Mort à l'arrivée

For all those people who believe the dialog is worth something, and who appreciate a farce that is clever enough for you to take it seriously, this movie will surprise you. It is not a 'whodunit' for people who can't aren't able to follow the verbal exchange of our hero, Professor Dexter Cornell (Dennis Quaid).

Cornell teaches in Southern California, near the tar pits. He has not published a novel in four years, his wife is divorcing him, he drinks a bit much, and is blessed or cursed with caustic wit, which he freely dispenses to his students. He has recommended a friend for advancement, and one bright young student has submitted a manuscript to him as an independent project. Cornell doesn't even want to read it, so gives it an "A", and pushes it to the side. Leaning back with a drink in his office he stares out the window, when the bright young student falls past his window on the way to meeting the sidewalk in a splat encounter.

Hal comes to talk, and they chat, drinking some more. The Cornell realizes that he HAS to read the manuscript, now. When he goes home, his wife is waiting with divorce papers. He drinks some more. She leaves, and he goes to a faculty affair, only to find her there. He drinks even more. And when his wife learns that the student is dead, she swoons, and he learns that she had been having an affair with the student. This of course prompts him to do some more serious drinking. The next morning he wakes up to find himself in the dorm room of one of his students, a freshman named Syd (Meg Ryan).

He feels worse than a hangover, goes to the doctor and learns that he has been poisoned, it is irreversible, and he has 24-48 hours to live. He doesn't have much time to find out who killed him, and there are sub-plots, motives, relationships and surprises at every turn, although everything makes sense at the end. All his discoveries and exchanges are adorned with sarcasm, dry wit and keen observations. Let's just say that this movie will give new meaning to the adage "publish or perish".

There are no bad performances in this movie. There are recurrent images, and symbolism used at careful intervals. Watch for the cracked glass, and images distorted through glass. Some of the camera shots are revolutionary for 1988, and some of the violent action is carefully and skillfully choreographed. The music is unobtrusive and appropriate, although occasionally it makes it's own statement, in song lyrics. The visuals in this flick are impressive.

If there are any failures, it is that the opening 20 minutes move a little slow, and nearly puts you to sleep. But the pacing picks up quickly, with just the right amount of exposition in between action segments.

There are no explicit sexual encounters, although there is violence and some bad language.

This is a writer's movie, and is best appreciated by those who have a sense of humor about their own success or failure. I do think if you take it seriously, you're already in big trouble.

D.O.A has a good premise, borrowed from a 1950 film of the same name and a 1969 film entitled Color Me Dead. But beyond the premise it fails to develop into anything worthwhile. The script mistakes ludicrousness for cleverness; the directors peculiarly seem to think they're making a pop video rather than a film; and Dennis Quaid puts on a weird grin and raises his eyebrows maniacally as if he's auditioning as a Jack Nicholson impersonator. It's good for a laugh but, since that wasn't the original intention, it's hard to rate this as a worthwhile film.

English lecturer Dexter Cornell (Quaid) is a bitter, bored shell of a man. Formerly a great author, he never recovered from the critical failure of his fourth and final novel and vowed never to write again. Without the drive of writing to fill his life, he gave up on everything else too, including his marriage and his dedication to the job. When pupil Nick Lang (Rob Knepper) apparently commits suicide after handing in an assignment, Cornell hits the booze to get over the shock. But soon thereafter, he learns that he has drunk a slow-acting poison, and that within 48 hours he will be dead. So close to death, he finally finds a renewed purpose in being alive.... as, aided by student Sydney Fuller (Meg Ryan), he desperately attempts to solve his own "murder".

It's such a good idea that one can hardly imagine how it could fail. But it does. It really, really does fail in a big way. All the pointlessly fancy camera angles, all the inappropriate musical scoring, and especially the jaw-droppingly stupid solution to the mystery, conspire to ruin the film. D.O.A stands for "Dead On Arrival", and that's the perfect adjectival phrase for the entire film. Some day, this wonderful idea for a film might be used once again to better effect, but for now you'd be best advised to stick with the 1950 version.

Someone poisoned named Dexter Cornell (Dennis Quaid as an unsettling college professor) and he's got to find out who . He's got to find out why . He's got to find out now . In 24 hours, he'll be Dead On Arrival. He along with a friend student (Meg Ryan) frantically seek who is responsible and why he was targeted for death . His search for the suspect is further complicated by the fact that he is being sought by the police on phony charges of killing .

Mediocre remake of the 1949 Noir film that contains thrills , suspense , a complex intrigue and plot twists . The starring , Dennis Quaid , relates his own lethal murder become himself in detective and spend his ending moments trying to uncover his hit men . As his time runs out,he has only hours to identify , he desperately seeks to discover who is responsible his death . The search for the suspect is further complicated by the facts of numerous turns , deceits and a twisted intrigue . Passable acting by Dennis Quaid as a teacher becomes embroiled in a series of murders involving people around him and supported by Meg Ryan as a likable but reluctant student , both of whom married after shooting , though nowadays are separated themselves. Supporting cast in frankly enjoyable , such as Charlotte Rampling , Daniel Stern , Jane Kaczmarek , Christopher Neame , Robert Knepper , Jay Patterson and the deceased Brion James .

Colorful cinematography throughout the story , the color in the film begins to drain to monochrome, thus representing the central character's deteriorating health as the poison steadily takes it's toll until it is in black and white as in the opening - presumably showing the flashback catching up to the current time-line of the story . Screeching and inappropriate musical score composed by means of synthesizer .The motion picture was middlingly directed by Rocky Morton ans Annabel Jenkel , the same people who brought ¨Max Headrom¨to TV series . This story results to be a remake from ¨DOA¨ (1969) a dark B-thriller directed by Rudolph Mate with Edmond O'Brien , Luther Adler and Pamela Britton . It was also followed by a inferior remake as ¨Color me dead¨(1969) by Eddie Davis with Tom Tryon , Carolyn Jones and Rick Jason

D.O.A. (1988) *** Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, Charlotte Rampling, Daniel Stern. Fast-paced and nifty remake of the 1949 classic about a man being poisoned with time his factor as he tries to solve his own murder. Quaid is top-notch as a college English professor trying to figure out just who his enemies are and Ryan is plucky student aiding him. Cool camera movements and some fine direction from the creators of tv's "Max Headroom", Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel.

Fast-paced remake of the exclellent 1949 film-noir. With Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan on fine, romantic form

Quaid is the English professor who walks into a police station and reports a murder: his own. He has 24 hours to live after having been given poison, and is determined to use the remainder of his life to find his killer.

This film is fast-paced and littered with corpses and more red herrings than Brixton market, but the direction and script never gel. Despite a competent and charming performance by Quaid, paired with his real-life wife-to-briefly-be Ryan (a romance necessarily also conducted at top speed), D.O.A. is let down by a cop-out ending.