We are kept on edge in many scenes as there is genuine danger if something doesn't happen just the right way. And this isn't one of those movies where everything is guaranteed to turn out all right, though the violence is not excessive or graphic. Innocent people die, though that' mainly in Colombia. There is a chance someone you care about might not make it.
At the same time, it is interesting to watch the teenage boys figuring out how to get out of their situation. And quite exciting when their plans turn into action.
This movie is not entirely without comedy. In fact, it is a comedy in the first scenes at the school, before the terrorists arrive. There are a few more funny moments after that.
Louis Gossett Jr. Shows why he he has won at least one Oscar. Although he could surely have been the man in charge, he was perfectly suited for the role of the strict but patient and caring Dean Parker.
Sean Astin does a good job too. Although not the smartest in some ways, he certainly comes across as the leader and the one who can figure things out.
It is to be expected that this movie's target audience was teenage boys, and even back then, the music boys liked wasn't what I would call music. But there wasn't too much of that. The background music was good, and I was almost certain I heard a few notes of a certain Martika song. Even though that song had the same title as the movie, her recording was not used.
Was this family friendly? Once cleaned up for TV, this had a TV-PG with a V when I saw it. I guess that was appropriate, though it does have this one funny scene where a telephone sex worker wants to take off her clothes. There were obvious substitutions of cleaner words. And I mentioned the violence wasn't graphic, though innocent people do die. That's more implied than anything else.
Formula? Maybe. I like the formula.
