United States, 1998 U.S. Release Date: 7/10/1998 Runtime: 127 min. MPAA Classification: R Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cast: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Jet Li, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Damon Hines, Chris Rock
Director: Richard Donner Screenplay: Jonathan Lemkin and Alfred Gough & Miles Millar & Channing Gibson Cinematography: Andrzej Bartkowiak Original Score: Eric Clapton, Michael Kamen, David Sanborn Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
The first film was pretty entertaining. The sequel was superior. The third film was average, and unfortunately for us, the last picture of this franchise is outright mediocre.
Usually, when people complain about movies being produced by Hollywood to simply make money, I roll my eyes. It’s an industry based on capitalism. What, you think they get kicks from making movies that lose money? Unless a picture is slated to be an Oscar-bait contender, then a Hollywood film is produced with the intention of making a good profit so the studio executives and producers can pay their coke and whore tabs.
However, this movie absolutely was made by everyone involved simply to make a good buck. I say that because that is the only creative motivation I see driving this film.
So why am I giving this movie a sub-par rating? The actual fun-element that marked this franchise memorable is now MIA like Danny Glover’s career. The chemistry between Glover and Gibson is noticeably tardy. The elaborate and assumingly very expensive action sequences, much like the series’ 3rd installment, feel like déjà vu.
The plot has something to do with our two protagonists whining about being old as they have to battle the Chinese Mob, led by the rather quiet Jet Li, in a fight over slave-workers from China. Anyway that stuff is insignificant.
Everything in this film feels like a blown opportunity, and maybe the biggest of them all is how Pesci (simply brought along for no logical reason) and new addition Chris Rock fail to possibly create chemistry with each other. I mean, “Goodfellas” and “New Jack City,” right? Instead, it feels convoluted and trite. Both of their frantic, rapid-fire mouths instead make me yearn for the spin-doctors of the current Presidential administration. At least they made me laugh.
The only person unscathed is Jet Li, who used this vehicle as his stepping-stone into Hollywood. As one of the top global martial artist movie stars of our generation, he makes his few minutes onscreen worth watching. The downside is that he’s so flashy, how can anyone take seriously the idea that Mel Gibson could defeat him?
By the finale, I didn’t care if the heroes lived or died. This is quite a downturn from when I certainly cared several sequels ago. But now, I’m like everyone on this movie. I’m too old for this shit.
