El negociador

If you rent this movie thinking it is another Eddie Murphy action-comedy, you better think again!!!! This movie is STRICTLY an action flick. Of course, that's not a complaint, it's just a statement. Murphy still is enjoyable as the hero. He's not playing Axel Foley from the BEVERLY HILLS COP movies, but he sure seems a lot like him. It also steals elements from some of his earlier films. In my opinion, this is a guy movie. The women will probally be bored by the non-stop action and the fact that the only woman in the movie is Eddie Murphy's girlfriend, but action fans will LOVE this movie!!!

Metro, starring Eddie Murphy, may well be worth your viewing time. Yes it got a fair amount of negative reviews from people who wanted to see another "Nutty Professor" or thought of "Metro" as Murphy trying to play Axel Foley again. Others had problems with the script, the plot, the pace of the film, but nobody cared to mention how good Murphy actually is in this. His character is a San Francisco hostage negotiator, named Scott Roper, who one day meets his worst enemy in a jewel thief (played wonderfully by Michael Wincott) who makes his job a nightmare. From that point on a cat & mouse chase between Murphy & Wincott develops, & plays it's part in a rather amusing way. I don't want to give a lecture here on this subject, because movies like "Metro" are just made to entertain the viewer. "Metro" is a solid action film, with some suspense, some great stunts, and very good performances from the whole cast. Murphy, in what I think is one of his better roles, gives us his comedic touch, but this is more of a dramatic, serious role for him. I saw not Murphy, but Scott Roper, throughout the whole movie. A sure sign that an actor is doing his job quite well! - Murphy is superb.

Metro appears to be a low-budget action affair, which whilst it has nothing new to offer, shows us a different side to Eddie Murphy as an actor that we hadn't seen before in his previous films. People have in the past often compared this to Beverly Hills Cop 1, in terms of the fact that they are both your typical, run- of- the- mill cop movies, but the comparisons seem to come to an end when you compare that film to Metro, in terms of plot, character types and the fact that Eddie Murphy doesn't joke about as negotiator/cop Scott Roaper that often. Not like his predecessor, Axel Foley. Here, as Roaper he is much more serious and not as laid back in contrast to his most famous movie character. Metro plays out as a straight out action movie that isn't reliant on laughs, which in itself is no bad thing. One of the main problems that some of the audiences had, in regards to their expectations of Metro, was by assuming that it would be something similar on the lines of Beverly Hills Cop. It has its funny moments, but these are few and far between throughout the film, as the narrative in Metro is very much serious and the standard cop thriller we'd come to expect.

Overall, Metro is not a bad effort and the action sequences are well executed. Murphy gives a surprising turn and performance as Roaper and thus it makes a change to see him in an almost completely non-comedic role, which he does well in.

Not bad indeed.

It doesn't always work, and Eddie Murphy is no substitute for a proper action star like Stallone or Mel Gibson, but at least he tries in this film. Metro has a clichéd plot about a diamond smuggler who murders Eddie's partner and it is Eddie's job to stop him, but Eddie does a great job and actually looks like he enjoys the role. He juggles the action and comedy scenes perfectly, and fortunately the two never overlap. The highlight of the film is the runaway tram scene, that is perfectly choreographed, and Michael Rapaport does a great job as Murphy's rookie partner. The film is not the best action movie around, but it is by no means the worst, and if you feel like being entertained for an evening, you could do a lot worse than this movie.

Fast talking police negotiator Scott Roper foils a bank robbery and catches the head thief. When the thief, Korda, escapes from jail, he comes after Roper. Roper meanwhile is trying to juggle his job, his girlfriend and train a sniper to become a negotiator like him.

This film was made before Nutty Porfessor but was held back because the makers realesed it was a bit of a dog by itself and decided to wait till Nutty Professor had made Murphy hot again before riding on that wave. Sadly I was one of those fooled into thinking that the hot new Murphy had made a cool cop thriller. Rather this is a by the numbers affair that has plenty of cliches and very little spark to it.

What spark there is, is added by Murphy's motor mouth performance – he is funny and lively even when the film isn't. Rapaport is also good despite everything else and British born Ejogo is good as Murphy's girlfriend. Wincott's villain is right out of a catalogue and is typical of the film's lack of initiative or spark.

Overall, like most average cop thrillers it's worth a watch once because it is just about entertaining. The problem is it is plain – average. It never rises above the norm and there are much better cop thrillers out there than this. The producers and studio knew it – who am I to argue.