Brainless disaster flick with George Segal playing a burnt-out civic inspector investigating two roller-coaster bombings and ending up in a cat-and-mouse game with the psychopath. Full of 'suspense' scenes telegraphed far in advance, and a showdown at Magic Mountain that needed to be rewritten (for clarity), directed by someone who knew a bit more about pacing, logic and credibility, and re-edited for more impact (this version just lies there). Segal really does looked burned (perhaps unintentionally), however Helen Hunt is fun to see in her film debut (looking like a pint-sized hippie in turquoise bracelets). Timothy Bottoms works his sullen little smile to ill effect and Richard Widmark grunts through his role as Segal's adversary (whose side is HE on?). It's a terrible, depressing movie, but the technical aspects hold attention and some of the cinematography is good. *1/2 from ****
Review of Rollercoaster
