Nowhere to Hide Reviews

Barbara Cutter (Amy Madigan) is the wife of a Marine helicopter squadron leader (Daniel Hugh Kelly) who discovers that two newly delivered whirlybirds have crashed because a C-ring has been made of a weaker, less expensive alloy. Before he can take action, he is assassinated in his own home. Barbara, who has been working on a metal sculpture in the garage, defends herself with a blow torch. The thugs work for a not-so-complex military-industrial cabal consisting of a marine general and the helicopters' manufacturers, who will go to any extent to cover up their cost-cutting scam. But they haven't reckoned with the fact that this pretty mom is also a most capable ex-Marine. NOWHERE TO HIDE is, for the most part, a predictable, unexceptional action-adventure film that relies too much on coincidence and plot contrivances. What is significant is that the person who performs its Rambo-like heroics is a woman who, despite her dexterity at the rough stuff, also retains her femininity. This lends her character a credibility missing in most male action heroes, and Madigan's earnest performance rises far above the material. It is commendable that NOWHERE TO HIDE presents a strong and capable female lead, but it is of no more intrinsic value that a woman passes 90 minutes littering the screen with bodies than it is when Sylvester Stallone or Chuck Norris does.