DigitalRevenantX7 Sam Garrett, an LAPD detective, is suspended from the force after claiming that a high-profile kidnap victim staged her own abduction in order to shake down her father for the ransom. But his captain gives him a chance to prove himself – all Sam has to do is to appear on a brand-new reality TV show called Treasure Hunt where he will earn a small fee & even a chance to win ten million dollars. Along with a group of contestants, Sam is dropped onto a deserted island for a week. But the host, who is facing a large debt, has hired a group of mercenaries to prevent them from winning. The mercenaries, led by ex-Navy SEAL Jared, decide to renege on the deal & kill the host & come after the players in order to keep their theft of the prize money secret. At the same time, a massive hurricane called Hurricane James is bearing down on the island, making escape all but impossible.I'd never thought I would see the day Jim Wynorski, one of the worst directors on the B-grade circuit, would make a decent film. Sure enough, Gale Force, a 2001 effort from the infamous hack, would prove to be a passable film despite the theft of footage from other films (the opening car chase has been lifted from Last Action Hero – look closely for a glimpse of Arnold Schwarzenegger driving the car – and the helicopter insertion is from Predator). The cynicism that populates the vast majority of Wynorski's films is also here but actually makes a favourable impression given it is mostly about actors griping about reality TV shows. Treat Williams, who had earlier starred in another Wynorski flick Crash Point Zero, makes for a good hero here & actually has some fun. Supporting him are such B-grade action legends as Tim "Jack Deth" Thomerson, Michael "American Ninja" Dudikoff & William Zabka. There were some small details that made me laugh – the hurricane is named after James Cook, the explorer who found Australia & who died on an island in the Pacific, where the film is set. On the minus side, there were traces of the spectacular lack of fact-checking that infests Wynorski's films – everything from the insane idea of hoods tossing sticks of dynamite at the hero's car during the chase; the idea of said car escaping a minigun attack from a few metres away by driving off a bridge & the idea that a reality TV show host would hire professional killers to help him escape the country by killing the players. A reasonably action-packed & funny film that is one of Wynorski's better films.

Theo Robertson ***** MILD SPOILERS *****Suppose you were in a gang of bad guys and saw an undercover cop snooping around and he made a break for his car . What would you do ?A ) Shoot the cop ?B ) Not shoot the cop and let him escape in his car then give chase throwing sticks of dynamite ? The logical answer is A but for some reason the producers chose B so they could stick in a pre title sequence completely stolen from LAST ACTION HERO. When I say stolen I don`t mean they`ve stolen the idea , I mean they`ve stolen the entire clip of bad guys chasing after Arnie throwing sticks of dynamite at him . Why the producers did this I`ve no idea because it must have cost a fair bit of money for copyright and the sequence is rather unnecessary , it could have easily have been referred to onscreen with one of those " You goddam idiot , you`re off the case , get yourself another job " type scenes . Oh and the director is Jim Wynorski and the screenwriter is Steve Latshaw a couple of gentlemen who have done this naughty trick before which is why their movies like RANGERS and MILITIA have totally failed because they`ve constructed their own movies around other peoples movie clips Thankfully with the exception of a couple of short clips of PREDATOR the duo have decided to make more or less their own movie this time . The central plot revolves around a TV reality show called TREASURE HUNT which sees the former cop and a bunch of other people trying to find 10 million dollars in hidden treasure on a tropical paradise only to find that the people guarding the loot aren`t what they appear to be - They`re serious criminals who want the ten million bucks for themselves so the premise is a bizarre mix of SURVIVOR meets THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME The film has a strange feel since the first half is slightly light hearted and there`s a few digs at the reality TV craze but when the criminals appear on the scene things start getting a bit violent which jars with the first half . There`s also a rather unnecessary plot device of an unexpected hurricane wreaking havoc on the island and a massive tidal wave which for some reason is quickly forgotten about ie The treasure hunters hide in a coastal cave but for some reason they don`t get drowned ! I have to admit for a film made direct to video GALE FORCE is above average. It`s obvious that the cast had a great time making this movie and their enjoyment comes across so well it`s almost infectious . It`s a dumb movie but not unlikable and hopefully Jim and Steve will soon come to the conclusion that films work best when they`re 100% original

liammurphy1 This movie is great This movie is supposed to be over the top and tongue in cheek your not supposed to take it seriously like most of the other reviewers have done, just sit back and enjoy - it's mindless ecapism as intended.The plot line was original, the actors were'nt oscar winners but they did very well, the special effects were excellent if on the cheap side.9/10

garry_ca This movie does not deserve a review. I am writing this to warn anyone that is planning on renting it to STAY AWAY! Bad acting, bad writing, bad cast, bad direction, bad scenery. I must admit that the sound during the storm scenes was excellent. Bad, bad, bad and alright, one excellent.