Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This is not the usual pole dancing nudity and cartoon violence action picture. There are interesting characters, and a script that is so over the top in believability that it is totally enjoyable. Doublecrosses abound. You get fringe players who work for both the mob and the good guys. There is some sharp humor, especially from the Russian mob boss. Eric Roberts gives a solid performance, with nice support from Romano Orzari and Yaphet Kotto. There are some imaginative twists and turns, and a conclusion that is far from predictable. So, what you wind up with is brutal violence, sex, and of all things, a story. Recommended of it's type. - MERK

Generic soda is hardly any different from the mainstream products. For example, Wegmans' Dr. W is exactly the same as Dr. Pepper, only at a much more decreased price. I'm not stingy, but generecism can be a good thing. This thought can apply to the film industry as well. Look at anything an actor named Bryan Genesse has done. His work is all mostly bland and unoriginal, but his films provide some fun low budget entertainment. He is the perfect example of a Hollywood generecist. Now lets take a look at Eric Roberts. He has a high profile sibling, but this adjective does not apply to his career. God bless him. His sister is winning oscars and he makes little gems like 1996's "The Grave" for example. How his career ever became this way, it's hard to piece together, but his work is worth making an analogy with my soda sermon. This film, "Stiletto Dance" isn't a bad one. Possibly made before "Fast and Furious", a story with a same vital plot turn, the movie does bare a merciful comparison. There are some fine women, fast-paced urban action and surprisingly great acting. There are some delightfully colorful characters, notably one named Binky and the lead villain. It is nowhere near perfect though. This is a movie that floats and lacks any grounding whatsoever, it heavily relies on some plot turns to keep it interesting. This is a problem, because the twist ending doesn't work and it seems written in at the last minute for some cheap thrills. It is manipulative, but that's not saying there some pretty good other twists along the way however.

This thriller has Tarantino`s forged signature written all over it . It starts with a funky monologue which instantly revives memories of Tim Roth in a certain film . Add to this a shock revelation of a couple of villains who aren`t who they appear to be , some novelty violence involving a jealous wife and a coffee grinder , a running joke about a suit being ruined and the bizarre site of a member of the clergy tooled up . I was expecting someone to come out with a line about " I`m stuck in the middle with you " and the homage would have been complete . The other thing that struck me was this could only have been a HBO production . I didn`t know this at the time but later finding out it was made sense . Have you ever noticed watching an episode of OZ there always seems to be a sudden upsurge of profane dialogue in the slower episodes ? It`s almost as if the producers of the show have got round a table with the writers and said " Okay we`re pretty low on shankings and gang rapes this week so can you make sure the F word appears at least three times in every sentence just to indicate it`s an adult show " . Well in STILETTO DANCE when people aren`t getting blown away or getting limbs chopped off the characters often seem to revert to ridiculous amounts of swearing . I can`t really emphasise how false the dialogue sounds in these scenes , especially the bit where the police captain is explaining the plot to the two good guys in the car park .One final comment . I know Eric Roberts career is now a bit of a joke starring in cable and straight to video films such as this , but he really does deserve much better and I look forward to seeing him play a memorable screen villain in a blockbuster someday

"Stiletto Dance" is all about Roberts as a deep cover cop who's inclined to go so "deep" even his own partner doesn't trust him. His mission is to stop Russian mob heavies from getting some red mercury which they need to make a nuclear bomb to nuke Americans. The film features the usual sensationalism (babes, shootouts, blood & guts, brawls, etc.) but fails to distinguish itself even in the B-movie category. Ultimately it plays out like a bad Seagal or Van Damme flick. Only for the most macho-minded couch potatoes. (D+)