''Sleeping Dogs'' (also known as ''Deviants'' and ''Mission: LA 2029'') is a 1997 Canadian

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univ ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

directed by Michael Bafaro.

Plot

A jewel thief in 2020s

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

( Scott McNeil) tries to save a spaceship crew from the emerald smuggling criminals who are holding them captive.

Cast

* Scott McNeil as Harry Maxwell * C. Thomas Howell as Sanchez Boon * Heather Hanson as Pandora Grimes * Kiara Hunter as Zee 4R * Richard Toth as Wallace * Angela Madden as Stocker * Stephen Fisher as Morton * Sean Fuller as Sweeney * Paul Jarrett as Willy Boy Pruitt * Gregory Linington as Brock * Christopher Clarke as Grogan * Julius Krajewski as Samson * Seth Markel as Crenshaw * Michael Rogers as Haverty * Darren Dalton as Dexter * Jaroslav Peterka as Raoul *

Pavel Kříž Pavel Kříž (born 18 April 1961 in Brno) is a Czechs, Czech actor and psychotherapist. In December 2010 Kříž won the StarDance (Czech season 4), fourth season of StarDance (Czech TV series), StarDance with his professional partner Alice St ...

as Alexandrov * Dave Ulrich as Cole * Shannon McCormick as Tippit * Karel Vávrovec as Carlos * Miroslav Lhotka as Hugo

Background

It was a Czech Republic co-production, with filming taking place in Czech studios. It is the only film to feature Australian-Canadian actor Scott McNeil in a leading role. McNeil is known for his extensive voice acting career, and at the time was voicing

Piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the s ...

in the

Saban Saban or Šaban may refer to: People * Saban (name), for people with the name * Sabans, a small indigenous ethnic group of Sarawak, Malaysia * Şaban, a Turkish film character Other uses *Saban Capital Group, a private investment firm investing i ...

dub of ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...

''.

Release and reception

It was released direct-to-video in North America, Europe and Australia. Robert Firsching of AllMovie gave the film two stars, writing "Set in the year 2029 for no apparent reason, this Canadian-Czech co-production literally consists of almost nothing but a steady barrage of gunfire and explosions. Reducing its genre (sci-fi/action) to nothing but the so-called 'good parts,' ''Sleeping Dogs'' (1997) emerges as a movie that looks like it was filmed in shorthand. It's a paint-by-numbers effort with very little to either praise or criticize; it's just there, although that's no reason for anyone to feel compelled to watch it." He also claimed that, "As the ludicrously named Sanchez Boon, C. Thomas Howell prances around and prissily quotes literature like a bearded

Riddler The Riddler (Edward Nigma, later Edward Nygma or Edward Nashton) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #140 in Oc ...

from a particularly bad episode of the old ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

'' TV series. Howell's ridiculous performance is the sole reason that even those viewers who cherish bad movies would want to watch this."

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...

gave ''Sleeping Dogs'' a mixed negative review, labelling it as having "looney-tune characters, stale dialogue and the unmistakable whiff of cheesy camp." They claimed that, "nothing about this futuristic sci-fi adventure is exceptional or unexpected, except the extensive exposition involving gems replacing cash as currency."

References

External links

* * 1990s science fiction action films 1997 films 1997 action films Canadian science fiction action films English-language Canadian films Films set in Los Angeles Films set in 2029 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films {{action-film-stub