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Romancing the Stone -
This is one of those movies that's been in my watchlist forever that I finally saw. Is it as light and breezy as one of protagonist Joan Wilder's books? Yes, and that's not a bad thing. It's a fun action adventure movie that is ideal for summer and that I wish I could have seen in a theater.
One criticism I do not agree with is that it's just an Indiana Jones knockoff. Sure, it's an action movie, it's partially set in a jungle and the MacGuffin is a treasure, but the similarities end there. All the same, it is an attempt, albeit a less successful one to make a B movie look like an A movie. Despite some surprises in the final act, it's too predictable to do this and the characters are too stock. I like Kathleen Turner a lot as Wilder as well as Danny DeVito in a role Peter Lorre would have played, but I couldn't totally buy Michael Douglas as Jack. A lifetime of seeing him play upper class types might be doing the talking here, but I couldn't help but think that he's yet another one moonlighting as a schemer here. I still enjoyed it as fun, light summer entertainment and I wouldn't turn off if I caught it again on cable. Oh, and as for that ending, which I loved, and I'm sure others have made this joke several times before, but
This is one of those movies that's been in my watchlist forever that I finally saw. Is it as light and breezy as one of protagonist Joan Wilder's books? Yes, and that's not a bad thing. It's a fun action adventure movie that is ideal for summer and that I wish I could have seen in a theater.
One criticism I do not agree with is that it's just an Indiana Jones knockoff. Sure, it's an action movie, it's partially set in a jungle and the MacGuffin is a treasure, but the similarities end there. All the same, it is an attempt, albeit a less successful one to make a B movie look like an A movie. Despite some surprises in the final act, it's too predictable to do this and the characters are too stock. I like Kathleen Turner a lot as Wilder as well as Danny DeVito in a role Peter Lorre would have played, but I couldn't totally buy Michael Douglas as Jack. A lifetime of seeing him play upper class types might be doing the talking here, but I couldn't help but think that he's yet another one moonlighting as a schemer here. I still enjoyed it as fun, light summer entertainment and I wouldn't turn off if I caught it again on cable. Oh, and as for that ending, which I loved, and I'm sure others have made this joke several times before, but
WARNING: spoilers below
let's hope there aren't any traffic signals on their road to the sea because they or the boat are going to be knocked over.