Comme un oiseau sur la branche

'Bird On A Wire (1990)' is just a generic action-comedy with a will they/won't they central dynamic that takes the 'cop' out of 'buddy cop' and replaces it with 'romance'. Basically, it's 'It Happened One Night (1934)' meets 'Lethal Weapon (1987)', except that it's nowhere near as good as either of those inspirations. It's not bad, of course. It has a couple of engaging set-pieces and it's generally rather enjoyable. It's just very generic and, ultimately, forgettable. It's only as good as it needs to be, essentially. It's not bad, but it's not great, either. 6/10.

Rick Jarmin, who in the FBI witness protection program, is working in a Detroit gas station under an assumed name. Things are going well until old flame Marianne Graves pulls up and recognises him. He calls the FBI to get relocated but learns his handler has retired. The replacement promises to help but quickly shows himself to be corrupt as he passes Rick's details to two corrupt ex-DEA agents; one who is still wanted the other who has just finished a fifteen year jail sentence thanks to Rick's testimony. The two men quickly turn up and Rick's boss is killed in the shoot-up; after that Rick ends up on the run with Marianne. There are a series of chases till the fleeing duo confront their chasers in a zoo.

This is a fun action comedy. The story is fairly simply but serves to provide a series of enjoyably chases and action sequences. This includes chases in cars, on motorbikes and in aircraft and action that features shooting, explosions and an impressive final confrontation in a zoo, complete with dangerous animals. The laughs come from amusing situations rather than forced gags for the most part... an early gag where Rick tricks his boss may be a little forced but it is also very funny. Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn have a good chemistry as Rick and Marianne. The villains played by Bill Duke, David Carradine and Stephen Tobolowsky are solid enough but get less screen time than one might expect. Overall this might not be a must see film but it provides sufficient laughs and action to make it worth watching if you want decent, not too extreme, action with plenty of amusing moments.

This is a middle of the road but enjoyable action comedy. John Badham a veteran of the action genre handles proceedings with flair and paces the movie well. The film hardly lulls despite a someone choppy ending set in a zoo. The film is routine but gets by with the likable leads, Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn. Gibson was making a name for himself as an action man by this time having already done 3 Mad Max films and 2 Lethal Weapon movies. Gibson's everyman likability and at the same time tough guy physique worked well in these movies, despite wasting his acting ability, with the exception of a great role in Lethal Weapon. At the same time as Gibson evading death by the pursuing dirty lawmen, David Carradine and Bill Duke, Goldie Hawn seems to be in her very own light-hearted Goldie movie about the posh bird who learns there is more to life than money and essentially she is still acting from her previous movie, Overboard. Despite this Hawn is likable and has good chemistry with Gibson. The trademark showing of her ass is once again here and Hawn parades her derrière in her movies even more than Jean-Claude Van Damme. The film also features the gorgeous and future queen of soft core, erotic, B-movies Joan Severance.

The film has some good action scenes and plenty of on screen carnage and thanks to Badhams brisk direction it engages. The story maybe wafer thin but the film moves by so quickly it is difficult not to enjoy. The chemistry between the two leads more than make up for the clichéd by the numbers performances of the bad guys Carradine and Duke. Carradine is so far from his great performance in Kill Bill 2 that you have to wonder why it takes so much inspiration to coax a performance from the man whose wooden demeanour has led to him being a B-movie staple for nearly 20 years.

Overall this is enjoyable stuff and typical of the sort of harmless and moronic fun action movies of the 80's. ***

Don't pay attention to negative reviews. This movie is really good and I'm sure everyone will enjoy it as much as I did. Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn are a wonderful couple and their performance is excellent. Don't wait any longer ... rent it right now!

Bird On A Wire has lawyer Goldie Hawn accidentally discovering the man who left her at the altar working as a garage mechanic in a Detroit garage where Mel has adopted a really cheesy southern accent. Of course she wants an explanation.

What Goldie isn't ready to swallow is that Mel has been in witness protection after infiltrating and then giving testimony against drug kingpin David Carradine. Carradine is out after 15 years and looking for payback. He's got a nasty associate in Bill Duke and a corrupt FBI agent Stephen Tobolowsky helping.

Mel and Goldie work well together in this chase film bearing some resemblance to The 39 Steps. I'm surprised she did not do this with Kurt Russell, seems like a natural for Hollywood's most famous unmarried couple. Some resemblance to the Clint Eastwood classic The Gauntlet will be apparent as well.

The climax takes place in a zoo which was another of Gibson's witness protection jobs. The animals are of great help to our fleeing couple.

A must for fans of the two stars.