New U.S. Release

Extreme Ops

(Germany-U.K.)

Mountain ski and airborne stunts are featured in 'Extreme Ops' from helmer Christian Duguay.

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Slivers of auds for "XXX" and ESPN's X-Games may be lured to megaplex chalets by promise of extreme-sports sequences. Trouble is, there simply isn't enough extreme footage to satisfy hardcore fans. (Truth to tell, the stunt sequences were more plentiful and impressive in last year's Christian-skewing "Extreme Days.")

And whenever the actors or their stunt doubles aren't risking life and limb by kayaking over waterfalls, land-skiing while roped to moving trains, or schussing down mountainsides as they're pursued by gunmen in helicopters, pic devotes entirely too much time to scenes of jokey camaraderie, hearty partying and drunken exhibitionism more appropriate to hard-sell beer commercials.

Working from a by-the-numbers script by Michael Zaidan, director Christian Duguay ("The Art of War") relies heavily on pumped-up techno-pop score and montages of extreme-sports action to sustain some semblance of narrative momentum. Even so, it takes "Extreme Ops" the better part of an hour to set up fairly simple premise.

Pushed by an advertising executive (Rupert Graves) to film an exceptionally dangerous stunt -- i.e., outrunning an avalanche -- without relying on CGI tricks, vet director Ian (Rufus Sewell) travels to Austrian Alps with ace camera operator Will (Devon Sawa) to work with gold medal skier Chloe (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras) and adrenaline-junkie snowboarders Kittie (scene-stealer Jana Pallaske) and Silo (Joe Absolom).

Unfortunately, while on location at an under-construction ski resort, Will and Silo accidentally capture on videotape the dreaded Salve (Klaus Lowitsch), a fugitive Serbian war criminal who's supposed to be very seriously dead. Nothing good comes of this.

Among the international cast of players, German-born Pallaske is standout screen presence, evidencing a neo-gamine impishness laced with knowing swagger and a widescreen smile. Lowitsch ("The Marriage of Maria Braun") brings a sense of malevolent gravity to his portrayal of a currently popular villainous stereotype. (Serbian war criminals rank just behind Russian Mafia types as villains of choice in contempo pics and TV dramas.)

Surprisingly, Sewell's handsome director doesn't seek romance or even seriously flirt while on location. Instead, he repeatedly phones his girlfriend back home, desperately seeking a reconciliation after a recent breakup. Such behavior qualifies as distinctively quirky in a pic that's otherwise conventional and cliche-ridden.

On the other hand, it should be noted that the avalanches do indeed look like CGI tricks. And not very persuasive tricks, at that.

Camera (Technicolor), Hannes Hubach; editors, Clive Barrett, Sylvain Lebel; music, Normand Corbeil, Stanislas Syrewicz; production designer, Philip Harrison; art direction, Andreas Olshausen; costume designer, Maria Schicker; sound (Dolby Digital), Ed Cantu; assistant director, Christophe Cheysson. Reviewed at Tinseltown Westchase Cinema, Houston, Nov. 26, 2002. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 93 MIN.