ecl@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (Evelyn C. Leeper) (03/20/90)
BLUE STEEL
A film review by Craig Good
Copyright 1990 Craig Good
Competent and earnest acting on the part of the ever-reliable Jamie Lee
Curtis and imaginative cinematography are not enough to wrest BLUE STEEL from
the jaws of a bad script. Curtis stars in this new thriller as a rookie New
York cop who, through no fault of her own, sees more gunplay in her first 48
hours on the job than most police officers see in an entire career.
Ron Silver co-stars as a psychotic commodity trader (perhaps a tautology)
apparently obsessed with Jamie Lee. I say apparently, because one of the
scripts major weaknesses is a lack of motivation or explanation for anything he
does. Once you think you understand this guy, he has a scene where he hears
voices in his head.
The script is also all over the map in terms of logic. At several points
I found myself wondering how in the world *that* happened, or how they wound up
together *there*, and how did she know *that*. The film also expects you to
believe that wrapping a .44 Magnum in a towel will make it quiet enough for a
person in the next room not to hear it go off. In short, the suspension of
disbelief required exceeded my threshold.
There are some fine, tense moments, and I liked the director's use of
short depth of field telephoto shots. BLUE STEEL wants to be SEA OF LOVE meets
FATAL ATTRACTION, but lacks the style and intelligence of either. Die-hard
Jamie Lee Curtis fans should wait to catch it on video. Others need not apply.
--Craig
...{ucbvax,sun}!pixar!good