Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
A film review by Michael J. Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael J. Legeros
(Par)
Directed by Stephen Hopkins
Written by William Goldman
Cast Val Kilmer, Michael Douglas, John Kani, Tom Wilkinson,
Bernard Hill, Brian McCardi, Om Puri, Emily Mortimer
MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for violence and profanity)
Running Time 110 minutes
==
I've heard it called "JAWS with claws" and that's a fair summation of the plot, though that tag line does little to quantify quality. Director Stephen Hopkins (BLOWN AWAY, PREDATOR 2) and screenwriter William Goldman (MAVERICK, MISERY) would have you believe that this is an epic historical drama about man against nature, based on what really happened in Africa to the railroad workers trying to build a bridge to the 20th Century. They've stacked the deck with two big stars (Val Kilmer, Michael Douglas), a bigger production design, beautiful photography (by Academy Award winner Vilmos Zsigmond), and a score so overblown that it makes THE LION KING soundtrack sound like chamber music. The movie doesn't make a lick of sense, though, either as an epic or as your basic boo-fest. In fact, some of the bits are so laughably ludicrous that you may think you've stumbled into the sequel to MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE MOVIE. How about the three guys with rifles, who trap a lion and then can't even hit the damned thing? Or the ham-on-wry acting of Michael Douglas, who chews more scenery than the animals ever do?? Or, my favorite, lions so agile that they can even climb onto rooftops?!?
Grade: D+
--
Mike Legeros
Raleigh, NC, USA, Earth
legeros@pagesz.net (h) - legeros@pagesz.net (w)
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