Columbo: Undercover

Even though the majority of people find the new (1989-2003) Columbo movies inferior to the classic episodes from the 1970's, I actually find them usually to be on par with the originals. For one thing, the newer episodes have much better production values; the cinematography and original musical scores are often striking and skillfully done. That being said, this particular "new" installment was a disappointment for me.

The premise of the movie is certainly intriguing - two men are killed in a seedy apartment and one of them has a jigsaw like piece of a picture. This leads Columbo into a complex mystery which involves finding the many pieces of a photograph that reveals the location of $4 million worth of stolen loot. This money was attained from a heist many years ago, where all four of the robbers were shot to death after they had already hidden the cash. Columbo then goes "undercover" to try to gain all the pieces of the puzzle from many different colorful characters before someone beats him to the punch.

The plot originated from an Ed McBain novel (Jigsaw) and it is an odd choice to mold the Columbo character into a seemingly unrelated novel. This results in a drastic change from the usual Columbo formula we all love and the results are lukewarm. While it was nice to see Peter Falk exercise his acting range in this movie by playing many different characters while undercover, the movie doesn't have the essential ingredient that made the Columbo franchise successful in the first place - the cat and mouse game. Without this dynamic the movie's momentum drags and by the end of the movie when the villain was revealed I really didn't care much. The "who-dunnit" aspect was not strong enough for me to care and the killer was not convincing nor exciting enough for this movie to be a success.

Some bright spots of the episode was the brilliant (but much too short) performance of Tyne Daly as the pitiful, sleazy ex-hooker Dorothea McNally. The scenes between her and Peter Falk crackle with electricity and their one scene together is the highlight of the movie. The musical score by Dick De Benedictis has a film-noir sound to it and adds to the atmosphere of the movie. The cinematography is uncharacteristically gritty and dark for a Columbo movie - which commonly focuses on the life of the rich and elegant.

Overall, this was an enjoyable but mediocre Columbo entry. Still recommended despite its shortcomings.