THE BIG HIT 1998
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1998 Timothy Voon
3 :-( :-( :-( for the big miss
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, Avery Brooks, Lela Rochon, Bokeem Woodbine, China Chow, Lainie Kazan, Elliot Gould Director: Che-Kirk Wong Producers: Warren Zide, Wesley Snipes Screenplay: Ben Ramsey
Someone should have warned the producers of this movie, not to cast two ex-Calvin Klein models and a Federation Starfleet Captain in the same movie, under the direction of a Hong Kong action flick director. The end result is a pretty big mess filled with smart mouthed, pretty boys playing with guns, with little idea of where to put their heads and when to put on their pants.
I'm referring to the dressing scene where Lou Diamond Phillips, Mark Wahlberg and Antonio Sabato Jr., bare butts and skin for the world to see. As if Mark Wahlberg's ending fiasco in BOOGIE NIGHTS, wasn't enough to define what is not considered the norm for that particular male appendage! One can feel male egos soar and testosterone drip as each tries to show off how great they look and how firm their muscles are. If there were to be a winner - Sabato Jr is undoubtedly the better model in Kleins.
So where did this go wrong, except for the fact that they hired models instead of actors? Well, Mark Wahlberg has started an annoying trend of playing idiosyncratic ‘love-me, I'm so cute' roles (not as annoying as David Schwimmer). I have to admit that the opening action scenes are well choreographed and amongst the best this year. However, the rest of the movie is tediously weighed down by a spineless Wahlberg, a slutty (unintentional) Applegate, an overactive Diamond Phillips, a ‘pin me up' Sabato Jr and a kidnapped Japanese girl.
The BIG HIT is a big mess and deserves a big miss.
Timothy Voon
e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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