Pluto Nash

As everybody and their dog seemed to be absolutely certain that The Adventures of Pluto Nash is a steaming pile of excrement, I would have never come to watch it if the DVD hadn't been forgotten on my table by a visiting friend. The next day I had conveniently a couple of hours to kill at home, so I thought I might as well check whether Pluto Nash was just bad or a real turkey.

Much to my surprise I sat through the entire movie mildly entertained. Certainly anyone expecting a movie where Eddie Murphy makes faces, laughs like a horse and tells immature vulgar jokes is indeed in for a sore disappointment, as this film gracefully lacks all those clichés. In fact all kind of humour is scarce, jokes are few and far between and -- frankly -- vacuous at best. However, The Adventures of Pluto Nash is not half-bad as a sci-fi adventure. Effects are quite nice, and although the script does not blow one's mind with innovativeness, it keeps the story flowing fluently with no dead moments. 7/10.

There's maybe one laugh (if you're lucky) in this universally-panned disaster, but that doesn't mean THE ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH is a complete loss. Eddie Murphy is the title character, a reformed felon operating the most successful club in the "Little America" part of the Moon. But after he turns down an offer to sell to a shyster for $10 million, the laser bullets begin flying in his direction. Now he and gal pal Rosario Dawson, along with robot bodyguard Randy Quaid, are on the run.

Murphy is generally appealing, but his comic touch just doesn't jive with the sci-fi environment. The plot is at times incoherent and suffers from trying to roll comedy, action and excitement all into one. It's kind of amazing this clunker ever made it beyond the idea phase, particularly with talents such as Murphy and director Ron Underwood (CITY SLICKERS) involved.

What does PLUTO NASH have going for it? Though it's supposed to be a comedy, it actually works to some degree as a sci-fi adventure. The massive $100 million budget and futuristic setting make for some interesting visuals. And the picture moves along at a fair pace, with a tidy running time of 95 minutes.

For all its flaws, I would not use the term "boring" to describe PLUTO NASH. Hollywood has done much better, but it's also done far worse.

I go to the movies to be entertained and this one certainly did that for me. The biggest source of fun was seeing the juxtaposition of old movie cliches - gangsters, seedy nightclubs, and hot wired cars - placed in the futuristic setting of a campy lunar colony. I laughed from start to finish and enjoyed the surprise ending. I found "Pluto Nash" to be a very entertaining diversion.

I happen to think that this movie is entertaining. Sure the jokes are juvenile, but if Austin Powers can do $millions of business with recycled jokes and bathroom humor, I can't see why Eddie Murphy, who's in great form here, can't score with this one (millions, after all, went and see the awful Nutty Professor II). I heard a lot of bad reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised that I totally enjoyed the movie.

It's basically a gangster comedy wrapped in a Sci-fi treatment. There are some genuinely eye-catching set pieces and amusing exchanges. The visuals are great. And Rosario Dawson and Eddie Murphy have genuine chemistry -- much more convincing than that between her and Will Smith in MIB2. Randy Quaid steals the show as the robot bodyguard though. After the disappointing MIB2 and Gold Member, Nash is quite a refreshing change of pace.

This was a really cool movie considering no one makes cool sci-fi movies much. It had a pretty good story, like a remake of a 1950's nightclub noir film. It really had an early R. Heinlein or Phillip K. Dick feel to it, sort of. The effects were neat if not ground breaking and Eddie Murphy did a credible job. Randy Quaid was funny and annoying at the same time. Also had a really funny cameo of Pam Greir as Eddie's mom. A nice, solid movie. Not perfect by any means with lots of science mistakes but then Hollywood does that a lot anyway. This movie reminds me of Total Recall if I had to put a name on it.

The humor was much more sophisticated than I expected and there were no Uranus jokes, contrary to other reviews. If you are going to lie, try a little harder.