tehhaxxor Reviews

The Real McCoy (1993)

Inessential yet Unoffensive Heist Yarn

[6/10 · 3 January 2010]

As a director of music video clips, Russell Mulcahy is something of a living legend. Aside from directing the first video MTV ever aired (back when they did that sort of thing), he also helmed the clips for acts like The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Queen, Billy Joel, and a myriad of other artists. It may take a handful of film class periods to wholly examine his prolific work in the eighties.

As a film director, however, his work is much more difficult to digest. "Ricochet" and "Resident Evil: Extinction" are able actioners, but his only real classic is "Highlander". Needless to say, it's classic of the most cultish variety, which was probably inevitable considering lead Christopher Lambert is as wooden an actor as a totem pole. I won't even get into wild misfires like "The Shadow" or low budget television tripe like "The Curse of King Tut's Tomb". It's a tall order to get excited about a director that foists that sort of work on an unsuspecting public.

It was quite a surprise, then, to find that "The Real McCoy" stands among some of Mulcahy's best film work. The plotting follows a rather formulaic heist tale, which also requires serious suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience as we're supposed to believe Kim Basinger is some sort of master thief. Val Kilmer portrays an amiable yet inept robber while the great Terence Stamp is sadly wasted as the local crime boss. He's essentially playing the same role Ben Gazzara did in Road House, except Englishman Stamp was forced to adopt a horrific Southern American accent for his role.

Despite a predictable plot and somewhat dubious casting, "The Real McCoy" is an entirely enjoyable heist film in the same vein as The Score. Granted, neither are particularly memorable, yet they make for ample entertainment on a rainy afternoon. Highlights include Kilmer's singularly hilarious botched convenience store robbery and the intricate, if entirely implausible, bank heist at the climax of the film.

In summation, if you're able to believe Basinger as a world-class thief who handles with equal aplomb both air compressed second-story apparati and complex computer wizardry, you may enjoy this film. If you can accept that Terence Stamp is attempting to effect some kind of Southern American accent and has absolutely no room within the script to even pretend to act, you may enjoy this film. If you can stomach a vastly dated, ear-grating score that was composed almost entirely on a mid- eighties era synthesizer, you will almost certainly enjoy this film.

Seraphim Falls (2006)

Good, but not great, addition to Western canon.

[6/10 · 15 November 2007]

Cowboy pictures, horse operas, shoot 'em ups - whatever you prefer to label them there is no denying they make for compelling cinema. I've long been an ardent enthusiast of them, as it's difficult not to be if you enjoy beautiful cinematography, engaging characters, and plenty of insight into the truly dark, cold recesses of human nature.

From the genre's very inception, the 1903 film aptly named "The Great Train Robbery, to the excellent 2007 remake of "3:10 to Yuma, there have been thousands of threads in the tapestry we know as the western. One of the more recent entries is "Seraphim Falls", a thematically poor but cinematically brilliant revenge film. With Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan as the two leads (as the Carver the hunter and Gideon the hunted respectively), you already know you're in for some great acting.

Despite having a moderately paced and quite exciting opening hour to the film, the plot begins to crumble amidst a barrage of derivative scenes and simply ridiculous actions. Brosnan's character emerging from within the carcass of a horse to surprise his adversaries has got to be one of the more absurd "Hollywoodisms" I've witnessed this year.

There is a scene, which was probably one of the more expensive to film, which succinctly details what Gideon did in his past to spark such ire within Carver. It only serves to deflate the mystery surrounding their feud and comes as a huge disappointment. The fascination you're filled with during the beginning of the film turns into the pedestrian "you killed my family, now I must kill you" deal. The film would have been much more powerful and intriguing had they opted to leave any sort of explanation out.

Further, the appearance of Angelica Huston at the end of the film may be a bit too bizarre and surreal for some, as she is evidently intended to be symbolic of the devil. After her dealings with Neeson and Brosnan, in which she trades items with them, the climax is rendered effectively unavailing due to the hackneyed "you kill me" "no, you kill ME" conclusion.

All told, however, I enjoyed this film and it held my attention 'till the bitter finale. A worthy rental choice, and for classicist Western fans, a definite addition to your personal cinema library.

Dialogue 6/10 The speech is sparse and rough, much as it should be, but some lines are nausea-inducing with their empty machismo. An example being: "You can't protect anyone in this life, son, the sooner you get that the better." spoken by Carver.

Cinematography 8/10 This is perhaps the finest aspect of the film, as it's beautifully framed and diligently shot. Though it is a little jarring how the landscape suddenly changes from snowy to barren in mid-chase.

Acting 9/10 Neeson and Brosnan are both first-rate actors, and perform brilliantly despite a couple of scenes guaranteed to make you roll your eyes (most notably the "horse carcass ambush" scene).