Where does one begin when discussing Impact Point, a recently released direct-to-video suspense thriller (or, at least, that's how it's marketed)?

I've been asking myself that question for the last 15 minutes as I jumped ahead to write the other parts of this review.

You see, everything - and I mean everything - about this movie is generic and clichéd. B-movies like this have been churned out for decades. They used to be the realm of late night cable stations back in the heyday but now proliferate on home video.

And I really don't know if I have anything insightful to say about it - other than it's competently made and occasionally interesting.

Impact Point is set in the world of professional volleyball. The main character, Kelly, eats, breathes, and lives volleyball. She's in her mid-20s and knows there aren't a whole many more years left in her pro career as a player. Unfortunately, she and her partner are eliminated in the semi-finals.

At a party that evening, Kelly meets Holden (played by Brian Austin Green), a reporter who wants to interview her. The chemistry's there, and after a very lengthy dialogue-heavy day-long interview / date, she sleeps with him.

However, odd things begin happening - starting with the hit-and-run murder of Kelly's competitor. Suddenly, Kelly has been tapped by the girl's partner, Jen, to replace her in the final competition of the season. They don't get along, of course, but a bigger worry is that Holden was not who he said he was. Instead, he's a psychopathic stalker out to increase Kelly's fame before killing her after the final match of the season.

Much stalker mayhem and sun-drenched volleyball playing ensue.

Perhaps the best thing about Impact Point is its cast. Relative unknowns Melissa Keller and Kayla Ewell are well-fit for their roles as Kelly and Jen. They're attractive and athletic, but don't come across as supermodel actresses. In other words, they both seem authentic as pro athletes. Brian Austin Green is also pretty good as the psychotic prone to sudden bouts of violence - he's menacing enough.

Unfortunately, the script is just so mundane. There's the sports clichés - where Kelly and Jen must come to grips with themselves to compete as a team, and the final match of the season at the end of the movie, of course, is very close and comes down to the final play of the game. There's the stalker clichés - with Holden being so charming at the start of the film only to morph suddenly into an unpredictable lunatic. Impact Point also has the old voyeur standbys - with Holden using binoculars, hidden cameras, and the untraceable phone to spy on Kelly.

Despite all that, Impact Point is mildly entertaining. The locations are sunny and pleasant, the characters are good-looking, and one shot that reveals who Holden really is works surprisingly well. It's worth a rental if you're interested in this movie.

The DVD

Video:

Impact Point is given an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen presentation. Overall, it looks quite good. Colors are exceptional and come off nicely, especially in a lot of outdoors scenes filmed in the sunlight.

Sound:

Sony often doesn't skimp when it comes to audio and subtitle options, and such is the case with Impact Point. The feature film is available in no less than 5 language tracks: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai. All are Dolby Digital 5.1 except the French track, which is Dolby Digital 2.0. The English language track is clear throughout with no dialogue issues. The extremely generic-sounding score comes off a little strong but only during transitions and action sequences. Subtitles are available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai.

Extras:

When the disc is played, trailers automatically precede the main menu for the recent remake of Prom Night as well as Starship Troopers 3: Marauder. There's also a rather lengthy Blu-ray commercial. All three ads are accessible through a Previews option in the menu system, which includes additional trailers for Zombie Strippers, The Tattooist, The Take, Cleaner, Hero Wanted, The Cottage, Untraceable, Rescue Me - Seasons 1 - 4, The Shield - Seasons 1 - 6, and Damages - Season 1.

Also available in a Special Features sub-menu are Serve It Up: Training for Impact Point, a full screen featurette (8:34) going over the preparation lead actresses Melissa Keller and Kayla Ewell went through for their roles, and AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour Preview (0:32), a brief ad for the professional volleyball organization. A 2008 AVP schedule with dates and locations is also included.

Finally, Sony has included their much ballyhooed digital copy feature if you're interested in transferring a digital version of the movie to your PC, PSP, or Playstation 3.

Final Thoughts:

½ generic sports movie + ½ generic obsessed stalker movie = Impact Point. It's competently made and passingly entertaining. Rent it, if you're interested.

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