Hollywood Homicide - A Review June 16, 2003
Harrison Ford + Josh Hartnett + Murder + Chases + Sexy women = Surefire hit? Not necessarily. I liked the characters. I liked the visual and aural productions. The script had its moments - in some cases too many disjointed moments. I liked the humor. I liked the action. But as an entire cohesive entity, this film didn't work well for me.
Directed by Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, Tin Cup, White Men Can't Jump), Harrison Ford (Star Wars, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Air Force One) plays LAPD detective Joe Gavilan, an aging officer with a failing realty business on the side. Mr. Ford at times just doesn't seem to be "in to" his character - almost like he's dragging himself through the process. Now, Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, 40 Days & 40 Nights) is detective K. C. Calder, a young conflicted officer that wants to be an actor - heh. Josh puts a bit more into his role and gives you something a tad more substantial to hang onto character-wise. When a rap group is murdered in the middle of a concert, they get called in to find the killers. Several "names" such as Keith David (The Thing, Armageddon, Pitch Black), Bruce Greenwood (Double Jeapordy, The Core, Below), Martin Landau (EdTV, Ed Wood, The X-Files), Lou Diamond Phillips (The First Power, Courage Under Fire, The Big Hit), Gladys Night and Dwight Yoakum - yes, that is correct Dwight Yoakum, were lined up for supporting roles and cameos. That is a lot of experience and exposure just in name recognition alone - but unfortunately, the whole doesn't add up to the sum of the individual parts.
Visually this is a fairly well done film. Good balanced coloration runs from subtle to vibrant with scenes ranging from a candlelit room to a sunny afternoon in Hollywood. No "mood filters" are used except for a mild golden one in a the aforementioned candlelit scene. There's lots of detail with no smudging and just a touch of graininess in the dark shots. Scenes are framed adequately with nothing either extraordinarily good or bad noticed.
Aurally, there's little to complain about (well mabye Josh's tendency to mumble at times). Surrounds are used fairly aggressively in the action scenes but then become unnoticable in others. Gunshots are surprisingly weighty and do get your attention very effectively. The big chase scene, with our heroes in a Saleen Mustang convertible is loud, rowdy and fun. The helicopter derby is kind of amusing as an aside, too.
I hate to admit it, but despite Josh Hartnett's best efforts, the lack of cohesion, along with a moderately weak plot, too many sub-plots and what seems at a couple of points to be Harrison Ford just walking through his part bring this movie down a couple of notches. It's too bad because the talent was there. It coulda been a contenduh.
I give Hollywood Homicide a :25: out of :5:.
David - HTGuide flunky
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Harrison Ford + Josh Hartnett + Murder + Chases + Sexy women = Surefire hit? Not necessarily. I liked the characters. I liked the visual and aural productions. The script had its moments - in some cases too many disjointed moments. I liked the humor. I liked the action. But as an entire cohesive entity, this film didn't work well for me.
Directed by Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, Tin Cup, White Men Can't Jump), Harrison Ford (Star Wars, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Air Force One) plays LAPD detective Joe Gavilan, an aging officer with a failing realty business on the side. Mr. Ford at times just doesn't seem to be "in to" his character - almost like he's dragging himself through the process. Now, Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, 40 Days & 40 Nights) is detective K. C. Calder, a young conflicted officer that wants to be an actor - heh. Josh puts a bit more into his role and gives you something a tad more substantial to hang onto character-wise. When a rap group is murdered in the middle of a concert, they get called in to find the killers. Several "names" such as Keith David (The Thing, Armageddon, Pitch Black), Bruce Greenwood (Double Jeapordy, The Core, Below), Martin Landau (EdTV, Ed Wood, The X-Files), Lou Diamond Phillips (The First Power, Courage Under Fire, The Big Hit), Gladys Night and Dwight Yoakum - yes, that is correct Dwight Yoakum, were lined up for supporting roles and cameos. That is a lot of experience and exposure just in name recognition alone - but unfortunately, the whole doesn't add up to the sum of the individual parts.
Visually this is a fairly well done film. Good balanced coloration runs from subtle to vibrant with scenes ranging from a candlelit room to a sunny afternoon in Hollywood. No "mood filters" are used except for a mild golden one in a the aforementioned candlelit scene. There's lots of detail with no smudging and just a touch of graininess in the dark shots. Scenes are framed adequately with nothing either extraordinarily good or bad noticed.
Aurally, there's little to complain about (well mabye Josh's tendency to mumble at times). Surrounds are used fairly aggressively in the action scenes but then become unnoticable in others. Gunshots are surprisingly weighty and do get your attention very effectively. The big chase scene, with our heroes in a Saleen Mustang convertible is loud, rowdy and fun. The helicopter derby is kind of amusing as an aside, too.
I hate to admit it, but despite Josh Hartnett's best efforts, the lack of cohesion, along with a moderately weak plot, too many sub-plots and what seems at a couple of points to be Harrison Ford just walking through his part bring this movie down a couple of notches. It's too bad because the talent was there. It coulda been a contenduh.
I give Hollywood Homicide a :25: out of :5:.
David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker
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