BEFORE: Yep, now it's Michelle Pfeiffer's turn to carry over from "Into the Night", and she'll hang around to kick off February's romance chain. And now that I flopped her part of the chain around to link with the Bruce Willis chain, her films are in the right order, so unlike most other of this month's stars, I'm watching her get a little older each night, instead of younger. That's OK, she wears it well.
THE PLOT: Mac Mckussic is an unlikely drug dealer who wants to go straight. His old and best friend Nick Frescia is now a cop who is assigned to investigate and bring him to justice.
AFTER: It's another overly-complicated action film tonight, another one with too many factions after the same thing. For the fourth night in a row, local and federal law enforcement are working at cross purposes - that's too weird to be a coincidence. I have a feeling that screenwriters somehow think that the more players there are in the game, the more the audience will think the film is complex. Instead I just see a bunch of cops and agents who seem too incompetent or self-serving to work together.
Everybody wants something, that's the first lesson in Scriptwriting 101. Identify what the person wants, you give them motivation and gain insight into their character. Perhaps it's only by putting 4 films in a row where it's so blatant, that everyone is reduced to a simple want, whether it's for the evidence, the gems, or the briefcase full of money, that I've suddenly noticed how utterly simplistic most action films are.
At least in "Tequila Sunrise", the different players want different things. This guy wants the drug deal to take place, this guy wants to stop it, this guy wants to be free and clear of the whole thing. But they keep pulling him back in, damn it! Oh, and everybody wants to be with Michelle Pfeiffer, but that's fairly understandable. What are the odds against two friends ending up on different sides of the law, and both falling in love with the same woman at the same time! In real life, the odds would be astronomically against this happening, but in a Hollywood film, it's even money.
I also wonder to what extent screenwriters rely on shoot-outs to wrap up loose ends. I have a feeling their mantra is "When in doubt, shoot it out." Any characters that they don't know what to do with can be dispatched easy-peasy, and if there's any leftover drugs or money lying around, a convenient explosion or two will take care of that. Anyone who makes it out alive gets to enjoy a happy ending. Well, an ending, at least.
What a disappointment to NOT find the Eagles song of the same name anywhere in this film. I mean, they didn't HAVE to use it, but why not? I'm guessing they came up with the title, assuming the band would be on board, and then either they couldn't afford the rights, or the songwriter wouldn't sign off. Maybe this was made during one of those periods when the band members were fighting, and they disagreed with each other just on principle.
I've had just about enough of action movies for a while - too many in a row and the whole genre seems formulaic, to say the least. Plus I've seen more criminal henchmen this week than on an episode of the 1960's "Batman" show. Time to change things up and get off this track.
Also starring Mel Gibson (last seen in "Payback"), Kurt Russell (last seen in "Tombstone"), Raul Julia (last seen in "Kiss of the Spider Woman"), J.T. Walsh (last seen in "Outbreak"), Arliss Howard (last seen in "Natural Born Killers"), Arye Gross, Ann Magnuson.
RATING: 5 out of 10 saxophone solos
No comments:
Post a Comment