bianca-13

As a former teacher, I'm both ashamed to admit I love this film and disturbed that almost every kid with whom I have discussed it tells me, "That's my high school except for the dying." It's scary to think that stereotyped caricatures seem real to many students. The clueless adults would be pitiful if they weren't so ridiculous. The film is well-crafted and entertaining and great fun for fans of VERY dark comedy.

No Tommy Lee Jones fan should miss this outing. While it's not great cinema, it IS great fun. The action is top-notch and the characters are appealing. The relationship between Jones and Hamilton is surprising well-balanced for an 80s action film and some of the lines are definitely ones to put in the memory bank and quote. It has a bit of everything for a fun rent (or purchase) - action, romance, coldly wicked villains, a flawed hero, a strong heroine, humor and a bit of pathos. (Watch the emotions play across Jones' face in his conversation with Keenan Wynn.) It's a favorite in my circle of film fans.

As with many of those who have commented on this film, I was dreadfully misled by the advertising and missed it in the theater. The score and cinematography alone are enough to recommend the film. At times the scenery was so breath-taking that I felt I was walking through an art gallery. I expected a standard action/adventure flick and only saw it because a friend brought the video by for me to watch. While it's not a great movie, it is a solid drama which was unfairly blasted by many critics. (Perhaps they too were expecting all action.) Give it a 7.5 and see it one evening when you feel like letting go of reality and being swept away by the exotic visuals and the mystic feeling that maybe "The Ghost" and "The Darkness" are not really lions, but the spirit of the land.