The decent assembling of Billy Connelly as the murderer and Patrick McGoohan behind the camera, merely compounds the disappointment of this largely unsatisfying, lukewarm 1999 Columbo TV movie, which sees Connelly play a highly-respected Hollywood composer who is forced to murder the dissatisfied understudy he has used to saved his flagging career.
Strongly enough plotted; a rather good platform is established in the early stages, but the momentum is barely maintained simply because the supporting clues are patchy in nature and moreover, the screen chemistry between Falk and Connelly is decidedly hit-and-miss; in fact Connelly's portrayal struggles to make an decent impact as he seems to be caught between a serious and a comedic interpretation of his character.
The finale is also on the bizarre side and is staged at the murder scene on top of a building: Columbo's evidence is not particularly overwhelming and Connelly's character more or less turns round and gives himself up. Also, in an odd error of fact, Columbo asks the deceased's partner to teach him to play Columbo's trademark song "this old man" on the piano, but he says that it is something that his wife hums; when we know that it is actually him who usually whistles the song.
A largely disappointing effort, which stands to date, as the penultimate Columbo adventure in its history and one that will not be recalled in a positive light.
Strongly enough plotted; a rather good platform is established in the early stages, but the momentum is barely maintained simply because the supporting clues are patchy in nature and moreover, the screen chemistry between Falk and Connelly is decidedly hit-and-miss; in fact Connelly's portrayal struggles to make an decent impact as he seems to be caught between a serious and a comedic interpretation of his character.
The finale is also on the bizarre side and is staged at the murder scene on top of a building: Columbo's evidence is not particularly overwhelming and Connelly's character more or less turns round and gives himself up. Also, in an odd error of fact, Columbo asks the deceased's partner to teach him to play Columbo's trademark song "this old man" on the piano, but he says that it is something that his wife hums; when we know that it is actually him who usually whistles the song.
A largely disappointing effort, which stands to date, as the penultimate Columbo adventure in its history and one that will not be recalled in a positive light.