This is an old review from a site I used to have called He said, She Said. I had hundreds of reviews on that site. I put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into that site and am going to preserve what I can of it. If a review from that site made it's way here, that means it has been updated. Whenever I watch a movie that I already reviewed, I will update it and put it here. All new reviews will still be put on the Facebook page.
What He Said:
Sometimes you get in the mood for something very specific: food, music, or type of beer, for example. Movies are no different. I had been craving a good old-fashioned action movie, so I decided to watch something from the golden age for action movies: the 80s-early 90s. I only saw this movie in its entirety for the first time just a few years back; so I was excited to revisit it. I love action flicks of that era and Bruce Willis was still at the top of his game.
Joe Hallenbeck (Bruce Willis) is a disgraced former secret service agent turned private investigator. Like a lot of PI's, Joe's life is a bit of a mess. Joe hates…well, he hates everything. He doesn’t get along with his wife (Chelsea Field) and his daughter
(Danielle Harris) thinks he’s a piece of shit. It's not all his fault though. You find out why he is down on his luck and his wife and kid really are a couple of mean ass bitches. He is not blameless, but he will simply walk in door and one or both of them will just start teeing off on him. He also drinks too much as well and is generally an unhappy guy. Funny and good at his job, but unhappy. Have you ever noticed PI’s are always the scum of the Earth in fiction? Even when they are the good guys? I've never met a PI. Maybe they are nice guys in real life. But in movies? Massive screw-ups. I don’t know what it is about that trope, but it works.
So anyway, Joe gets a call from his friend and colleague Mike (Bruce McGill) about a new case. The job entails acting as a bodyguard for a stripper named Cory (Halle Berry). Cory says she has been recently been harassed by a weirdo who frequents her club. Her boyfriend does not care for this one bit. For starters, he’s very jealous and doesn’t want other men around her; which is ironic given her profession. He (Damon Wayans) is also angry, because he thinks this means she thinks he can’t take care of her. You see, Jimmy
is a former football player and therefor a tough guy. When his girlfriend hires a bodyguard, he takes it as a personal insult to his manhood. He does not like that, therefor he does not like Joe.
Before I continue, I have to explain a little more about Jimmy. Jimmy was a very promising young player. He had a "million dollar arm", but was kicked out of the league for gambling and drugs. Now, he spends most of his time drunk or high to cope with the pain of losing his career, as well the physical pain he has from injuries. The owner of the team he used to play for lets him hang around the stadium and attend team parties out of pity.
Speaking of gambling, that’s where the bad guys come in. There is a plan is to push for the legalization sports betting. In this world, ratings for football are way down, so a crooked owner, his henchmen, and a dirty politician, thinking people would take a greater interest if they had money riding on the game, hatch a plan to make gambling legal - and they're willing to do anything to ensure it happens. It’s an interesting commentary, because that’s pretty much why football is as popular as it is and gambling is 100% legal at this point. It’s not that nobody likes football, but it’s also no coincidence it’s the most watched (and bet on) sport in this country.
The buddy cop genre has been around for a ages now and comes in many forms, but it really blew up during this period in time. I think the success of Lethal Weapon had something to do with that. It wasn't the first, but brought the genre to new levels. Speaking of Lethal Weapon, both that movie and this one were written by the same guy, which is probably one of the reasons I enjoy it. Shane Black has written many movies I like, but these two actually feel like they are related.
There are times where it feels like similar to Die Hard too. That's undoubtedly because of the Bruce Willis factor, and I can agree Joe feels quite similar to John McClane; though Joe is even even rougher around the edges. This movie is like the offspring of Lethal Weapon and Die Hard. I envision it takes place in a world where the universe combined those two movies and this one was born as a result. Even the sound effect used to create the gunshots sound the exactly the same as the other two action classics. How sick is it that I pick up on that? Nerd alert! The hand guns in these movies sound like fucking cannons and I love that. Believable? No. kick-ass and entertaining? Oooh yeah.
Anyway, it's very funny at times. It has humor, but not at the expense of the action. Shane Black pretty much invented, or at least pioneered, comedy in action movies. It's funny, but still a great action movie that epitomizes this genre and this era. It's quite over-the-top at times, but it didn't matter back then. Do you know why? Practical effects! They really blew things up. Cars, models, fake houses - it didn't matter. It looked real and added to the experience. There is some very good CGI now, but still some very bad CGI too. It's used too much. It looks fake when overused and that kills tension and believability. Takes you rght out of the movie.
This movie was during an era when Willis was still at his peak. He was extremely tough, funny, and coolness personified; even if the character is an asshole. He’s not a bad person - his morals and willingness to help others is actually what led to his downfall - but he's a miserable human being. You still totally like him though. Willis excels at playing flawed heroes and Joe Hallenbeck is certainly a flawed hero. He's like a distant cousin of John McClane. Joe is similar to John McClane, but that’s only because Willis plays him. He has a certain style to him, especially during that time period and that comes through in both characters. He was doing a McClane impression, but with a few details about the characters life were changed. Joe actually has a lot rougher life than John McClane; and McClane is by no means a soft guy.
Chelsea Field and Danielle Harris absolutely bring it in this movie. This is a very broken family. Joe’s work situation (getting fired from the secret service) ruined his life, which took its toll on his family. He becomes a PI and PIs are generally thought to be bottom-feeders by most people. Even Joe thinks he is a lowlife. He hates himself, his wife treats him like shit, and his kid absolutely despises him. There’s some excellent banter between the three of them. One of the last lines between Willis and Field is just hilarious. It's vulgar, but so damn funny and a brilliant callback to a scene earlier in the movie. It is an incredibly smart piece of writing, really. Danielle Harris always seemed older than her age and this performance is no different. She was great at playing troubled kids.
Damon Wayans is practically retired now, and he’s known almost exclusively for comedies of the parody variety, but he had a few roles where he tried his hand at action and he wasn’t bad at all. He had just the right mix of cocky and wise-cracking, but you could believe this guy gets into a fights too. I don’t remember much about Bulletproof, but I remember his performance being decent there too. I've recently seen Mo' Money, which is also comparable. I’m surprised he didn’t do more action comedies, because he was good at it.
The bad guys were fun too. Noble Willingham plays Sheldon “Shelly” Marcone, the shrewd and greedy owner of one of the football teams. This guy likes his money and he’ll do anything to make sure it keeps coming in bundles. He’s a little cliché, and there's nothing dynamic about the character, but if the performance works it works. He has a henchman who is played by character actor, Taylor Negron. I never knew his name, but he had one of those faces you recognized almost instantly. I always knew him as a comedic actor, so when I saw his face on screen, I wasn’t sure how it would play out. But Milo (his character) is one sick puppy. He isn’t the biggest or strongest character ever, but he is unsettling. What he lacked in intimidation factor, he made up for in the “creeps me the hell out” department. He is the type of person who enjoys violence. A little Joker-esque.
Another longtime character actor, Chelcie Ross, plays Senator Calvin Baynard. Senator Ross is corrupt and working with Shelly Marcone to legalize gambling, so they can all profit. This guy is a good actor who flies under the radar. He can be funny (Major League) or he can be malicious – like in this movie.
I’ve wanted to see this one in its entirety for a while now. There are a couple of goofy and outlandish moments, but isn’t that what made action movies of the 80s and early 90s so great? Is there any chance whatsoever that anything like this ever happens at a football game? No, but we didn’t watch these movies because we wanted realism. We watched them because we wanted manly men for heroes, terrible people that we like watch getting hurt for villains, some great action between the two sides, and hot babes surrounding them all. This movie delivers that and that makes me happy. It’s got a great musical score too. I think Michael Kamen did it and he was a staple in Hollywood before passing in the early 00s. His scores were always really good at conveying tense and emotional moments.
Rating: Thumbs up.
This movie review was written for your reading pleasure on January 15, 2015. It was updated on November 16, 2021.
