Saturday, August 20, 2011

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)


Genre: Action
Director: Renny Harlin
Starring: Geena Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Craig Bierko, David Morse, Brian Cox
Duration: 120 min.
Rating: 5.6  

Summary:
Samantha Caine, suburban homemaker, is the ideal mom to her 8 year old daughter Caitlin. She lives in Honesdale, PA, has a job teaching school and makes the best Rice Krispie treats in town. But when she receives a bump on her head, she begins to remember small parts of her previous life as a lethal, top-secret agent...



The LAMB Movie of the Month for August is The Long Kiss Goodnight directed by Renny Harlin and written by Shane Black.  The 1996 action thriller flop that effectively cut short the Hollywood careers of Harlin and then wife and star of the film Geena Davis.

It's a typical Hollywood style, turn off your brain and watch the bodies drop action film, but with the added allure of a female protagonist.  It's not particularly well written, acted, or directed but made watchable by Samuel L. Jackson, who plays his usual BAMF self and also contributes the best one liners.  Admittedly, Davis and Jackson do get on quite well and their smart ass back and forth banter is pretty amusing.

The story follows a predictable formula, and the action is silly and illogical even for a comic book.  Shotgun blasts barely put a mark on a flimsy refrigerator door but hand grenades explode in outrageously sized balls of flame, which are of course routinely outrun by the main characters.  The bad guys are the customary one dimensional shady government types with access to an unlimited resource of nameless and faceless thugs, who like in every other action film, have one primary skill and that's dying.  It was interesting seeing David Morse from HBO's Treme here as a coolly evil torturer, but the main villain Timothy (Craig Bierko) is miscast and comes across as more annoying than sinister.  It would have been better if these two's roles were swapped around.

As critical as I am about the various aspects of this picture, I have to mention that the action sequences and effects are all technically well executed.  The final Niagra Falls set piece was skillfully handled, and I think I would much rather watch something like this than most of the current batch of CGI extravaganzas littering the multiplex. 

In the end it's passable fun, but is overlong and feels like a rather forgettable amusement ride, like the kind you would find on the Atlantic City boardwalk.

Bonjour Tristesse

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

Check out more reviews of this from the other LAMBs :

10 comments:

Bonjour Tristesse said...

It's only here because it was voted for the LAMB movie of the month, and I promised myself that I would watch and review whatever was selected, to mix it up a bit. 

thevoid99 said...

I saw this film back when I was 15 years old with my parents for some godforsaken reason.  They liked it and I thought it was all right.  I was watching it again for the LAMB MOTM and kinda liked it more despite my feelings towards Renny Harlin and Geena Davis.  It's a ridiculous but entertaining film.

Joel Burman said...

As you know I think you are completely wrong but you do have some good arguments. However, many of them are just what I like with it being totally over the top for instance. 

Great point on their chemistry by the way. Its awesome and her stare down of Sam Jackson in the car is brilliant.  

d_4 said...

When I saw the title I was like "This one?! I would never dream in a million years THIS one would get a review on THIS blog!" Then I saw it was a 5.6 and things started making sense again.


It's not a bad movie I guess. You pretty much mentioned all it's faults. I can watch it, but just for action stuff, not for value.

Msmariah said...

This movie is completely ridiculous, but I freaking love this movie.  I must have watched a zillion times in college.

The Reel Foto said...

i remember seeing this awhile back, good times. :)

Guy Movie Blogger said...

I finally got around to seeing this one a few days ago and it just felt really flat. It has some good action sequences, but the plot makes no sense whatsoever and like you said, suffers from a weak villain. Sam Jackson is always fun to watch though, so I guess that's a plus.

Joel Burman said...

I normally do that real easy as well but Nostalghia and my taste in films probably make it into such a favorite.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

This was my first time watching it.  Maybe I'll like it more in 15 years... :)

Bonjour Tristesse said...

It is a fun film no doubt and I can see your reasons for liking it, but it just doesn't do it for me.  Sometimes watching a film like this I can sit back and enjoy the ride, but in this case I found myself constantly questioning the logic and direction. 

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