Jakarta

An interesting story on an apparently limited budget. Though filmed in an exotic local, the film was riddled with bad cuts. For example, a character is bare headed during a struggle and then appears with a hat a split second later. However, as B-movies go it was better than most. Though it features a token, drop-dead gorgeous femme fatale (Sue Francis Pai), she had an intelligent role and was actually one of the better actors in the film. If you want an entertaining but not mentally taxing action-adventure flick, this is it.

My review was written in December 1989 after watching the movie on MCEG/Virgin video cassette.

"Jakarta" is a well-crafted film noir made in Indonesia and New York. The 1986 production is a belated direct-to-video release Stateside.

Christopher Noth is the down-on-his-luck hero who used to be a government agent. He's sent against his will back to Jakarta, where three years earlier he botched a bodyguard assignment to protect witnesses planning to testify against drug lords. He becomes reinvolved with femme fatale Sue Francis Pai en route to an ironic finish.

Helmer Charles Kaufman, best known for his 1980 horror film "Mother's Day", dots the action with excellent chase scenes. Of special interest is the pic's ample local color, including authentic Javanese puppet shadow plays.

Noth is okay as the brooding hero, but Pai steals the show as the extremely alluring beauty whose evil nature is a satisfying throwback to the dark '40s pictures "Jakarta" recalls.

Tech credits are fine.

my, my, my - it doesn't get any cheesier than this. lame saxophone solos, typical detective narration, and stereotypes of an asian culture. whooo. it's my guess that chris noth shakes his head whenever reminded of this. but anyway, it was very entertaining. let's just be thankful we can watch chris noth doing bigger and better things these days. if you happen to find this on t.v. at 3 in the morning sometime, then watch it (by the by - a movie entitled "bikini ho-down" came on directly after i watched it); renting and/or buying it, however, is not advisable. have fun.

Great foundation. The execution? Toss-up.

The Nothster plays an ex CIA agent with a recurring romantic nightmare.

The agency wants him back, but he keeps running away so...they force him back to Jakarta.

Jakarta was mostly used for scenery and atmosphere here. Any city would have given a similar result with this plot.

Noth has a girl in his past that he thinks has been nixed. Has she? We head for 'nesia to see. Chase scenes commence. And of course he has an old buddy there. For words from said buddy? "Make it Johnny Walker Black...on me." Hey, he just happened to be in that bar.

The acting wasn't bad really. The cast did their best and created some pretty tense moments.

The chase into the XXX theater was funny. ("Look at the size of that...PIPE.") And the Indonesian puppet shows lent a bit of flair as well. Even if it had little to do with the story.

For fans of Asian based actioners only.

This is a hard movie to find, but if you are a Christopher Noth fan-atic and can rent or purchase it, go for it! It's a pretty straight-forward action flick with some fun touches such as the car chase through the market, and Chris looks gorgeous, of course. So does the scenery around Jakarta. Worth seeing.