
This may be complete rubbish, but it doesn't half move. With Jean-Claude Van Damme at the helm, director Peter Hyams thunders this Die Hard at the Ice Rink along to the beat of a pounding background score that, like the action, never lets up. The bad guys, with a little help from US Secret Service renegades, have sewn up a giant ice-rink stadium tighter than the fuse wire that's attached to the bombs set to go off all over the arena. That's their insurance as, led by Powers Boothe, they infiltrate the US vice-president's box and hold his guests hostage, killing one or two to speed government responses to their demands for money. Van Damme comes into the story as an ex-fireman whose small daughter joins the hostages after accidentally witnessing a killing. Naturally, when official forces seem to be getting nowhere, he takes on the bad guys by himself. Hyams' staging of the subsequent action is absolutely tremendous. Credibility's an early casualty, but you may be too busy clenching your fists with excitement to care.