generationofswine
OK, this is far from a piece of Hollywood excellence and my rating is honestly more for reasons of nostalgia than quality, but it's still a fun film.I mean, sure, Richard Grieco isn't a great actor, or even a particularly good actor. There is a reason the dude had to audition to play himself in "A Night at the Roxbury." But he pulls off the typical American teen at the end of the 90s pretty well.The plot is sort of absurd as well, the mistaken identity, an 18 year-old kid seems to pass believable for a middle-aged super spy? It doesn't exactly fly in Hollywood, he doesn't look the part, he doesn't act the part...so that might make him a great spy in real life...but not in the movies.Still, the absurdity of the plot line is part of it's charm. It isn't a serious film, it's a teenager's fantasy film and it completely pulls off the fantasy. Every kid in high school wants a grand adventure and If Looks Could Kill delivers.It doesn't take itself too seriously, right down to the title that openly mocks a James Bond film...and in a few cases is actually a better title.The action again, is awesome, sort of spy movie great and sort of teen adventure fantasy great.The movie itself is the day dream of a kid sitting through a boring class dreaming about a way to make school fun again, and If Looks Could Kill fits beautifully into that mold.
Tom Smith
Made in 1991, "If Looks Could Kill" was a fun flick and a pleasant surprise. I'm not sure why it has such a low rating on IMDb. There was some high school level humor, but in general it's good, clever humor.Basically "If Looks Could Kill" is a cute comedy/action spoof using some of the James Bond themes (M giving James Bond a tour of the secret weapons development lab) and a few other spy movies, but basically on James Bond movies.Little did I know that a refreshingly young Gabrielle Anwar would be in it. I have a fondness for her, she's a great actress! Linda Hunt was terrific as always. Richard Grieco did a great job as the unsuspecting "kid" spy who is reluctantly mistaken to be a real spy.The humor and action rolls smoothly and people renting this will enjoy this flick.
wiretap_kid
This is, simply put, one of the worst movies I've ever seen, and I've seen quite a few bad movies. It's not just that smarmy idiot Richard Grieco, or the massive plot holes, or the incomprehensible, unbelievable plot, it's the whole combination of massive failures that make this movie so terrible. Now, I realize that this is a teen "action-comedy" of sorts, and it's plot is meant to be a piece of escapist fiction, and I went into this without any kind of bias. I expected fantastic settings, over-the-top villians, and unbelievable gadgets. It failed me at every turn, but the biggest problem was simply how stupid it was. Nothing was believable, nothing. For example, what high school would let you come to the graduation ceremony, call your name, and hand you a diploma, only to have said diploma tell you that you failed to graduate? I don't know any school, even a public school, that would be so sadistic. To put it in a few words, this movie sucks.
SnakeEclipse1403
This movie was okay. I've seen it a couple of times and it's all right. The one-liners in the movie are the best part, but they do hurt it by overdoing them. The action sequence at the end is enjoyable. I only wish they didn't take Mrs. Grober, a complete wuss in one act and turn her into an over-amped, wanna-be, confident fighter. It just didn't work. The only acting worth crediting is that of Marishka's. The only character who acts her role out well. The plot is original and good which made it a little more watchable. Oh, and did they really have to underuse the Lotus. Come on, we see him screwing around with the gadgets while not even trying to get into too much conflict with the bad guys. So there's one guy chasing him. Do we give a rat's ***? No. If they had almost the whole force on him, then there's something worth watching. Steranko is just plain annoying at times. I wish that that what's her face short lady was the main bad guy(girl). At least she's more intimidating than this tall wimp. One last thing, the helicopter and the fire at the end. Can anyone say,"too much?" I mean a blade going off on its own is the weirdest thing ever, even for a movie. And the fire; I didn't know it could spread so fast in under 3 minutes. Plus, you can tell in the far away shot of the castle at the end when it on fire that it is pure model or something like that. Thank God for CGI these days. 5/10
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