Dom Robinson reviews

Distributed by
Pioneer LDCE

Cat.no: PLFEB 36591

Cert: 18

Running time: 116 minutes

Sides: 2 (CLV)

Year: 1996

Pressing: UK, 1997

Chapters: 28 (15/13)

Sound: Dolby Surround

Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Super 35)

Price: £24.99

Extras : None

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Director:

Renny Harlin (Cutthroat Island, Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2)

Producers:

Renny Harlin, Stephanie Austin and Shane Black

Screenplay:

Shane Black (Lethal Weapon)

Music:

Alan Silvestri (Back To The Future)

Cast:

Samantha Caine (Charly): Geena Davis (Thelma and Louise, A League of Their Own, Cutthroat Island, The Fly)
Mitch Henessey: Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, 187, Jurassic Park, Die Hard With a Vengeance)
Caitlin: Yvonne Zima
Timothy: Craig Bierko
Hal: Tom Amandes
Nathan: Brian Cox (Chain Reaction, Hidden Agenda, Manhunter)
Perkins: Patrick Malahide (Cutthroat Island, Minder (TV))
Luke/Daedalus: David Morse (The Rock, The Getaway, Extreme Measures, St. Elsewhere (TV))
Larry King: Himself

The Long Kiss Goodnight is the follow-up to their last husband-and-wife big screen adventure, Cutthroat Island, which didn't set the box-office alight for star Geena Davis, and her husband, director Renny Harlin, who made two of my favourite action films of the 90's, Die Hard 2, and Cliffhanger. The plot, scripted by Lethal Weapon's Shane Black, requires immense suspension of disbelief, but creates a thoroughly enjoyable film.

Geena Davis plays mild-mannered schoolteacher and amnesia-sufferer Samantha Caine who, eight years after the incident, is still trying to piece her life together in full, but for now things are going well as she enjoys her job, the company of her family, and lives a peaceful life with her boyfriend Hal, and her daughter Caitlin.

Then one day (yes, you knew something had to go wrong), as she drives one of her relatives back to his house after a family do, the car crashes after running over a deer, tragically killing her passenger (Alan North, from TV's Police Squad) and Samantha is thrown clear of her car. She's alive, but her life will never be the same again.

Her memory comes flooding back, and she remembers that she was once a lethal assassin for the CIA named Charly Baltimore, and now her former employers want her dead. Pursued by a high-tech army of corrupt government renegades, she teams up with a wise-cracking private detective, Mitch Henessey, who tries to help her put the pieces back together again before they get themselves killed.

Once the plot is established, the majority of the two hours that passes is one superb action-packed film, worthy of any action fan's attention. When I saw it at the cinema, the last five minutes of the film were worth the price of admission alone, and this release, one of the first in a collaboration between Pioneer LDCE and Entertainment in Video, is especially welcome in its original widescreen ratio.

Over recent years, Geena Davis has proved herself to be deserved of a place in the Hollywood A-list of actresses, and she proves she can easily handle a physically-demanding role such as this. Before and after her transformation into a cold-blooded killer, Geena looks good in every scene - just another reason to buy this disc.

And another good reason is the presence of Samuel L. Jackson, an excellent actor who in recent years has made the best choices possible for the roles he has played, as well as some curious ones, giving memorable performances in Hollywood blockbusters such as Die Hard With a Vengeance, Jurassic Park and Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, as well as appearing in low-budget films such as 187 and The Great White Hype.

He also gets some of the best lines in the film, beginning with a bust on a man in bed with a prostitute. Pulling a gun on the man he says :
"Now you're assuming I won't shoot your sorry ass...and everyone knows when you make an assumption, you make an ass out of you, and umption."

On the bad guy front, those on her tail are led by Craig Bierko, a complete psycho who, told of a colleague, One-Eyed Jack, having escaped prison after seeing something on TV that disturbed him, says, "Yes, I saw it too. It's called Baywatch Nights".

Another actor who's made a career out of playing the bad guy in recent years is David Morse who has starred in a number of big films such as The Rock, the 1994 remake of The Getaway, and last year's Extreme Measures. This is certainly not the sort of career I'd have imagined for a man who, fifteen years ago, started out in television as the doctor with the Leo Sayer perm in St. Elsewhere.

Alas, the only let down in the bad-guy department are those played by Brian Cox, an experienced actor who looks like he sleepwalked his way throughout the whole film, and Patrick Malahide, once the hard-nosed and downtrodden Inspector Chisolm in TV's Minder, but now returning to the world of Harlin after Cutthroat Island by playing an American in this film, although he sounds less like an American, and more like a man with the worst case of sore throat and catarrh that not even the world's leading brand of cough mixture could cure.

Finally, at the end of it all is a cameo from US TV chat-show legend, Larry King.

The picture and sound quality of this disc are excellent, and the widescreen framing is essential for Renny Harlin's action-filled visuals. On fullscreen video, this might not look as bad as a regular pan-and-scan film as it was shot in Super-35, but to retain the director's intended vision, this crisp transfer is just the job.

As you'd expect for an action film, once the bullets start to fly, you'll soon know about it, and so might your neighbours depending on how loud you have the volume. The sound also comes across very effectively even in the quietest moments coming across clear as a bell.

The disc is also very well chaptered with 28 spread through the two-hour length. The only thing missing is the lack of a trailer for the film which would have rounded off the proceedings nicely.

Don't expect another husband-and-wife collaboration again though, as Geena and Harlin went their separate ways recently. However, if you enjoyed this film in the cinema or on rental video, you deserve to treat yourself to this well-recommended release, but on your way to the shops, mind how you drive, unless you want to discover something in your past about yourself...

Film: 5/5
Picture: 5/5
Sound: 5/5

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1997.