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.

A mostly gripping crime drama with a good script and a great cast. This is David Caruso's best movie by far as a leading man, the reason he left NYPD Blue, and it portended a good career to follow. Well, his movie career tanked but this is still a good character study and underrated neo noir entry. Cage is all breathy snarl and wonderful menace in the flashy sociopath role originated by Richard Widmark. Hard to imagine assembling a backup cast with Ving Rhames, Helen Hunt, Stanley Tucci, Michael Rapaport and Samuel L. Jackson these days on this budget, and they all put in nice turns.

Probably worth a shot if you are a fan of modern noir and gritty crime dramas, though it does peter out a bit with the too-convenient denouement. Cut from the same tough cloth as other sleeper modern noir movies like DEEP COVER and ROMEO IS BLEEDING.

"You F#&$ with the bull, you get the horns." 7.5 / 10 Would rate higher if not for the too-cute ending.

Ex-con Jimmy Kilmartin agrees to drive a truck of stolen cars as a favour to a friend. Whilst on the job he gets caught but refuses to role over on the others involved. Whilst in prison his wife is killed in a car crash and Jimmy leaves prison, bitter but with a determination to move on. However NYPD officer Calvin wants to use Kilmartin to get close to Little Junior Brown and get evidence to shut him down.

This was one of several vehicles that was planned to turn David Caruso from a TV hit to a big screen star - as we know, it didn't work out that way. However the story is pretty solid, it doesn't break new ground and there's nothing outside of the usual crime thriller plot to surprise you but it's really quite good. At times it's a little dull because it is so straight forward but it's mostly entertaining.

Caruso, for all his current lack of success, is actually very good. The problem is that he's good by doing the same "NY Irish tough but fair" role that he did in NYPD Blue, King of New York, Bodycount and most films he's done! It's good but I don't think he can do anything else. Jackson has presence as he always does and the support cast is really well filled out with people like Helen Hunt, Stanley Tucci, Rapaport, Philip Baker Hall, Ving Rhames. Nicolas Cage's Little Junior is a mixed bag. At some points he is effective but for the most part he's horribly OTT and hammy. His character is full of ticks and eccentricities that at the end of the day that's all Cage has to do.

Overall this is a solid thriller with no surprises. Caruso fans (like me) will like it regardless because it's Caruso doing his usual role. But others may not be so easily made to overlook the weaknesses.

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.

America has the best justice money can buy- meaning gentry that pay for the privilege of justice receive it and normal citizens will see justice only by pure accident. Here is a normal citizen who served his time but continues to be harassed by police- a common tactic of pigs- since they are too stupid to be detectives- they make their informants do all the dirty work of investigation under penalty of return to prison on some lies and setups-ya know- who they gonna believe? Me or you? This is the framework this movie operates in- the reality that most cops and lawyers are total scum that need two neat in the back of the head, and justice is a fairy tale in America.

Add in a little action jackson moments to spice it up and we have a watchable movie that is reasonably OK- not stellar- but watchable to the finish and a decent job of acting by our lead. This is one of the few action flicks that actually tries to do some acting- our lead does a great job- his supporting actors do OK- but not great.

All in all- I would watch this movie for a matinée by myself. One of the humorous things in this movie is you see Nicholas Cage bulked up as a guido in a disco.