THE BOSS

A sonar device that can detect underwater oil passes hands among a slate of characters out for revenge in this latest from Pottinger (The Last Nazi, 2003, etc.).

A self-made man who fashioned himself from much cunning and little character, Spin Patterson, CEO of a Houston oil company worth billions, is against the wall. Learning of his extramarital affair, Spin’s wife has just dumped him, leaving him vulnerable in a costly divorce suit. Spin’s way out may be through Black Eyes, a device his company is perfecting that can find the way to oil in the ocean depths. Company technicians have just determined that Black Eyes isn’t flawless—and therein lies Spin’s hope. He unveils Black Eyes to the public. Company stock soars, giving him the money to pay off his soon-to-be ex-wife. Then, to cover his tracks, Spin dumps Black Eyes and the man who invented it into the ocean depths during a storm. Suspecting foul play, the inventor’s wife draws Spin’s protégé, Max McLennon, to her side. She suggests Spin may have been at the root of an “accident” years ago that killed Max’s father and maimed his brother. Checking records, Max learns that Spin was indeed the culprit. Now Max seeks revenge and turns to the woman he loves, Tacoma Reed, who is also Spin’s mistress. However uncertain of Tacoma’s loyalty, Max asks her to join in unveiling Black Eyes Phoenix in a test as bogus as the one Spin staged earlier. Spin ultimately catches on to the ruse, but that’s no problem. Tacoma has concocted a complicated plot around a financial agreement that dupes Spin out of his fortune. Matters are settled in a car-chase showdown, but not before Max and Tacoma share a coffin as Spin tries to bury them alive.

Cardboard characters, clichéd writing and plots, counterplots and counter-counterplots.