User reviews

I saw this movie for rent at my local video store and couldn't believe my good luck. Here was a low-budget potboiler (I'm a sucker for those) with the most gorgeous girl to ever have been born (I refer, of course, to Anna Nicole Smith) on the box cover and a title that practically screamed RENT ME! I thought for sure it was too good to be true.

Guess what? My disillusionment kicked in just a few minutes into the movie. I guess I should have realized that B-level and direct-to-video movies, while generally benefiting from more originality and freedom from censorship than the big-studio films, necessarily face a trade-off in production values and (sometimes, as in this case) performances by the actors.

What was this film shot with - a camcorder? The picture quality is very faded and fuzzy; if I didn't know better, I'd have sworn this was made in the 1970s. I tried to grin and bear it, telling myself it would get better. It did - but not by much.

The music was terrible and the plot left me cold. Just WHAT was this film about? All I managed to catch on to was some gobbledygook about a gangland hit, a stolen computer disk, and some atrocity in Vietnam - that's about it. The rest is just mindless exposition set mostly in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, with random characters showing up and leaving without rhyme or reason.

For having her name above the title, Anna Nicole was not even on the screen that much. She is supposed to be Colette DuBois, a worldly-wise government agent - but she plays the role with her lazy Texas accent intact. And while it's true that she can hold her own in fights with the villains, Colette seems far less concerned with kicking butt than with showing off her own. There are points where the narrative actually grinds to a dead stop so director Raymond Martino can offer voyeuristic shots of a naked Colette showering or doing other supposedly private things. (To be fair, Anna Nicole was not at all bad-looking naked in the mid-1990s.) It is nearly impossible to take Colette seriously as a hard-bitten hero; she seems to realize this, and makes a vain attempt to butch up by spouting obnoxious profanities throughout the picture.

TO THE LIMIT also starred Joey Travolta and a whole bunch of other people you probably wouldn't know from folks you'd run into on the street. Travolta is likable - assuming that's worth something - but he seems more befuddled than anything else. Many of the performers, in fact, seem to have been inserted just to make Anna look good.

The movie abounds in unintentional comedy, from the stereotyped accents of the mobsters to the sight of deadly assassins in black cat suits and ninja masks. (Does anyone ever wear such a getup in real life?) I stopped trying to take anything seriously after a skinny female assassin decks a man three times larger than she with a single punch. (For people who are offended by explicit content, I must also warn that there is some truly grisly violence - including a tragic wedding massacre - along with the exposure of Anna's voluptuousness.) Worst of all was the plot, which seemed cobbled together at the last second from various genres and tropes of movies past. Martino even offers us a flashback to the Vietnam War; he apparently saw one too many Oliver Stone films and was under the impression that Vietnam equals cool.

I really wanted to like TO THE LIMIT, if only for Anna's tremendous beauty and its air of B-movie innocence. I did enjoy watching it, but it was hard for me to stomach without a sense of irony. You can imagine my embarrassment when, after telling a roommate I was watching an action movie and being asked whether it starred Steven Seagal or Jean-Claude Van Damme or someone like that, I had to confess that it starred Anna Nicole Smith.

This wasn't too bad at all really, no it ain't a blockbuster, neither was it meant to be, but it is enjoyable some of the acting is lame and the action scenes are not too bad really.

If you like Anna Nicole Smith, definitely Buy this, Because the amount of sex scenes of her, is awesome. You wont be disappointed. That was the main reason i bought this movie for the Nudity, don't pay no more than £3.00 for it. Because you will be disappointed. It's a cheap thrill of a DVD to buy. The Film basically starts off with sex scenes and ends with sex, lol. It's 1 for the guyz don't buy it to watch with your mates or your girlfriend, like a said buy it for Anna Nicole Smith getting her big jugs out they are absolutely Gorgeous breasts.

OK, Playmate Rebecca Ferrati keeps her clothes on, but at least a dozen pair of "no-Playmate" tits are shown as compensation. Isn't that a must for a good, twisty plot???

And the greatest Playmate of them all (at least in one way) is excellent casted as the super agent suffering from "dirtyfobic" - she has to bath ones and take a shower ones. (And make love (er?) twice...)

Of course this movie is a turkey, I would have been disappointed (and very, very surprised) if it wasn't. And you'll get everything you can expect: bad acting, strained twists in a strained plot in a strained script, a lot of action scenes (a few of them are quiet good (!)), a lot of titties, and Anna Nicole Smith. If that's what you want, you won't be disappointed. But if you are the kind of person who's gonna analyze this movie, and complain about the bad directing or the lack of logic in the story, I'll call you pathetic. Because it is like complaining about the lack of car chases in "The Lord of The Rings".

Although Anna Nicole Smith will never be mistaken for a legitimate actress or action star, at least she doesn't embarrass herself in "To The Limit" because the film has been carefully designed to keep her confined within her acting / action limitations (only one - brief - dramatic moment, only one - brief - fight, etc.). The requisite sex / shower scenes do appear, but they are almost treated as an afterthought, as an obligation. The film has a surprisingly intricate plot (quite confusing in fact, at least during the first half), and some of the action / chase sequences (like one where Anna has to drive backwards while the bad guys are shooting at her at the same time) aren't bad. Overall, it's an OK low-budget action film, and really, what more than "OK" could you expect in this case? (**)

Can former Playboy Playmate of the Year Anna Nicole Smith act? Who says that she can? Is Anna Nicole Smith appealing? That would be a definite yes. She is an absolute knockout. As a thriller though, TO THE LIMIT is ludicrous with a plot that just does not make sense. The concept at first sounds promising, but the movie's plot is just overwhelming with too many perfunctory twists and turns that are never fully explained. The connoisseur of mindless movies may feel very alienated by this film's overly sophisticated plot. Anyway, with that said, TO THE LIMIT is bearable. Thanks to the electrifying presence of Anna Nicole Smith, TO THE LIMIT is (barely) endurable. Despite the fact that Anna Nicole Smith is an inept and terrible actress (I'm not meant to be scathing, she does try.), she has done her best in this movie.

Well, the story (You are probably saying, "You mean to tell me that there is actually a REAL plot?!") concerns Frank Da Vinci (Joey Travolta, shameful brother of John Travolta), a proficient hitman and Vietnam Veteran who tries to escape from his violent past. His attempts at both marriage and starting a new life over have dramatically ended in an unnecessary and senseless massacre. His future bride is gunned down, several of his friends are murdered...and Da Vinci himself has barely escaped death...

Then Colette (Anna Nicole Smith), a femme fatale with her own modus operandi, arrives at the scene of the crime. She has vowed revenge after her husband, China Smith (Michael Nouri in an embarrassing cameo) is killed by a car bomb. The lives of both Colette and Da Vinci intertwine and they inevitably develop an infatuation on each other. Their alliance has turned into a romance. I think we all know what that means!

Meanwhile, a boorish villain with tattoos all over his body wants a valuable item: a compact disk that contains some vital though egregious information about interesting stuff. This bad dude has attempted to assassinate Da Vinci...TWICE! Now, this villain is trying to exterminate several of Da Vinci's mob buddies including Philly (John Aprea) and Joey (David Proval).

The quest for the compact disk is in progress as Frank Da Vinci and Colette must retrieve this conundrum of an item before the evil forces do. However, Da Vinci learns that Colette also has a dark secret. Can she be trusted? Is she really Frank Da Vinci's ally, or a secret foe bent on retribution?

TO THE LIMIT is supposed to be a sequel to an earlier film titled DA VINCI'S WAR (1993). Though this picture, filmed ostensibly with a limited budget, is plagued with problems galore, I still found it to be pleasingly entertaining. The main attraction is of course Anna Nicole Smith. Yes, there are ample opportunities for her to expose herself uncensored in this film...and indeed, she takes advantage of all these chances she earns. TO THE LIMIT has its share of gratuitous sexual situations and unclothed females. As a bonus, the viewer is indulged in a number of scenes of our leading lady either in bed, in the shower, or taking a bath.

Moreover TO THE LIMIT, has enough slam-bang action in this movie to hold a B-movie lover's interest. The pyrotechnics are surprisingly good and the action proceeds at an apt pace. As well, there are some intelligent (though rather sportive) one-liners. The dialogue may be funny, but at least the cast does not remotely try to be too serious. Smith herself is a feisty person. She inspires to be hard-boiled, yet she still wants to retain her femininity. Anna Nicole Smith is kind of goofy, but that is what adds to her liveliness. She is one glorious lady.

Although the actors and actresses are not bad, considering that they are not expert thespians, there is still plenty of room for improvement. Anna Nicole Smith in particular needs to polish her acting. Sometimes, I have trouble discerning whether she is acting stern or sassy. Another of this film's shortcomings is its story-line. The convoluted plot about revenge, betrayal, dirty federal agents, and criminal masterminds is too complex for its own good. It's tough to follow, believe me! Some of the extraneous characters should have also been eliminated. Do not get discouraged though, this film is full of "eye candy" which compensates for a deficiency of logic.

TO THE LIMIT is perfect viewing for the undemanding, non-discriminating viewer who revels in these ultra *low-budget* action films. Sure, this movie is trash. Sure, you will feel guilty afterwards, but if you have always wanted to see your favorite Anna Nicole Smith portray a sexy heroic agent, then look no further.

I shall acknowledge the notion that the cast and crew have unexpectedly done their best in manufacturing both a workable plot and character development. I also guarantee that Anna Nicole Smith is certainly a visual asset. As long as there are the desired car chases (and crash and burns), the explosive shoot-outs, the beautifully seductive girls, and the high-risk stunts, why should there be a need to complain about the movie's amateurish style?

RATING: ** out of ****.

Looking for a porn flick but don't dare to rent one because the clerk is a girl? Longing for grotesque silicone breasts that look like weather balloons? Don't really care whether the plot seems to be added after the film was shot? Grab this one and run home. But, I must warn you. If you want even the slightest glimmer of intelligence, wit or good taste to appear for just a second, you'll be disappointed. This film has absolutely none of it.

I had the misfortune of catching this at one of the low-quality cable channels a while ago. And i was astounded at how bad it was. I can't say that i expected a cinematic experience of note either, but the only thing taken to the limit here is how much junk the viewer can endure.

The plot with Anna-Nicole Smith as an ex-CIA agent feels thinner than paper. But the execution is even worse. This is part soft-core porn, looking like something out of a Playboy-video, and part lousy zero-budget action flick. Who is the intended audience for something like this?! Do we even want to know?! This is like a manual in horrible film-making. Truly not worth watching for anyone. I rate this 1/10, but only because no lower grade was available.

What are you here for? I mean not the page here or rather my review in particular (no pun intended), but the movie you are thinking about watching? You have watched it already and just want my thoughts on it? Awww - that's so sweet - though there is nothing too sweet about the movie right here. And you should not be here for sweet - but for big ... big ... big ... explosions! And of course two other big reasons attached to Anna Nicole Smith.

So if you are here to watch Anna Nicole Smith being naked and shoot some people from time to time - well I reckon you could even give this a 10/10 ... just saying. She showers a lot (and we must not forget to shower - good girl, though also bad/naughty girl, because she also pleasures herself while she showers - but maybe you are into that?).

While she is big on the cover (another pun), there are other people quite prominently taking center stage in the movie. Which is good all things considered. Mostly not her physical attributes but her acting ones - which let's be honest, are not the greatest in the first place (so last place then).

But if you don't mind the sleaze, the erotica, the insane explosions and the ridiculous dialog (even from actors who should know better), you can have a guilty pleasure here. It is all about the mind set ... and the visual treats, if that is what you are into of course.

Watch this and you too will see that Anna Nicole Smith has no acting ability at all. The only thing she adds to this movie is big boobs and that's it. Throughout this movie, the acting is dreadful. And at the time when Anna was starting to put on a lot of her weight, she was hefty here, and that's putting it lightly. Stay away from this movie. Do not rent this just for Anna Nicole Smith.

There's some good stuff in To the Limit and not all of them are to do with the lovely lead. Jim Halfpenny's score is a real highlight, his Kamen-esc style adding much suspense to the flick. I also think the direction is pretty standard for PM Entertainment. It certainly feels like a PM movie with its neon lighting and contrast.

I really dig Anna Nicole Smith in this. She's so beautiful it hurts and I think she kicks butt in several of the shootout scenes. Only downside is that, like everyone else her acting isn't so good. Even the great Joey Travolta looks utterly bored except in the love making scene with Anna.

I didn't find the plot that interesting to be honest. I would expect a PM Entertainment film to have at least a mildly engaging storyline but this doesn't.

It isn't great but as a heterosexual teenage boy it does the job. Good shootouts, cool music and a lead with looks that will take your breath away. 6/10

After having suffered through the rather abysmal 1996 movie "Skyscraper", I must admit that my expectations for the 1995 movie "To the Limit" weren't exactly sky high. Yet, I still opted to sit down and watch it, on account of it being a movie I hadn't already seen.

And the movie starts off with not just one, but two nude scenes within the first 10 minutes. So that pretty much showcased what Anna Nicole Smith's acting talents were all about. Luckily, the nude scenes toned off and there wasn't another until much later in the movie. But two scenes within the first ten minutes of the movie's start, that was just ridiculous and it set a very low standard of what to expect from the movie.

The storyline in "To the Limit" was actually a more adequate one than the movie Anna Nicole Smith would star in a year later. Writers Raymond Martino, William Stroum and Joey Travolta put together a fair enough script here actually. Sure, it was generic, but it was watchable nonetheless, if you can abhor to suffer through the pointless nude and sex scenes that Anna Nicole Smith had to do.

I was actually impressed with the number of familiar faces on the cast list, and there were some names that I would not have expected to pop up in a movie such as "To the Limit", with the likes of John Aprea, David Proval, Branscombe Richmond (whom sported the mullet of the century in the movie), Michael Nouri and Jack Bannon. And with people like these on the cast list, the movie was actually lifted up somewhat to being more watchable than it would otherwise have been.

"To the Limit" is by no means a milestone in the crime thriller genre, but it was watchable for what it turned out to be. However, having sat through 98 minutes of it, I can honestly say that I will never return to watch it a second time.

My rating of director Raymond Martino's 1995 movie "To the Limit" lands on a four out of ten stars.

Sometimes I like bad movies as they bring some special entertainment, such was the case with Skyscraper, but this one really bored me. It didn't have entertainment, didn't have things that were so bad they seemed good and in a way seemed to take itself too seriously.

The story, I am not even sure what it was about after having just recently watched it. Made no sense and it was too bring to follow.

The acting, compared to Skyscraper was actually pretty good. I was especially surprised by seeing David Proval in it who is a pretty successful actor that had a lot of great parts. Guess he made a miss on this one. Anna Nicole Smith is no great actress but compared to Skyscraper she was awesome, I guess she tried here. At least there was some emotion and face movement.

Of course the movie is mainly for straight guys who get to enjoy lots of boob scenes, the rest will just be bored all the way.

I was not expecting a masterclass in acting here, but at least some good laughs watching this low budget action film. That's what I got. HORRIBLE ACTING. Convoluted storyline(I know this is a sequel). Unnecessary nude montages(RIP Anna Nicole Smith). This seems like someone made a movie and brought all of their friends and relatives to be in it. Anyway, don't rush to watch this, but if you stumble upon it be prepared to laugh at it.

The surgeon did a great job on anna's breasts...i saw them grow from a cups to d cups and only her doctor knows how many cc's had been added since...anyway, since this whole sham of a film is mostly about her getting her breasts out and paraded around, i thought the real truth needed to be told....it matters little now

Downside: Awful. I wish someday the beautiful IMDb website will show the worst 250 films ever. This one is on that list for sure... I don't know what these people were thinking when they made this movie... Can I even call it "a movie" ? That's a good question. I hope this director is doing something else these days, something he's good at... I'm sure he can find something... But I'm not sure whether it is the bad directing of the actors or whether it's Anna Nicole Smith's natural awful acting that left this impression on me. The plot is not that bad though... I have studied cinema in the University, and this is not it. This is NOT cinema.

Upside: Costumes are good. Lots of bare female skin, for those who like that.

I watched more than an hour and a half of this "thing" and I wish I hadn't...

Sorry for all you Joey Travolta fans but this was a poor b-film that really offered nothing more than a soft-core porn of Anna Nicole Smith. So if your looking for a lot of nude footage of her, this is the movie for you. The acting was sad, plot if any was worse and the stunts were so-so. I would give this movie 1 out of 4 stars and that is generous.

To The Limit is just as terrible as Skyscraper, but if it weren't for the fact that Anna Nicole Smith being the star of this movie, it would have just been another terrible generic 90s action film. Still a horrible film, but Anna Nicole as terrible as her acting was, she still managed to be entertaining to watch.

Greetings from Las Vegas, Nevada! A Lot of this film was shot in and around my neighborhood. In fact, I am the guy who posted the shooting location. Guess what? Vegas LOVES movie companies. We can't get enough of them to shoot here. They spend tons of money on permits and security while the cast and crew goes out nightly clubbing away and losing money gambling. ALL of the films shot here are excellent for those very reasons! Of course, I am prejudiced. So what if nobody thinks Anna Nicole Smith can act? She is good at what she does. Showing a lot of feminine skin. And, so what if the plot isn't much? There is a lot of violent action to go with the hot simulated sex. Only in Vegas, baby!

There is only one distinguishing factor about To the Limit and that is that it stars Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith in a role where she isn't shy at getting naked. In truth she is the only good reason to watch this. In it she plays an ex-CIA agent in a narrative that involves an important disk that relates to events that happened in the Vietnam War. Or something. In fairness, it seems to have a quite convoluted plot-line for a mindless action movie. Or maybe it was just that it was difficult paying attention when I was anticipating seeing Anna's magnificent breasts again? It's difficult to say for sure but, needless to say, the story isn't exactly the films strong point. But who would really expect it to be in fairness?

No, like I said, the reason to watch it is for Anna Nicole Smith. Aside from her gun-toting action scenes she manages to take time out for an extended bath, a shower and has sex a couple of times. These naked moments constitute the highlights of the film as a whole. She is supported in this area with an early scene involving a couple of attractive strippers but this is pretty clearly Anna's vehicle. This was the second film she made for the production company PM Entertainment Group who specialise in low budget action flicks, the other was the more well-known Skyscraper. Both titles follow the same formula of mixing action with soft-core erotica. Each has action that is strictly forgettable but nude scenes that are pretty good, so there isn't a lot between these flicks but, if anything, I reckon To the Limit slightly edges Skyscraper. And that may only be because it paces its erotic moments better throughout its running time, ensuring there are less boring stretches that rely on lame action. And, really, that's quite an important consideration in the final analysis.

'To The Limit' is one of two action flicks Anna Nicole Smith did for PM Entertainment Group in the 90's. Unlike 'Skyscraper' it's not an awful 'Die Hard' clone nor does she get the most screentime despite top billing. Whenever or not this is false advertising or a blessing is up to you. However Anna still gets naked a bunch in a plot that wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.

Mob boss Frank DaVinci (Joey Travolta) is targeted for death by a hit squad on his wedding day, but survives. At the same time, CIA agents Colette (ANS) & her lover China (Michael Nouri) are supposed to be taken out by a car bomb that only kills the latter. Rogue CIA chief Jameson (Jack Bannon) wants both of them dead and the retrieval of a computer disc that could see his exploits exposed and have him taken down for good.

The story is a little disjointed and obviously carried out cheaply, but I can't pretend to be upset about it's quality or lack thereof. Anna was no actress yet comes off decent (better than 'Skyscraper') and looks great here. Nouri has a few scenes, b-movie fans will recognize Branscombe Richmond and David Proval (UHF, Sopranos). What you might not know (I didn't until afterwards) is this was a sequel to a 1993 b-movie 'Da Vinci's War' involving a lot of the same cast.

First fifteen minutes of 'To The Limit' supply three gratuitous bits of female nudity (two by ANS) and okay gunplay. More nudity including a shower for Smith and a few more shootouts, explosions. I questioned why Nouri was here, but found out when he got to press his body up against the naked star. I had to pause the movie when she has sex with Travolta because I was laughing so hard. Wait until a CD-ROM gets put to killer use too. Laughs, boobs made this bad flick a fun trip.