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The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
Davis and Jackson are much better than this...
I know that most action movies follow some sort of formula, but The Long Kiss Goodnight takes the formula and does what Coke did with their formula in the 80s... tried to improve upon it, and just made it worse.
I did see this on cable, so there was some cutting and swear-bleeping involved, but I really think that adding all of what they took out could possibly have made this a better film. I was all excited to see it too... saw the listing in the TV guide, made myself a bowl of popcorn, and curled up in front of the TV waiting to be entertained. Disappointment was achieved not even 10 minutes into the movie. It seemed to take forever to "set up" the plot, cutting 4 or 5 scenes at the beginning of the film right before you find out what a character is about, or what his motivation is. The Long Kiss Goodnight seems to revel in making you believe that a character is a good guy, only to reveal very shortly thereafter that he indeed is a bad guy, or vice versa.
And the clichés! If I might borrow a phrase from my Jewish friends, oy vey. Yet another film that reveals that one hit to the head results in amnesia, and another gets your memory back. (Has a real-life amnesia sufferer ever tried this in real life? I wonder if it works...) And of course, the frumpy schoolteacher Davis was at the beginning of the movie was in stark contrast to the CIA-trained hit-woman she used to be. As clearly evidenced by her decision to cut her hair and dye it blonde. (I know that the dramatic hair changing scene always means transformation... see also "The Legend Of Billie Jean", or "The Banger Sisters" or "Sleeping With The Enemy" or... well, you see where I'm going with this) More cliché... the ever-present Dirty Harry-type line spoken right into the camera just before shooting someone; the torture scene featuring a camisole-and-panties-clad Geena Davis (who obviously had undergone rigorous weight-training before filming) strapped seductively to a water wheel; the slow-motion (and again "wet") Geena Davis and Sam Jackson emerging from the frozen pond, alive! I have long been an admirer of both Davis and Jackson... as far as I'm concerned, Geena has always made good decisions in her roles, and Jackson always manages to make himself look like he's better than some of the bad movies he's been in. I would swear, at times, Davis seems to be well aware of the fact that a certain line or scene she's doing is pure schlock, but thinks maybe she can make it better with her fine performance. Wrong, Geena. This was just bad material that the finest actor could not make look better.
All in all, don't waste your time with this one. Unless you;re one of those people who LIKES to watch bad movies with your friends and just laugh at how bad they are. In that case, get this DVD as soon as you can!!!