004 American film

Unstoppable is a 2004 American action film directed by David Carson and starring Wesley Snipes, Jacqueline Obradors, Stuart Wilson and Kim Coates. The film was released in the United States on October 30, 2004.

<i>The Detonator</i> 2006 American film

The Detonator is a 2006 American action film directed by Po-Chih Leong. The film stars Wesley Snipes, Silvia Colloca, Tim Dutton and William Hope. The film was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on April 25, 2006.

<i>2000 AD</i> (film) 2000 film

2000 AD is a 2000 Hong Kong action film directed by Gordon Chan, who also wrote the screenplay with Stu Zicherman, produced by John Chong, Solon So and David Leong. The film stars Aaron Kwok, Phyllis Quek, James Lye and Daniel Wu. The film was shot on location in both Hong Kong and Singapore. The film was released theatrically in Hong Kong on 3 February 2000. It was timed to screen during the peak Chinese New Year period.

<i>Shining Through</i> 1992 film by David Seltzer

Shining Through is a 1992 American World War II drama film which was released to United States cinemas on January 31, 1992, written and directed by David Seltzer and starring Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith, with Liam Neeson, Joely Richardson and John Gielgud in supporting roles. It is based on the novel of the same name by Susan Isaacs. The original music score was composed by Michael Kamen.

<i>Game of Death</i> (2010 film) 2010 American film

Game of Death is a 2010 American action film directed by Giorgio Serafini, and starring Wesley Snipes, Zoë Bell, Gary Daniels and Robert Davi. The film was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on February 15, 2011.

<i>XIII: The Series</i> French TV series or program

XIII: The Series is an English-language Franco-Canadian TV series that premiered in April 2011 in France and Canada. The series is based on the Belgian graphic novel series of the same name created by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance. It's about an amnesiac protagonist who seeks to discover his concealed past. The TV series follows the events of the 2008 TV film XIII: The Conspiracy. The first season follows the plot in parallel with the existing volumes in the comic series, while the second season diverts into an all-new original story arc.

<i>The Cold Light of Day</i> (2012 film) 2012 film directed by Mabrouk El Mechri

The Cold Light of Day is a 2012 American action thriller film directed by Mabrouk El Mechri and distributed by Summit Entertainment. It was written by Scott Wiper and John Petro and stars Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis, and Sigourney Weaver. The story follows Will (Cavill), who finds that his family has been kidnapped by foreign agents who are searching for a briefcase stolen by his father (Willis), which forces him to take matters into his own hands to find them.

Jerusalem Countdown is a 2011 Christian thriller film adapted from the speculative fiction novel of the same name by John Hagee. It was directed and co-written by Harold Cronk and stars David A.R. White, Anna Zielinski, Randy Travis, Lee Majors, Stacy Keach, and Marco Khan.

References

  1. Acuna, Kirsten (2008-04-07). "21 Nearly Identical Pairs Of Movies That Came Out Around The Same Time". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-07-08. 2002: "Phone Booth" and "Liberty Stands Still" hold the main characters hostage at one point for the film's entirety.
  2. "Liberty Stands Still". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  3. John Leonard, New York Magazine/Vulture In Brief
  4. David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews. Liberty Star full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg
  5. "Mikie ENT Today". Archived from the original on 2003-03-28.