Quatro Destinos

I went to see this movie with several co-workers when it first came out in 1988. It was so bad that we were entertaining ourselves poking fun at it and decided to leave before it was over rather than waste our time any further. Ned Beatty's "performance" was especially comical. The manager of the theater was aware of the unintended humor we found in it and when our whole group got up to leave at once, he offered us all free passes to a future movie to entice us to return to his theater.

When Fidel Castro took over Cuba (about 1961), all the Casino owners from Cuba escaped to USA, but they didn't take all their money with them. Some men from the US NAVY hid some money on an Island near Cuba, and they would get back to the Island later. A return happens 30 years later, and then they have to deal with modern pirates in the search for the old treasure. But the movie isn't perfect at all, I will give it 5/10 as a movie you just watch.

This is a great suspense movie with lots of twists and turns in the story line. It will hold your attention within the first 20 minutes. The hauntingly beautiful music pulls you in and out of the story with a mix of Caribbean instruments and American vocals singing about faraway places and beckoning to all. The mystery interwoven throughout this thriller holds your attention during the entire movie. It also includes numerous historical facts regarding Castro's era in Cuba and hidden casino money which many soldiers knew about while stationed there in the service. The cast of characters were well-balanced and credible. The scenery and action scenes in the water were exciting to watch. This movie has it all, including mystery, action, suspense, and love. I wish there would be a sequel to it! I enjoy watching this over and over, even though it was made years ago!

This is a great thriller and very nice soundtrack. One nice tidbit is that you will not easily guess the ending. Very plausible story. If you like movies at sea you will love this one. The acting, although not great is competent and professional. Filming was at times very good and at other times OK. One of the things I would have changed is to have a little more character development in 1959 as well as when most of the story takes place. The characters are very much just dropped on the viewer with little of what transpired in their lives to put them in the context of the story. This can be forgiven because the suspense is very real anyway. One thing the movie could have used is another half hour of filming. Regardless, I am giving this a ten.

The dialogue is so bad that one has to give the actors credit for somehow getting through this movie...only this one movie to the director's credit....hmmmm I wonder why! Was Faye Dunaway so desperate? The first few minutes are a stong indication of the absurdity to follow and one does get a perverse twinge of anticipation, can this movie carry on to be so bad? Yes it can...LOL...It is so bad it is good....by all means rent it, I may even buy it now..