... Even if you only like it because you find it amusing to mock how achingly cool it thinks it is. Okay, a large part of me having such a soft spot for the film is that I haven't yet seen Godard's original on which it was based; but I do know enough about cinema to know that that film is the real thing and this is merely the young upstart who thinks it does everything bigger and better, but actually keeps its brains in its trousers... Hey, you know what? That's actually a pretty good analysis of the movie! It has a real macho/homo-erotic tone; but for those of the hetrosexual persuasion there is the lovely Valeri Karpinski's body to stare at for a large part of the running time...
Gere does his early 80's cheeseball riff on the 'sexiest man alive' circa "American Gigolo" (a MUCH worse film than this) and stares moodily into the camera several times. In his defense, the camera DOES love him, but its slightly overdone and the film begins to take on the tone of a glossy shampoo advert after awhile. In a weird way, that just adds to the fun though. The film is stunning to look at, and it has a strange kinetic energy that makes me overlook the flaws and concentrate on what's right about it. The hero was certainly an inspiration for the style of some of Quentin Tarantino's characters, with his love of "The Silver Surfer", etc. This film is actually referenced in "Reservoir Dogs", according to the IMDb...
Cheesy, overblown and tacky at times, but it's an 80's film, so why should you be surprised? In this reviewer's opinion it's still great fun. Be warned, though; If you hate Richard Gere, as my friend does, then stay away, because all this film will do is serve as a 90 + min refresher course in just why you feel that way...
Gere does his early 80's cheeseball riff on the 'sexiest man alive' circa "American Gigolo" (a MUCH worse film than this) and stares moodily into the camera several times. In his defense, the camera DOES love him, but its slightly overdone and the film begins to take on the tone of a glossy shampoo advert after awhile. In a weird way, that just adds to the fun though. The film is stunning to look at, and it has a strange kinetic energy that makes me overlook the flaws and concentrate on what's right about it. The hero was certainly an inspiration for the style of some of Quentin Tarantino's characters, with his love of "The Silver Surfer", etc. This film is actually referenced in "Reservoir Dogs", according to the IMDb...
Cheesy, overblown and tacky at times, but it's an 80's film, so why should you be surprised? In this reviewer's opinion it's still great fun. Be warned, though; If you hate Richard Gere, as my friend does, then stay away, because all this film will do is serve as a 90 + min refresher course in just why you feel that way...