Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 4, 1994                   TAG: 9403040111
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

'CHASE' ENDS UP ON A ROCKY ROAD

The movie has the pace and flashy attitude of a rock video. Viewers who don't appreciate that sort of stylized action will probably make an early exit, as will anyone who mistakenly thinks that this one has anything to do with the 1966 Marlon Brando film of the same title.

The plot is simple: Jack (Charlie Sheen) is a bank-robber - falsely convicted, of course - on the run in Southern California. When two cops stumble across him in a convenience store, he is forced to take wealthy Natalie (Kristy Swanson) as a hostage and to steal her red BMW. Moments later, a stream of police cars and local TV news helicopters are in pursuit as Jack and Natalie head for the Mexican border.

To continue with the animated analogy, think of the cops and reporters as Wile E. Coyote; Jack is the elusive bird. Assorted almost-famous young actors show up as temporary complications to threaten Jack, much like the gizmos that arrive from the Acme mail order company.

Writer-director Adam Rifkin got his start in films that have arrived as "video premieres" - "Never On Tuesday," "The Dark Backward." That independent, out-of-the-mainstream sensibility is at work here, too. From the first discordant notes of the familiar 20th Century Fox fanfare to bits of comic business involving vomit and a truckload of cadavers, the film is loud and irreverent.

The limited budget is evident in the short stretch of interstate highway where much of the film seems to have been shot. Some of the stuntwork is inventive, but most of it is pumped up with hyperactive editing.

Despite their thin characters (and perhaps the most ludicrous sex scene ever staged) Charlie Sheen and Kristy Swanson are adequate. They appear to be taking their work about as seriously as they should. To have done any more would have missed the point.

"The Chase" is a featherweight, forgettable diversion.

\ The Chase **

A 20th Century Fox release playing at the Salem Valley 8. 90 min. Rated PG-13 for subject matter, strong language, violence, preposterous sexual content.