I bumped casually to this movie a couple years ago. It was on a hot summer night and I had problems in falling asleep. So I turned on the TV and I found this movie when it hadn't begun yet. And it was surprised at how much I liked it since it has a score of 5,7 on IMDB.

Wellman Santee (Dolph Lundgren) plays a former race car driver who has turned to a life of crime and one day he is assigned to transport exotic stolen cars with his buddy Eddie. However during the trip they find some policemen and there is a shootout. Eddie is killed and Santee is taken in prison. After a while Santee manages to escape and takes hostage Rita Marrick, without knowing that she is an undercover policewoman. After escaping in the desert and even making a visit to the wife of the police lieutenant that arrested him (George Segal) he'll have the final stand with Lt. Severance and Rita will manage to prove his innocence.

I had previously liked Dolph Lundgren in some of his movies (like the EXPENDABLES franchise) and I was surprised at how much he was good in this movie. He has also a slew of one liners and makes quite a good pair with Kristian Alfonso. George Segal as the villain is very effective and I was surprised since he usually plays comedic characters. There are some very good shots throughout the movie of the Sierra Nevada desert and of the South West of California. The soundtrack is good and it reflects a lot the period the movie was filmed (beginning of the 1990s).

Don't expect a masterpiece or an Academy Award nominated movie if you bump in this one. Just expect one of those ''Turn off your brain and enjoy'' movies perfect for one lazy afternoon.

From a technical standpoint, this film doesn't disappoint. It marks the theatrical first unit directorial debut for Vic Armstrong, a longtime veteran of stunt work and second unit direction. This is one man who knows how to deliver action on a grand scale, and he does so here. He makes sure that this always energetic thriller never stops moving. The story isn't anything special, and there is some bad dialogue, but at the same time there are some good lines such as the one mentioned in this review summary. "Joshua Tree" isn't quite wall to wall action, at least not to begin with, but it definitely kicks into another gear in its second half, starting with an homage to John Woo, an over the top massacre of bad guys by our stoic hero Wellman Santee (Dolph Lundgren).

Santee ain't no angel, which is refreshing. He's been a runner of exotic cars, but things go very wrong when a highway cop pulls over him and his partner Eddie (a much too briefly seen Ken Foree). Soon he's in jail, framed for murder, but gets his chance to escape. Knowing he was set up, he embarks on a mission to find the man who he knows was responsible - and get paid. Exhibiting some ruthlessness, he's willing to take a hostage, Rita Marek (Kristian Alfonso). It turns out that he's actually abducted a sheriffs' deputy who's a pretty tough cookie, and Rita decides to stick by his side when she's convinced of his innocence. Hot on Santees' trail are cops (including Geoffrey Lewis as Sheriff Cepeda) and a pair of detectives, Severence (George Segal) and Rudisill (Beau Starr).

If one is partial to scenes of very cool cars driving very fast, "Joshua Tree" does deliver the goods, especially in an intense climactic chase that also shows off the beauty of the desert vistas (the movie was smartly shot using the 2.35:1 aspect ratio). But the aforementioned massacre of assorted Chinese goons is a beauty, with all of the bloodletting going on, the hammy acting of the guys getting shot, and Santees' acrobatics.

Dolph's never been that much of an actor, but then he doesn't need to be in this sort of thing. He just needs to be totally bad ass, which he does succeed at. Alfonso is very good at both providing the eye candy and playing a sidekick who can take care of herself. Lewis is under utilized, but Segal and Starr are fun, and the supporting cast features a number of familiar faces that add to the enjoyment: Bert Remsen (who's a hoot in his one scene),Michael Paul Chan, Matt Battaglia, gorgeous Khandi Alexander, and Nick Chinlund.

Fans of this genre should be more than satisfied. As testosterone-fuelled escapism goes, this is pretty good and above average.

Seven out of 10.

Wellman Santee is involved with his partner Eddie in a shoot out, resulting in the deaths of his friend and a highway cop.

Santee is framed for the cop's murder and jailed in a maximum security prison. A few months later, Santee breaks out after narrowly escaping an attempt on his life.

He reaches a local diner where he steals a car and abducts the owner, Rita, completely unaware that she is a deputy sheriff.

A massive manhunt ensues, spearheaded by Lt. Severance a tough, obsessive cop.

Santee leads the detective and his men on a dramatic high speed chase, from the desert wilderness to the streets of downtown Los Angeles....

19 years ago, this would have been an eight out of ten movie for me.Lundgren was at the top of his game, there is a hot woman in it who Lundgren really does uncomfortably stare at in certain scenes, and of course there were lots of explosions and fast cars.

Watching it now, I realise that it's nowhere near as good as I thought, and thats because it really does not have any sense of humour, like some of the best action films have.

It consists of lots of shots of cars driving away from explosions, George Segal with a comedy moustache and swearing, and a really embarrassing love scene involving Lundgren rubbing some sort of juice around th woman in the blistering heat.

The film has it's moments, but I don't think of it as fondly as Dark Angel, or Showdown in Little Tokyo, at least those movies had funny moments.