O Beijo da Morte

Everyone agrees that the casting was marque. And that it has great source material. But I feel it gets a bum rap with critics. And Nicolas Cage was exactly what the film needed. I thought so then and I think so now. Color, flash, and style. Something out of the ordinary to give it some desperately needed weight. And Cage makes weight. Literally. That is the strongest look I had seen since Stallone did "First Blood, Part II". Cage is a physical bull and it's impressive. I wouldn't have recognized him if I hadn't seen the trailer with his name on it beforehand. If you never saw this, see it. For no other reason than to be scared of Nic Cage. I was.

My friend made me watch this and I found it to be a surprisingly entertaining movie. It's a remake of a 1940s film noir, but I haven't seen that one. Here David Caruso plays the typical gangster-gone-straight in order to support his new family, but one of his friends (played by Michael Rappaport) pulls him in for one last deal which (unsurprisingly) screws him over big time.

The casting here is absolutely phenomenal. The performances by all the lead actors are some of their best: Nicholas Cage, Stanley Tucci, David Caruso and Michael Rappaport all bring serious color to the story. It is clear here that the careful casting makes a big difference. I'd like to say one performance in particular stands out (maybe Nicholas Cage, in one of his best roles ever) but everyone pulls their weight. Michael Rappaport, despite staying in his typical character role, manages to play the most loathsome character in the film! Even the villains have more humanity to them than he does...

The story is good too. It's not original, but very well done. Many classic crime twists are provided in ways one doesn't expect and there are some plot points that are only alluded to, not blatantly shown (i.e. the reason certain characters get knocked off, etc.). It also gives us a good rundown on the inside of a corrupt court system which only protects ex-cons if there's a profit to be made.

And to top it off, despite the criminal element and violence, there is a cool sense of humor to several scenes. Little Junior's (Nicholas Cage) mourning scene stands out as a highlight. And then the way the movie ends, you'd think you were watching Beethoven or something. Hee hee, and Stanley Tucci was in that one too!

It's not some critically acclaimed showboating from the '90s, like American Beauty, The Usual Suspects, and so on, but it is a solid little '90s period piece.

6.5

I think the best way to approach this movie is on its own terms rather than as a remake of the 1940s film. In any case, it merely follows the general story outline of the earlier picture. What makes it altogether new is Richard Price's screenplay, Barbet Schroeder's direction, a great lineup of actors, and location shooting in some of New York City's seediest and most squalid areas.

Along with the great locations, what really provides the atmosphere is Price's writing. Once again he shows his down to the ground knowledge of the characters, mannerisms, and lingo of the creeps and hoodlums in the big city underworld, and the law enforcement people who deal with them. And there is also Price's trademark offbeat humor.

While the earlier film gave us Richard Widmark as a really scary psycho, in this later film Richard Price has given us Little Junior Brown, a bulked-up killer with a child's mind and an abiding faith in the nostrums of New Age philosophy.

What a delight when Little Junior, fresh from committing murder, asks our hero to take the next day off so they can get together and "talk about life and stuff"! Or when he urges him to settle on an acronym that will give shape to his identity. (Little Junior's is B-A-D--for "Balls, Attitude, Direction.")

Nicholas Cage is often accused of playing over the top, but in the case of Little Junior, over the top is the way to go.

There are also good performances by Stanley Tucci and Samuel L. Jackson. Tucci excels in portraying charming snakes. When he leers and sneers, it is impossible to keep from watching him.

This movie was really very enjoyable.

This was part of the David Caruso effort to dominate movies as he was tv at the time. Unfortunately for him, and probably us, he never really managed to pull it off. Because he had developed a reputation (valid or not I don't know) as a bit of a *%#^ people seemed happy to see him fail.

Its a shame because he is a good actor and he's good in this. As is the rest of the cast which is full of A and A- actors.

It won't knock your socks off but it will entertain so mission accomplished!

Kiss of Death boasts an impressive cast, authentic locales, and a gritty, accessible storyline, but it still comes across as an asthmatic remake of the film noir classic. Nobody "stars" in KOD; rather, David Caruso, Helen Hunt, Nicholas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, Ving Rhames, and Kathryn Erbe all put in good, workmanlike performances that just don't catch fire.

I enjoyed Kiss of Death ten years ago when I rented it. What made it enjoyable again was seeing people I had forgotten about--a young Hunt, commanding on screen, an obscure Jackson, Cage almost unrecognizable, and Caruso, long before he decided to trade in acting for the ridiculous posturing he does on the boneheaded CSI: Miami.

Yet, the movie never really jells. We know the story well so we expect something better to make KOD stand out. "Workmanlike" just isn't enough.

I'd still recommend it, though. The freshness of the talent might be enough for you. And Cage, ripped and psychotic is so different from his breezy action roles of the last half decade.

You may find a gem here!