Jesus Christ.
I remember really enjoying this film as a twelve year old when it came out. Rewatched it tonight for nostalgia's sake.
It's...really *beep* bad.
Like, borderline awful. Ham-fisted acting from Travolta and Cage. Absurd storyline with gaps all over the place. Liam Gallagher playing Castor Troy's brother.
I have no idea why critics liked this at the time. Can you remind me?
Well to the films credit it was an original concept and wasn't another standard Die Hard rip off like so many other movies at the time were. Despite several scientific inaccuracies (yeah I get it, both Archer and Castor would have died from the procedure) they at least focused on the drama going on between the two main characters and not special effects. Yeah I get it, some things didn't work very well but other things I think did, like the exchange between Archer and Sasha I thought was very well done.
"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine
Thanks for putting it into context. I sort of forgot that the 90s were riddled with Die Hard clones and JCVD/Seagal/Stallone atrocities, haha. This film probably seemed messianic in comparison.
shareLol I came on here looking for the exact same response. I just watched it on hbo on demand and I was like WTF is this. The whole scene in the beginning where the plane takes about 9 miles of runway and then cage Flys through the hair dueling pistols. I wonder if a movie like this today would be labeled a comedy.
shareFlys through the air*
shareA movie like this today would be labeled a comic book-style film. Especially since audiences are now accustomed to franchises in which a green rage monster, Asgardian prince, talking tree & raccoon, etc... all inhabit the same universe. Even back then, audiences realized how insane this film is. That's why many find it so entertaining to this day: https://youtu.be/Z_ZRfzzR-Jo?t=1m59s
shareDoug and Rob Walker cover this very well in their real thoughts review: https://youtu.be/WvE9VpEh8oE
The joy of watching this movie is to witness Travolta, Cage, and Woo go over-the-top and have fun with an insane script that's tailor-made for them to do so. It's not for people who take movies too seriously. It's just incredibly entertaining to see both actors create larger-than-life characters, switch roles, and also have the characters try to ACT like each other. Also, Woo's action sequences here are by far the best of his Hollywood career, and puts most of today's action movies to shame. It's one of the rare occurrences in which Hong Kong action was fused very well w/ Hollywood spectacle.
The performances of Cage, Travolta and Joan Allen are fantastic.
"Lies, distrust, mixed messages.........this is turning into a real marriage."
Short Cut, Draw Blood
That video is, for the most part, pretty awful. Not because the Walker brothers like this movie but because of how misinformed they are about general film history, action cinema, and pop culture with their own biases getting in the way of certain things. First off, no, the late 90's was not a "dark" period of Hollywood blockbusters, we saw plenty of good to great releases in that span of time most of which neither of these two will want to acknowledge because they don't like being called out for stupid crap they put on their show, which has been common since its revival. And why are they acting like John Woo disappeared off the face of the Earth? They have internet access they can simply type in his name and see that he has been busy since he stopped working in the states, and that's not even the half of it.
shareWell yes, it came out 19 years ago so of course it will seem dated when you watch it today, it was liked by critics and audiences at the time of its release because it was unique and felt separate from other Hollywood releases in certain respects, and it embraced the ridiculousness of its premise but took itself seriously enough that having an anthropomorphic duck walking about would feel badly misplaced.
share