First off, I saw the 1992 director's cut (BackTrack), so I can't judge how previous versions of the film were. That said, what I did see in some ways enthralled me and in some ways disappointed me. The basic plot had great potential, and some of the film was really good. As well, a *stellar* cast really helped to improve the film. It was shot beautifully, with some really creative cinematography.
On the other hand, the plot bottomed out, predictable in most ways. From beginning to end I could tell what was going to happen next, and there were few surprises. There are really good, fresh moments. But in general, there's nothing new here.
Jodie Foster was very good, she's a very expressive actress and her body language and facial expressions helped to light up her character. But there wasn't much of a character to light up. Poor dialogue and lack of depth hurt her (and other characters) and much of what her character did was straight out unbelievable. In fact, the whole budding romance between her and Hopper was completely unbelievable, not just in how quickly it happened (gotta love those Hollywood 'love'-storms...) but how it progressed as well. And it's quite amusing how often and quickly these films throw the word 'love' around (about as often as they find excuses for full frontal shots...not that seeing Jodie Foster nude in the shower isn't appealing, but when nudity is unnecessary it kind of ruins the moment;)
And what was with that *horrible* accent Dennis Hopper failed to pull off? And his character was so up and down inn terms of intelligence and intellect...one minute he's a total dumbass (forgetting that his house was given to him by the mob don) the next he's a warehouse of useless trivia (the historical knowledge of the canyon) and then suddenly he's a wannabe talented neo-jazz sax player?? (Nice 'I wish I was Angelo Badalamenti' soundtrack by the way...) And his dialogue was probably the worst of all!
This film tried to hard to mix odd and quirky with straight and gritty. In the end, it's amusing to watch for the classic actors (not often one gets to see Vincent Price as a mob boss;), great sets (and the Anne Benton art was really cool!), gorgeous shots, not to mention Hopper's antics (and the same pleasure-filled hyper-ventilation sounds he used in the sex scenes in Blue Velvet;)
Look for cameos by Charlie Sheen and Bob Dylan...and does Joe Pesci ever play anything else but a trigger happy mob goon?? Goodfellas, Casino, even My Cousin Vinny had hints of it...and this character was ironically named 'Leo', an amusing reflection of his Lethal Weapon character...
Overall: a good watch, though I won't run out to see it again. It could have been a LOT worse, but it had so much potential to be better. The acting saved this from being a disaster 6/10.
On the other hand, the plot bottomed out, predictable in most ways. From beginning to end I could tell what was going to happen next, and there were few surprises. There are really good, fresh moments. But in general, there's nothing new here.
Jodie Foster was very good, she's a very expressive actress and her body language and facial expressions helped to light up her character. But there wasn't much of a character to light up. Poor dialogue and lack of depth hurt her (and other characters) and much of what her character did was straight out unbelievable. In fact, the whole budding romance between her and Hopper was completely unbelievable, not just in how quickly it happened (gotta love those Hollywood 'love'-storms...) but how it progressed as well. And it's quite amusing how often and quickly these films throw the word 'love' around (about as often as they find excuses for full frontal shots...not that seeing Jodie Foster nude in the shower isn't appealing, but when nudity is unnecessary it kind of ruins the moment;)
And what was with that *horrible* accent Dennis Hopper failed to pull off? And his character was so up and down inn terms of intelligence and intellect...one minute he's a total dumbass (forgetting that his house was given to him by the mob don) the next he's a warehouse of useless trivia (the historical knowledge of the canyon) and then suddenly he's a wannabe talented neo-jazz sax player?? (Nice 'I wish I was Angelo Badalamenti' soundtrack by the way...) And his dialogue was probably the worst of all!
This film tried to hard to mix odd and quirky with straight and gritty. In the end, it's amusing to watch for the classic actors (not often one gets to see Vincent Price as a mob boss;), great sets (and the Anne Benton art was really cool!), gorgeous shots, not to mention Hopper's antics (and the same pleasure-filled hyper-ventilation sounds he used in the sex scenes in Blue Velvet;)
Look for cameos by Charlie Sheen and Bob Dylan...and does Joe Pesci ever play anything else but a trigger happy mob goon?? Goodfellas, Casino, even My Cousin Vinny had hints of it...and this character was ironically named 'Leo', an amusing reflection of his Lethal Weapon character...
Overall: a good watch, though I won't run out to see it again. It could have been a LOT worse, but it had so much potential to be better. The acting saved this from being a disaster 6/10.