''Subterfuge'' is a 1996 American action film written and co-produced by Marion Segal, and directed by

Herb Freed Herb Freed (born 1935) is an American film director and screenwriter best known for a number of horror films made in the 1970s and 1980s. His feature credits include '' Haunts'' (1976), '' Beyond Evil'' (1980), and '' Graduation Day'' (1981). Bio ...

. It stars Matt McColm as Jonathan Slade, an ex-military man who is given the task to retrieve the

black box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

from a jetliner that crashed into the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. Supporting cast includes

Richard Brake Richard Colin Brake (born 30 November 1964) is a Welsh and American actor. Following his film debut in '' Death Machine'' (1994), Brake had a supporting role as Joe Chill in ''Batman Begins'' (2005). He subsequently appeared in numerous horror f ...

, Jason Gould, and

Amanda Pays Amanda Pays (born 6 June 1959) is an English interior designer, actress, and television presenter. She is known for her television series roles as Theora Jones in ''Max Headroom'' and as Tina McGee in ''The Flash'' and the 2014 series of the ...

Plot

A jetliner is shot down and crashes into the Black Sea, at the Russian territory. This is the beginning of an espionage conspiracy involving

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

and

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

agents. Jonathan Slade, an ex-military man who served in the

Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

and champion swimmer, is given a mission to retrieve the black box from the damaged airliner. His brother, a computer genius, and a female special agent are supposed to help him complete the task.

Cast

Production

In the 1990s stuntman and martial artist Matt McColm began an acting career. McColm’s black belt in

Kenpo Karate American Kenpo Karate (), also known as American Kenpo or Ed Parker's Kenpo Karate, is an American martial art founded and codified by Ed Parker. It is synthesized mainly from Japanese and Okinawan martial arts such as karate and judo, with in ...

) and good looks grabbed the attention of Hollywood producers. After starring in '' Red Scorpion 2'' (1994), McColm was offered the leading role in ''Subterfuge''. The movie was filmed in and around Los Angeles, California, and it was noted in the episode of ''The Cult of Muscle''

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

: " he film wasmostly shot on that one corner of the beach they like to use in L.A."

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

specifies the filming date as August 1995. Underwater scenes were shot, featuring McColm. ''Subterfuge'' might have been inspired by the 1977 film '' The Deep'' starring

Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (; born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. Known for his leading man roles in both dramas and romances, he has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Nol ...

. Jack Gill, who went on to work with McColm on another low-budget action movie '' The Protector'' (1997), served as a

second unit director A second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming s ...

and

stunt coordinator A stunt coordinator, usually an experienced stunt performer, is hired by a TV, film or theatre director or production company for casting stunt performers. Their job is to arrange the casting (stunt players and stunt doubles) and performance of s ...

.''Subterfuge'', closing credits. Avalanche Home Entertainment. 1998. Mohammed Tabatabai choreographed the film's fight scenes. Stock footage for ''Subterfuge'' was provided by Cameo Film Library. The original soundtrack was recorded, produced, engineered and mixed by Jim Halfpenny at Tracks Allott Studios, and includes

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

blues-rock songs. Among the songs written by Halfpenny was "Cold, Cold World", sung by Tracy Adams. One of the opening scenes, set in a bar, was arranged in a self-reflexive,

metafictional Metafiction is a form of fiction that emphasizes its own narrative structure in a way that inherently reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and storyte ...

manner: McColm's character turns off television, bored with a genre film, and provides a commentary: "If you've seen one action movie, you've seen 'em all, right?"

Release

After the theatrical premiere on February 23, 1996, Avalanche Home Entertainment released the movie in the United States on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

in 1998. Its cover presented a shirtless, beaten up McColm—showing off his pectoral muscles prominently—aiming a gun towards the viewer. The movie was promoted with a tagline: "The

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

just got

hot Hot commonly refers refer to: *Heat, a hot temperature *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality Hot or HOT may also refer to: Places *Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand ** Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...

again!" ''Cranked on Cinema'' critic noted that McColm's " juiced-up" physique and Amanda Pays' sexual attractiveness, along with the "large gun", gave the cover an erotic appeal. A straight-to-video release followed in late 1998 in Finland, and in February 1999 in Japan. The movie was also distributed on VHS in Greece, under the title ''Αποστολη στη Μαυρη θαλασσα'' ("The Mission on the Black Sea"). The movie has been aired on Brazilian television in May 1998 as ''Subterfuge: Mistério No Mar Negro'' (''Mystery On The Black Sea''). It was released on VHS as well—two years earlier, in July 1996. German television aired the movie under the altered title ''Into Deep – Jagd in der Tiefe'' (''Hunt in the Depths''), although it was released in the country on video, too—as ''Mission Subterfuge''. It premiered on

ProSieben ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...

in February 2000, and was subsequently shown on Star TV in Switzerland.

Metropolitan Filmexport Metropolitan Filmexport is a French film distribution company founded by brothers Samuel and Victor Hadida, along with their father David, in 1978. It distributes films in France, alongside Lionsgate Canada in Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, ...

distributed ''Subterfuge'' on DVD in France, and Manga released it on VHS in Spain. Additionally, the movie was released as ''Ex-Navy S.E.A.L.'' in Norway and as ''Tajna przesyłka'' (''Secret Delivery'') in Poland.

Reception

The movie received mixed reception. The ''Ultimate Action Movies'' editor praised the exotic locations and their surroundings as they "provide a nice backdrop for the action that ensues". He also complimented McColm's work, especially his "kenpo moves", and believed Jonathan Slade was a "likeable" character, attributing McColm "the ''it'' factor". In a review for ''Comeuppance Reviews'' it was observed that "McColm is a far better central hero than, say, Frank Zagarino, and his meatheadiness contrasts well with his brother in classic 'odd couple' fashion." The film's humor and Richard Brake's performance were also praised. On the other hand, Jamie Lisk of ''Cranked on Cinrma'' thought Brake "overplays his part", and McColm "comes off as a big lug for the most part". In the episode of ''The Cult of Muscle'' podcast McColm's central character has been described as a "large, imposing dude" and a "corn-fed, cinderblocking

all-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

male". The podcasters found ''Subterfuge'' be "more convincing than your typical

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

-set action-war movie", and "slightly more authentic than

Macaroni Combat Euro War, also known as Macaroni Combat, Macaroni War, Spaghetti Combat, or Spaghetti War, is a broad subgenre of war film that emerged in the mid-1960s. The films were named ''Euro War'' because most were European co-productions, most notably a ...

movies". They did, however, call it "very dry for a movie that takes place ostlyon a beach and in the water". Writing for ''Il Zinefilo'', Willy l'Orbo labelled ''Subterfuge'' as humorous and fun but also poorly written and full of "goofy" mistakes. ''TV Today'' rated the movie one star (out of three possible). Cinema.de provided a positive note, giving it three stars out of five, and calling it a "well-built

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

". In a review for

KinoPoisk Kinopoisk (, a portmanteau of "cinema" and "search") is a Russian online database of information related to films, TV shows including cast, production team, biographies, plot summaries, ratings, and reviews. Since 2018 (as КиноПоиск HD) a ...

the character of Jonathan Slade was praised because he "knows how to fight", is "physically impressive", and "knows how to impress the fairer sex". ''Movies Room'' described the movie as "tacky and second-class" but also "enjoyable".

Accolades

The movie was nominated for the 2002 Smithee Award. The "Smithees" was an annual ceremony that celebrated the worst films released on video. In the official write-up for the film on the Smithee Awards' website ''Subterfuge'' was called "a totally pointless action flick that tries to think, but nothing happens".

Legacy

The movie was mentioned in the April 2019 episode of the Red Letter Media's ''Best of the Worst'' series. It may have inspired two action thriller films with similar plots: 1998's ''

Firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...

'', and '' Into the Blue'' starring

Paul Walker Paul William Walker IV (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Brian O'Conner in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. Paul Walker began his career as a child actor in the 1980s, gainin ...

and

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her acting career at age 13 in ''Camp Nowhere'', followed up by ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (both 1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 as ...

(2005). Soon after its premiere, in November 1996, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' labelled Matt McColm as "Hollywood's next generation action star," following in the footsteps of

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

and

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Subterfuge 1990s spy thriller films 1990s spy action films 1996 action thriller films 1996 films American action thriller films American spy action films American spy thriller films Black Sea in fiction Films about military personnel Films about the Central Intelligence Agency Films about the United States Marine Corps Films set in California Films set in Russia Films set in Turkey Films shot in Los Angeles 1990s English-language films Films directed by Herb Freed 1990s American films English-language action thriller films English-language spy thriller films