Here's yet another boxing film that has the body, but lacks the soul. Mickey Rourke delivers a strange, and occasionally compelling, performance as Johnny Walker, a two-bit fighter who's taken a few too many blows to the head, and now can't see or hear too well. Taken in by a venal promoter (Christopher Walken), Johnny divides his time between being a small-time hood and wooing the local carnival owner (Debra Feuer). While the actors, particularly Rourke and Walken, are usually interesting; and guitar virtuoso Eric Clapton's moody score is a real plus, the film finally suffers from excessive style (slow motion shots are inserted regularly whether they make any aesthetic sense or not), and too much story. The final reel is totally inept, with the film cutting between shots of Rourke's last boxing match, Walken robbing and running away from three Jewish jewelers, and Feuer painting the horses on her broken-down carousel. Even a bad film like this one can't completely shut down the natural charisma of the lead actors--two of the finest working today--but somewhere in between the not-so-original idea and the final product something was lost. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)
Homeboy
color. 118 m. I.V.E. (1989). $89.95. Rated: R. Library Journal
Homeboy
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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