Hudson Hawk starts as the world's best cat burglar Eddie 'Hudson Hawk' Hawkins (Bruce Willis) is let out of jail after a long visit, he isn't even out of the place when his corrupt parole officer Gates (Burtt Harris) tries to get him to rob an auction house. Hawk isn't interested & just wants a coffee, however back at his friend Tommy's (Danny Aiello) bar the Mario brothers (Ha!) who run New Jersey's third largest crime family threaten to cut his balls off which is all the motivation Hawk needs (whimp). Hawk is told to steal a bronze horse made by Leonardo Da Vinci which he does, afterwards he is contacted by CIA agent George Kaplan (James Coburn) & a pair of billionaire megalomaniacs Darwin (Richard E. Grant) & Minerva Mayflower (Sandra Bernhard) who blackmail him into stealing a book by Da Vinci, which he does. But it doesn't stop there as Hawk finds himself in the middle of a plot to overthrow the world's economy! Wow.
Directed by Michael Lehmann Hudson Hawk was absolutely mauled upon it's initial release by critics & was a major flop at the box-office, however having said that I didn't think it was all bad & there's a certain odd entertainment value here. The script by Daniel Waters & Steven E. de Souza is a slapstick comedy action adventure that doesn't quite work, it has some amusing moments & it has some mildly exciting ones but it doesn't quite gel. The goofy slapstick comedy moments overshadow the more serious action ones & it's hard to get excited especially when there are scenes like when Willis is sliding across as zip-wire & when shot he lands on top of a lamp post, perfectly balanced too. There are all sorts of odd double crosses & a bizarre collection of character's although the Mayflower's should have been in it much more as they were actually quite funny & sinister at the same time. Some of the jokes & gags work while other's don't, the little sketch at the start with Da Vinci & the Mona Lisa is amusing for instance while scenes like bad guy's with bombs stuck to their foreheads desperately trying to remove them aren't. The action scenes vary as well with Hawk being pulled along on a stretcher behind an ambulance & smoking a cigarette thrown from a nearby car coming across as very silly. It's really hard to review Hudson Hawk because I think it's one of those films you will either love or hate, although having said that I'm now going to totally contradict myself as I thought it was somewhere between the two being OK!
Lehmann's career was more or less over after this tanked at the box-office, he's since gone on to make TV episodes of various show's & the odd film as well. The film looks nice enough thanks to a big budget, the action scenes are alright if a bit silly & it's got a bit of style about it. Back in 1992 Hudson Hawk won 3 Razzie awards for worst director (a bit harsh), worst picture (I'd have to see what it was up against) & worst screenplay (again I'd have to see what else was nominated) & was nominated for another 3 for worst actor, worst supporting actor & worst supporting actress while in 2000 it was nominated for another Razzie as the worst film of the decade which it clearly didn't deserve to win & didn't. That's a lot of hate amongst that lot, wouldn't you say?
With a budget of about $65,000,000 this had a lot of money spent on it & it shows as it looks nice enough with that Hollywood look to it, the special effects are good & it's well made. The acting is very over-the-top especially by villains Richard E. Grant & Sandra Bernhard although they are fun & make for the best two character's in the film.
Hudson Hawk is a difficult film to recommend as most people hate it although it does have some fans, personally I thought it was OK & is something a bit different even if it's not a total success.
Directed by Michael Lehmann Hudson Hawk was absolutely mauled upon it's initial release by critics & was a major flop at the box-office, however having said that I didn't think it was all bad & there's a certain odd entertainment value here. The script by Daniel Waters & Steven E. de Souza is a slapstick comedy action adventure that doesn't quite work, it has some amusing moments & it has some mildly exciting ones but it doesn't quite gel. The goofy slapstick comedy moments overshadow the more serious action ones & it's hard to get excited especially when there are scenes like when Willis is sliding across as zip-wire & when shot he lands on top of a lamp post, perfectly balanced too. There are all sorts of odd double crosses & a bizarre collection of character's although the Mayflower's should have been in it much more as they were actually quite funny & sinister at the same time. Some of the jokes & gags work while other's don't, the little sketch at the start with Da Vinci & the Mona Lisa is amusing for instance while scenes like bad guy's with bombs stuck to their foreheads desperately trying to remove them aren't. The action scenes vary as well with Hawk being pulled along on a stretcher behind an ambulance & smoking a cigarette thrown from a nearby car coming across as very silly. It's really hard to review Hudson Hawk because I think it's one of those films you will either love or hate, although having said that I'm now going to totally contradict myself as I thought it was somewhere between the two being OK!
Lehmann's career was more or less over after this tanked at the box-office, he's since gone on to make TV episodes of various show's & the odd film as well. The film looks nice enough thanks to a big budget, the action scenes are alright if a bit silly & it's got a bit of style about it. Back in 1992 Hudson Hawk won 3 Razzie awards for worst director (a bit harsh), worst picture (I'd have to see what it was up against) & worst screenplay (again I'd have to see what else was nominated) & was nominated for another 3 for worst actor, worst supporting actor & worst supporting actress while in 2000 it was nominated for another Razzie as the worst film of the decade which it clearly didn't deserve to win & didn't. That's a lot of hate amongst that lot, wouldn't you say?
With a budget of about $65,000,000 this had a lot of money spent on it & it shows as it looks nice enough with that Hollywood look to it, the special effects are good & it's well made. The acting is very over-the-top especially by villains Richard E. Grant & Sandra Bernhard although they are fun & make for the best two character's in the film.
Hudson Hawk is a difficult film to recommend as most people hate it although it does have some fans, personally I thought it was OK & is something a bit different even if it's not a total success.