In TNT's much hyped Shutterspeed, Steve "Sting" Borden plays hard headed California cop, Riley Davis, a man forced to make amends with his estranged brother Cliff (Dave Lovgren) in order to save his wife Kenzie (Daisy Fuentes) and avenge the death of a friend. The commotion revolves around a valuable camera that seesaws across many palms while producing photographic clues throughout the course of the movie.
Would the former WCW World Champion, known for his less than stellar microphone skills and variety of painted faces, be able to successfully drop the washable mask and deliver believable dialogue throughout the whole film? With no crow paint to use as a crutch, Borden is forced to rely on his own facial expressions to sell each of the scenes. In arguably his biggest picture to date, he succeeds admirably. Helping him along are excellent performances by everyone else in the film, most notably Lovgren. Quite surprisingly, Borden handles the emotional moments with Lovgren like a true Hollywood veteran, never overplaying the role. Fuentes does what she has to and looks damn good while doing it.
Fans of the action movie genre probably shouldn't expect anything new, but the tightness of the multi-layered plot is a pleasant surprise. With Eric Bischoff as an Executive Producer, seeing a coherent and believable storyline unfold on screen is even more of a shock than usual.
What makes the TNT Original Movie work so well is the many dimensions offered by the plot. It is more than just another "P.O.ed cop on the rampage" flick. It is also about two brothers desperately trying to find their way back to each other after their father's death. In addition to that, it involves several mutual friends who become unwilling victims in a dangerous game of chase and find. What happens to them affects each character in many different ways. How it all ties together in the end is what makes Shutterspeed such an enjoyable action experience. Fans of wrestling definitely don't want to miss seeing one of the top stars in a whole new light, but the more casual crowd - who merely crave a good gunfight with solid plotting - should also adjust their lenses for two hours of camera chasing chaos.
Another viewpoint
Blake Norton: Sting's performance surprised me, and beat the hell out of anything Hogan's done in his whole career. What really caught me is that Borden actually played the dramatic scenes better than he did the action ones - who would have thought it? Like most TV movies, the plot had a lot of cheese, but a couple of aspects of the script were actually well thought out, which saved it from complete mediocrity. Not a great movie by any mark, but surprisingly good fun for a wrestling fan. I'm glad I watched it.
