THE SICILIAN
A film review by Bert S. F. Lo
Copyright 1987 Bert S. F. Lo
The King of Bad-Movie Reviews returns with his fourth entry (following A PRAYER FOR THE DYING, SLAM DANCE and PRINCE OF DARKNESS).
I should have known to avoid THE SICILIAN since it was made by Michael Cimino of HEAVEN'S GATE and YEAR OF THE DRAGON fame. The story is about Salvatore Giuliano, an Italian bandit in the 1930s (?) who worked against the Church, the Mafia, and the ruling class to bring about land reform. The only familiar face I can name is Christopher Lambert of SUBWAY, HIGHLANDER, and GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES fame.
The two biggest problems with the movie are the disjointed story telling and the wooden acting of Christopher Lambert in the lead role. The events portrayed are very small (and uninteresting) and, even together, hardly serve to explain the motivations of the various characters. And Mr Lambert's line reading is so machine-like that the "hero" never comes across as a person. When Giuliano is killed off (no spoiler, the movie opens and closes with this scene), the only emotional reaction from the audience was the ecstatic realization that it was okay to go take a pee.
On top of this, the music is unbelievably overwrought and the beautiful landscaping is completely wasted. And there's not even anything unintentionally funny to laugh at.
Rating [ A - F ] : D
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