'Masterminds' masters cinema mindlessness

By Julia Shih
Daily Film Editor

Vincent Kartheiser foils Patrick Stewart's plans in "Masterminds."

When we were children imprisoned against our will at school, we took great solace in wild fantasies involving bringing authoritative figures to their knees or planning daring escapes. But as adults, those thoughts seem silly and even a bit dumb. Which is how most mature audiences will view the film "Masterminds," a kids-movie based on somebody's adolescent fantasy.

"Masterminds" is no more than a rehashed, Mickey-Moused version of the 1991 thriller, "Toy Soldiers." The difference between the two films is that in this one, the terrorists use darts instead of bullets, they only threaten to kill, and things get blown up only if it's established that nobody will get hurt in the explosion.

REVIEW
	Masterminds 2 stars At Showcase

The film has Patrick Stewart playing Bentley, a villain trained by the British Secret Service who takes over a private elementary school in California. His goal is to extort a large sum of money from the parents of a select few of these children, who are some of the richest people in the country.

His plans are threatened by 16-year-old Ozzie Paxton (Vincent Kartheiser), a rebellious, skate-boarding computer hacker who was once thrown out of the elementary school. Ozzie was on campus dropping off his younger step-sister when Bentley took over, and is now determined to stop Bentley.

Director Roger Christian begins the movie with an incredible sequence of Ozzie hacking into another computer and stealing an un-released video game, starting the movie off on an aesthetically good note.

Patrick Stewart in "Masterminds."

As the film progresses, it's theme of how kids are much smarter than adults be-comes overbearing. Ozzie is able to outsmart Bentley in such clever ways that he may possibly even outshine Macauley Culkin's character in "Home Alone" with the antics he uses to battle the bad guys.

Admittedly, it is pretty cool to watch how Ozzie sets up an electrocution of a bad guy (of course, the man wasn't killed but merely injured) But this movie is so obviously children-friendly, that the assurance of a predictable, happy ending in store takes the edge off the thrill.

Patrick Stewart's talent seems wasted in this film, but he still does an excellent job at portraying a professional villain - while also displaying a large streak of humane kindness so that his character will not excessively scare the younger members of the audience.

"Masterminds" is a film that combines a child's outlook on life with the hard images of the American favorite - loud, explosive violence. This softening of a suspense thriller makes it unappealing to adults, while the violent content makes it unsuitable for children. This is a fantasy film that is strictly for R.L. Stine's target audience.

09-03-97