classicsoncall Like many action flicks, this one starts out with a compelling premise and over the course of the story, deteriorates into mindless and over the top sequences of explosions and pyrotechnics. Following the opening scene I wasn't sure at one point if we were in a Geena Davis flashback or if the events were taking place in real time. That was when she hit the deer and ran off the road. When Davis's character Samantha Caine walked over to the suffering animal and broke it's neck by hand, I just had to shake my head. So much for credibility.And then it turns into an assassin flick. Actually the set up was pretty good, and the way Samantha begins to restore her memory with bits and pieces of a government black-bag past, it looks like we might have an intriguing mystery on our hands. But things get a little too crazy as things proceed, as Sam joins forces with Samuel L. Jackson to go after her former boss at The Chapter (Patrick Malahide), a munitions dealer (David Morse) and his personal enforcer (Craig Bierko). I have to say, it was gratifying to see David Morse in a role in which he wasn't a mushy, soft-hearted wuss like so many of his made for TV roles.It's not surprising that this film fell off of IMDb's Top 250 Film List for 1996 and sits with a 6.7 rating as I write this. Those early years of IMDb attracted a lot of clunkers to the line-up, and even though this isn't one of the worst, it's certainly not a prize winner. Fans of the principals might find some satisfaction here, but don't hold your breath any longer than Samantha on the torture rack.

seymourblack-1 Action thrillers are designed to provide their audiences with excitement, entertainment and escapism and "The Long Kiss Goodnight" certainly meets all of these criteria. A sequence during which the movie's two main protagonists race down a corridor followed by a rapidly accelerating fireball and escape by leaping out of a high-level window exemplifies this perfectly, as the stunt, which is obviously far-fetched, is extremely exciting to watch as well as being laugh-out-loud funny. The stunts, explosions and chases in this film are all brilliantly staged and together with its very witty script and lively pace, contribute to an end product that's really enjoyable.Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) is a schoolteacher in a small town in Pennsylvania who enjoys a very pleasant lifestyle with her good natured fiancé and her young daughter. Her only real problem is that she can't remember anything about her life before the occasion eight years earlier when she was found on a New Jersey beach suffering from amnesia. Things start to change however, after she's involved in a car crash and a blow to the head triggers some disturbing flashbacks and she suddenly displays a level of dexterity with a knife that leads her to believe that, in her previous life, she must've been a chef!! Mitch Henessey (Samuel L Jackson), a private detective that Samantha had hired to check out her past, arrives at her house with some information just after she's been involved in a fight with a one-eyed convict who'd escaped from prison after seeing TV coverage of her taking part in her town's Christmas parade. This violent man obviously held her responsible for the loss of his eye and was out for revenge but the extraordinary combat skills that Samantha uses in subduing him shock both her and her fiancé.Mitch's information leads to the discovery that, in her past, Samantha had been a government assassin called Charly Baltimore who'd succeeded in preventing some corrupt CIA personnel from detonating a bomb at Niagara Falls and blaming the atrocity on terrorists in order to elicit more funding from Congress. Unfortunately, Mitch and Samantha / Charly also learn that a new group is planning to carry out a similar attack and that, as they're seen as a threat to that group, their lives are in immediate danger. Their only option is to go on the run and this leads them into further violent encounters when amongst other things, Charly gets tortured, her daughter gets kidnapped and Mitch gets seriously injured.Geena Davis and Samuel L Jackson work well individually and together in this movie. They make a great team as she excels in her role as an action heroine and he provides a whole series of marvellous one-liners. The humour that runs through the movie is also pivotal to its success because it makes the most unbelievable action sequences seem totally acceptable and induces its audience to cheerfully overlook inconvenient details such as how someone with no background and a made up name could've had the necessary formal qualifications to get a job as a schoolteacher. Similarly, the potentially negative impact of the film's high body count, strong violence and swearing is also successfully mitigated and made more acceptable because of its clever use of comedy.

SnoopyStyle Samantha Caine (Geena Davis) is a suburban teacher married to Hal (Tom Amandes) with a daughter. She suffered amnesia 8 years ago and has been hiring private detectives. However after so many years, she's down to the cheap unscrupulous Mitch Henessey (Samuel L. Jackson) and his assistant Trin (Melina Kanakaredes). Parts of her old personality starts to seep through after a car accident. Her name was Charly Baltimore and she was a skilled government assassin. People from her past starts coming back to kill her. Timothy (Craig Bierko) finds out that she's still alive and starts tracking her down as well as many others who would rather have her dead. Mitch uncovers a treasure trove of her past which she uses to call Dr. Nathan Waldman (Brian Cox).I love the idea of this movie. Shane Black has written some interesting hard boiled movies. I'm not as in love with director Renny Harlin's execution. The movie also bogs down with too many bad guys with too complicated of a story. The action is OK and there's lots of it. Davis and Jackson need to have better chemistry. I think Davis is a little too off-putting and angry. This movie has its moments but other movies with similar stories have been done better.

skamment How in the world this over-the-top stinker received any award nominations, let alone measurable votes here, is beyond me. It irks me that Uverse gives this three of four stars, as many as it once gave the film "Gandhi" (I'm not sure, but their ratings might be based on IMDb scoring). It's sort of trying to be what "Bourne Identity" became so much more successfully, and it failed. Davis and Jackson are wonderfully skilled actors, and it is only their performances that make this worth watching, but this vehicle is ultimately a waste of their talent. The first hour is engaging, watching Davis and Jackson develop their relationship. But once the heavy violence and action start, it goes downhill fast. The lines delivered by the little girl (Zima) came out flat and unconvincing. Worse, they were said with an adorable lisp. Bierko is equally unconvincing (and miscast) as a smirking, sarcastic, wise-cracking bad guy. The dialog is so bad, it seems like a parody of itself. In bad films like this, just before the evil genius (who has captured and is holding the hero) orders the hero to be killed, he performs a monologue revealing to the hero his reason for doing evil and his secret plan to do more evil, in order to let the audience in on the ensuing danger. You may know that scene in "Austin Powers International Man of Mystery" (a much better film than this one), when Dr. Evil says, "I'm going to place him in an easily escapable situation involving an overly elaborate and exotic death." That applies to a scene in this movie too. Most of this movie is terribly contrived, predictable, a cliché or just ridiculous. Davis is gratuitously stripped down to her underclothes in a few scenes (to nothing in one) to show off her toned body. You may not see that as a negative, as I did. I had to wonder how the bad guys didn't smell the gasoline Davis hides in the girl's doll just before the two are captured. Or why the girl waited until Davis expended all of her energy -- in a stupid and futile attempt to create a spark to ignite said gasoline by pounding on concrete with a crowbar -- and broke down in tears in frustration before she revealed to Davis that, by the way, she happened to have matches on her. How ironic and so convenient that the girl chose to hide in the very truck with the dangerous bomb that becomes involved in a high-speed chase. The scenes at the end meant to be touching are just corny. Oh, and the bloody makeup on Davis's face during the climax of the film makes her look like a crazy clown.