Sam Garrett, an LAPD detective, is suspended from the force after claiming that a high-profile kidnap victim staged her own abduction in order to shake down her father for the ransom. But his captain gives him a chance to prove himself – all Sam has to do is to appear on a brand-new reality TV show called Treasure Hunt where he will earn a small fee & even a chance to win ten million dollars. Along with a group of contestants, Sam is dropped onto a deserted island for a week. But the host, who is facing a large debt, has hired a group of mercenaries to prevent them from winning. The mercenaries, led by ex-Navy SEAL Jared, decide to renege on the deal & kill the host & come after the players in order to keep their theft of the prize money secret. At the same time, a massive hurricane called Hurricane James is bearing down on the island, making escape all but impossible.

I'd never thought I would see the day Jim Wynorski, one of the worst directors on the B-grade circuit, would make a decent film. Sure enough, Gale Force, a 2001 effort from the infamous hack, would prove to be a passable film despite the theft of footage from other films (the opening car chase has been lifted from Last Action Hero – look closely for a glimpse of Arnold Schwarzenegger driving the car – and the helicopter insertion is from Predator). The cynicism that populates the vast majority of Wynorski's films is also here but actually makes a favourable impression given it is mostly about actors griping about reality TV shows. Treat Williams, who had earlier starred in another Wynorski flick Crash Point Zero, makes for a good hero here & actually has some fun. Supporting him are such B-grade action legends as Tim "Jack Deth" Thomerson, Michael "American Ninja" Dudikoff & William Zabka. There were some small details that made me laugh – the hurricane is named after James Cook, the explorer who found Australia & who died on an island in the Pacific, where the film is set. On the minus side, there were traces of the spectacular lack of fact-checking that infests Wynorski's films – everything from the insane idea of hoods tossing sticks of dynamite at the hero's car during the chase; the idea of said car escaping a minigun attack from a few metres away by driving off a bridge & the idea that a reality TV show host would hire professional killers to help him escape the country by killing the players. A reasonably action-packed & funny film that is one of Wynorski's better films.

This Treat Williams film was good but most of it is scenes from other films such as Predator and Last Action Hero.The original scenes are good but the film is just an entertaining action film.If you like Williams then I recommend you to see Deep Rising as I think it is his best film.

There are two reasons why Treat Williams is a B-movie king. First is he is not that good of an actor, and second is he always gets roles like his in Gale Force. Campy B-movie actors are usually ok as long as they don't try to become `real' actors, which is something that Williams unfortunately has tried to become. Although he can portray his campiness well in such movies as Hollywood Ending, he's better suited in his direct-to-video type movies, such as Gale Force, in which he's the best part.

In Gale Force, Williams plays Sam Garrett, a cop who breaks all the rules, according to an unintentionally hilarious opening scene. Due to that, he's on suspension, and to get back on the force, he has to go on a new reality show called `Treasure Hunt.' The host has ulterior motives, and there's a giant storm (a gale force…get it?) that threatens everyone. Whatever is Treat Williams to do?

I understand that this is not a movie to be taken seriously, and the first half or so actually wasn't that bad; it was cheesily good. The acting was horrible, and so was everything else. However, it was entertaining, and, in some ways, an eye opener to reality shows. Once the storm came, that's when everything fell apart. A new subplot came in and anything enjoyable from the first half went away. It wasn't cheesy, it was just stupid.

Although this is a minimal budget movie, you would at least think they could get better special effects. In the opening scene, at one part Williams is being chased by the bad guys. He has to go around a truck, so he goes on two side wheels. How this happens is randomly he just tilts to one side with the most obvious backlighting I have ever seen. It was more obvious than those `special effect' rides at Universal Studios. The hurricane looked extremely fake; yet again, just something out of an amusement park ride. I would expect something more from Artisan and Phoenician Entertainment.

Adding to the fakeness was also in the opening scene. When Williams is being chased by the bad guys, they throw dynamite at him (of course). The dynamite explodes at various times, but never the same, especially when Williams would be killed. Another time, Williams shoots someone who flies out of his car (did I mention that he is also being chased by a minivan?) at a 90 degree angle and then flies into an ice cream truck which immediately explodes. It's so bad it's good, which is something I can't say about the abysmal second half.

Williams is actually quite good when he isn't required to act. Sometimes the script by Steve Latshaw throws him some one-liners, which are pretty funny. When someone asks him, `Who do we have to f**k to get us out of here?', he replies, `Probably the pilot.' This, of course, leaves the second half, which is so bad it makes me want to go up to Artisan (who has made quality projects like Terminator 2) and yell in their face. If you wind up watching Gale Force, only watch the first half. I guarantee you'll be in convulsions in the second half.

My rating: 3/10

Rated R for violence and language.