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One of things I appreciate about Pierce is that he always tries to have fun with his roles. Even if they are lesser roles in lesser films, he always brings his A game and simply has fun.
About his more serious roles, it’s a mistery to me why people don’t often talk about Seraphim Falls. What a role.
That’s why he’s one of my favorite Bond actors. Not matter the material he makes it worthwhile. In particular, Mrs. Doubtfire.
Had a lot of fun with it. You know what it reminded me of? The Medusa Touch. I guess I'm a sucker for horror films in which a small thing escalates into having irreversible, worldwide repercussions by the end. And this movie handles that escalation really well. In the 90's, the internet may not have been widespread, and there may have been barely any social media, but the core idea of the movie is still relevant and compelling. The CGI is of its time, of course, and that makes it more interesting to watch all these years later, when films have such a different look. Some of the CGI images and effects are also quite horrific in their way.
Anyway, I've known Lawnmower for years-- I always caught the last 15 minutes on TV, for some reason. That was the theatrical cut though. Without being that well-versed in the theatrical cut, it seems to me like this one has some improvements to offer. The ending with Dr. Angelo, his neighbor and her son makes more sense now that we see what happens to his wife in this cut (a memorable thing in itself). The beginning with the monkey is more fleshed out, which is good in a certain way, but I also think it's such a farfetched image to begin with, that perhaps it was better not to show it so much.
Brosnan is really good in this one. Sometimes he does a little too much, but he's so lively that I don't really care. Always some interesting bit of physical business, and always very engaged with what's going on, which is necessary to make one buy the story. Also, much of the success of the film rests on seeing Fahey gradually go from being one way to being an entirely different way.
There are some fun 90's tropes to be found, too, like the dark blue lighting at the laboratory, and the cold and smug businessmen.
Was a great choice for Brosnan #20. Here's to the next 20!
Thank you @Creasy47! I've already got several in my sights.
https://deadline.com/2023/10/fast-charlie-movie-james-caan-release-vertical-1235565922/
Looking forward to seeing their new film.
But then on the other hand...
:)
I could see him making a Bond film in the 90s. Mimi Leder too, on the strength of The Peacemaker.
I actually quite like that film, even if it has as much in common with the concept of The Saint as TMWTGG has with its respective source novel. Change the character name and the film's title and I think it would have gone over a lot better.
Mimi Leder is a great shout, too! I very much enjoy The Peacemaker.
Episode 21: Death Train aka Detonator (1993)
Night Watch, the sequel to this movie, was on TV in Chile several times during the nineties and noughties. After Lawnmower Man, I still had a craving for 90's Brosnan, so I wanted to see Night Watch, but since it's a sequel after all, I decided to go for Death Train first. I remember seeing the cover of this on multiple occasions during my visits to Blockbuster. I was expecting to get something like Die Hard on a train —Brosnan and company sneaking through the carriages, trying to stop the bad guys with the nuclear bomb— but instead, this is a more complex, procedural kind of story, with multiple attempts to get on the train, stop the train, negotiate with the terrorists/mercenaries, and locate their associates. The three leads are Brosnan and Alexandra Paul as the field operatives, and Patrick Stewart as their boss, running things from the control room. The cast also features Ted Levine as the lead bad guy on the train, and Christopher Lee as the mastermind behind the plan —the General Orlov of this tale, if you will—, who gets to speak some lines in Russian, and who probably took the role in preparation for his turn as Commandant Rakov in 1994's masterpiece, Police Academy: Mission to Moscow. Anyway, I found this to be a lot of fun; it's only 90 minutes, but it's loaded with interesting events and mounting tension, more than plenty of other films that are much longer. There are, in fact, two nuclear bombs in this story, and the attempts to defuse them result in memorable scenes, particularly the one involving the second bomb. My man Brosnan is on fire in this role, very watchable, and has great chemistry with Paul. Patrick Stewart doesn't get it on the action, but he too is a lot of fun to watch (love how he has his arm in a cast throughout the whole thing and we're never told why).
Episode 22: Detonator II - Night Watch (1995)
With Death Train behind me, I could finally revisit Night Watch, of which I only remember watching the first 20 minutes or so when it was on TV in my country. The only returning cast members are Brosnan and Alexandra Paul, plus the guy who played that TV reporter. William Devane plays the boss in this one, and I liked him enough in the role (especially towards the end when he shows up with a grenade launcher), but I still would've greatly preferred if Patrick Stewart had come back. Night Watch is a very different film from its predecessor. While both films are based on books written by authors presumably following the late Alistair MacLean's notes on UNACO, the fictional organization he invented, Death Train is a more of a serious thriller (serious, not humorless) and Night Watch is a James Bond film in all but name. And that, my friends, was a joyous discovery for me. Picturesque locations (Amsterdam and Hong Kong), gadgets, women, elegance, gambling (fantastic scene by the way), hi-tech stuff.... even the plot (art forgery leads to discovering a bigger threat) is reminiscent of something like Goldfinger or A View to a Kill. Hell, there is even a scene in which Brosnan and Paul attend a party and Brosnan sneaks into a secret room, while Paul distracts the host by talking with him about his art collection... It's everything you would expect from a Bond movie, only this one cost less and was made for TV. The two leads kick ass, not to mention the actress who plays the CIA liaison in Hong Kong. There's even Rolf Saxon! And our man Pierce... well, he is Pierce Brosnaning all over the place in this one, rocking the longer hair, being extremely charming and presenting his signature physical style. (I never understand how people say Pierce didn't bring anything new to the role of Bond— he brought himself: his voice and his physical movements are uniquely his.) And how not to mention that extremely catchy and Bondian music score by John Scott (who played sax on Goldfinger). Just listen to this!
Well, this is a GoldenEye rip off.
Yeah, I had lots more fun with them than I anticipated. Continuing with the 90's, I now have an interest in watching Live Wire. Ron Silver is in it, and I remember him fondly as Senator McComb in Timecop, so why not?
I disagree, it wasn't a mess at all, it was quite a good film. The problem beeing of course that it had little to do with the concept of 'The Saint', as @CraigMooreOHMSS rightfully pointed out. Another name on the can and people would've loved it.
Brosnan's so good in that one. He's foul-mouthed, very cheeky, and the whole film has such an air of '90s cheese to it that I love. I thought the explosions were well executed too and pretty to watch (that opening bombing in particular).
Here, take the links!
https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/fast-charlie-review-pierce-brosnan-1235755319/
https://deadline.com/2023/10/fast-charlie-review-pierce-brosnan-morena-baccarin-james-caan-1235566282/
Is that the one where Brosnan goes to some swanky party, and ends up climbing up the outside of the building, to sneak around the floor above?
This is also in the film, but in a different scene.
https://deadline.com/2023/10/unholy-trinity-pierce-brosnan-samuel-l-jackson-sag-agreement-1235574925/
In other news, I'm loving this After the Sunset blooper reel. Especially the screwdriver attack and the failed takes with Rex Linn and the other guy :))