It is quite hard to enjoy "Two Minute Warning." I felt I needed a two minute warning before I saw this film! The story of a sniper killing members of the public?? I'd like to kill the bloke who wrote this! The plot is a senseless one and poorly put together. The action doesn't begin properly until about 25 minutes before the end so we have 85 minutes worth of the football crowds roaring themselves silly at the game they are watching and a bunch of actors with little to do. Walter Pidgeon was completely wasted - he didn't have a word of dialogue and was only in a few camera shots. What on earth was the point in having him included in the first place? David Janssen (T.V's Richard Kimble) doesn't look very well in his wasted appearance. He only lived another 4 years after the release of this movie and was becoming largely forgotten. Perhaps his agent could have steered him clear of making rubbish like "Two Minute Warning." Jack Klugman (minus the dead animal on his head) was making his hit television show "Quincy M.E" at the time, so at least he had something of genuine quality to focus on. Charlton Heston only has to show off his He-Man look and you know he shall save the day! Having rather nasty violence thrown into the mixture isn't enough to compensate for a poor story. Someone associated with this film clearly thought that to include repellent details of people being wasted by a mad sniper, was enough to guarantee good box office. Well I'm sorry but that was not the case here! I couldn't have cared less once some of the crowds were being wiped out, good bloody riddance to them. The 1977 Hollywood movie of "Black Sunday" with the one and only Robert Shaw, had a very similar scene involving a football match. However, that latter film has a darn sight more going for it as well as having a good plot and suspense. "Two Minute Warning" may well satisfy your average,cheap thrill-seeker but I look for something a bit more substantial.
Review of Two-Minute Warning
