METRO
A film review by Walter Frith
Copyright 1997 Walter Frith
After coming off the tremendous success of 1996's 'The Nutty Professor', Eddie Murphy has settled in with a slam bang action picture which is the most vibrant and alive picture of his career. A lot of Murphy's film endeavors have been off beat successes starting with his film debut '48 hrs.' (1982) and continuing into the nineties with his unconventional political statement 'The Distinguished Gentleman' (1992). San Francisco is the setting for 'Metro' and Murphy plays a hostage negotiator who takes a young recruit under his wing and trains him to take his place in the future. That is only one in a series of sub plots that lace this richly inventive and colourful adventure. There's the tracking of a psychotic jewel thief and Murphy's relationship with that special lady in his life and the investigation into the murder of his beloved superior officer. One scene involving a runaway streetcar in downtown San Francisco is worth the price of admission alone. There's a keen sense of maturity to Murphy's character in this picture as he plays a complete opposite to his character of Axel Foley from 'Beverly Hills Cop' (1984) and 'Beverly Hills Cop' (1987). 'Metro' finds itself almost humourless and it works superbly as Murphy knows just the right place to ad lib a few light moments. The first half is more entertaining and thriving with gusto than the second half but there is an explosive conclusion and a continuing perception of crime which continues to plague American society as we come closer to entering the third millennium. Other members of the cast include Michael Rapaport and Michael Wincott and writer Randy Feldman has invented some clever and tense confrontations enhanced by the equally tense direction of Thomas Carter. Murphy continues to grow in the nineties after some disappointments and downright bombs in the late eighties and early nineties and he has the potential of finishing off this decade with critical successes rather than box office hits which exploited him early in his career.
OUT OF 5> * * * *
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