''Power Play'' is a 2003 American

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by

Joseph Zito Joseph Zito (born May 14, 1946) is an American film director and producer, best known for directing several cult and genre films throughout the 1980s, such as ''Missing in Action'', '' Invasion U.S.A.'', ''Red Scorpion'', '' The Prowler'', and ' ...

and starring

Dylan Walsh Dylan Walsh (born Charles Hunter Walsh; November 17, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. Sean McNamara in the FX television series ''Nip/Tuck'', Al Burns in ''Unforgettable'' and Sam Lane in '' Superman & Lois''. ...

Alison Eastwood Alison Eastwood (born May 22, 1972) is an American actress. After three uncredited roles between 1980 and 1997, she appeared as Mandy, the love interest of John Cusack in ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' (1997). Early life Eastwood w ...

Tobin Bell Tobin may refer to: Name *Tobin (surname) * Tobin (given name) Places in the United States * Tobin, California * Tobin Bridge, near Boston, Massachusetts * Tobin Range, a mountain range in Nevada * Tobin Township, Perry County, Indiana * Tobin ...

and

Brixton Karnes Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

. Some action scenes were filmed in the city of

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Plot

Journalist Matt Nash's (

) investigations always get him in trouble. He is shot during his research in the drug scene and survives due to a

bulletproof vest A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or a bullet-resistant vest, is an item of body armor that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso from firearm-fired projectiles and fragmentation from explosions. T ...

. The journal's editor-in-chief plans to fire him to preserve the good reputation of ''The Examiner''. She gives him one last chance and charges him with a seemingly harmless job of finding three missing

environmental activists The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists advo ...

. This trio previously penetrated into the headquarters of the power company known as Saturn Energy and stole data on a secret project. Here, the three activists are discovered and killed by employees of the company under the leadership of the security chiefs Clemens (

). Matt makes contact with the group and is given access to a secret entrance to the company's premises outside the city. There he discovers that the company is searching for an

alternative energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a Orders of magnitude (time), human timescale. It includes sources such as Solar power, sunlight, wind power, wind, the movement of Hydropo ...

source. A trial operation quickly acquires access to the grid of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, explaining the blackouts which have been affecting the town. The technique, however, has one major drawback: the production of energy creates a

tremendous HMS ''Tremendous'' was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Edward Hunt, built to the lines of by William Barnard's yard at Deptford Green, and launched on 30 October 1784. French Revolutionary War service T ...

amount of heat that must be

dissipated In thermodynamics, dissipation is the result of an irreversible process that takes place in homogeneous thermodynamic systems. In a dissipative process, energy (internal, bulk flow kinetic, or system potential) transforms from an initial form to a ...

. It is conducted on the premises in the ground. In the ground beneath where the site is located, however, a crack develops, which leads to an uncontrolled discharge of the heat. An employee of the company finds out that in this way the chances are increased for an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

in town. He wants to warn the public of the experiments, but dies in an explosion. Meanwhile, Matt has managed to win the trust of Gabrielle St. John (

), a manager of the company. With their help, he discovers the crimes of the three environmental activists. Preparations for a last experiment in the

research facility A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often im ...

are in full swing. For the first time, the plant will continue at full speed. However, this threatens a massive earthquake that could destroy the entire city. Matt and Gabrielle again give access to the research site. They manage to

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

the plant and destroy it. The ex-minister, Clement, and his staff are arrested.

Cast

as Matt Nash *

as Gabriella St. John *

as Clemens *

as Travis Gentry * Frank Birney as D.C. *

Boti Bliss Boti Ann Bliss (born October 23, 1975) is an American film and television actress. Notable roles include her semi-recurring role as Maxine Valera in the television crime drama ''CSI: Miami''. Her other roles include the 2002 film ''Ted Bundy'' ...

as Sara Rose * Mark Hutter as Abbott * Jan Munroe as McCullough *

Martin Papazian Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

as Joel *

Victor Raider-Wexler Victor Raider-Wexler is an American film and television actor. He is best known for roles as Stan in the sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (1996–2004), the dual roles of Mr. Kaplan and Mr. Kaufman in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (2001–2 ...

as Dr. Eisley * Kimi Reichenberg as Rita * Paulo Reis as Zendon *

Marcia Strassman Marcia Ann Strassman (April 28, 1948 – October 24, 2014) was an American actress and singer. She played Nurse Margie Cutler on ''M*A*S*H'', Julie Kotter on ''Welcome Back, Kotter'', and Diane Szalinski in the film ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kid ...

as Susan Breecher *

Jaimz Woolvett James "Jaimz" Woolvett (born April 14, 1967) is a Canadian actor. Woolvett's highest-profile role was the Schofield Kid, a near-sighted aspiring gun-fighter in Clint Eastwood's Academy Award-winning Western ''Unforgiven'' (1992).Dunphy, Catherine. ...

as Todd * Julia Davis as LAPD Officer * Andre Robinson as Detective

Sources

External links

* * 2003 films 2003 action films American action films Films directed by Joseph Zito Films scored by Joseph Bishara 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-action-film-stub