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September 1998

Red Corner
Reviewed by Doug Schneider
DVD Format

Overall Enjoyment: *1/2
Picture Quality: ***1/2
Sound Quality: ****
Packaged Extras: ***

Starring Richard Gere, Bai Ling

Directed by Jon Avnet

Theatrical Release: 1997
DVD Release: 1998
Dolby Digital 5.1
Widescreen


Watching the opening 15 minutes of Red Corner I was immediately reminded of the beginning of 1998's Off Limits starring Gregory Hines and Willem Dafoe. Off Limits begins with the murder of a Saigon prostitute during the Vietnam war. Immediately following the murder, the silhouette of the killer is shown walking down a dark street. That silhouette immediately struck me as looking a whole lot like actor Fred Ward. Surprise, surprise, within the next few moments good old Fred shows up in a key role. No way, could they have really been that sloppy? I thought. I needed to watch the end of that film simply to see if my Perry Mason qualities were really that sharp. Should I spoil the ending? I won't, but like Off Limits, Red Corner has no surprises, and if you can't guess who the real killer is long before the end, that's OK -- when the credits role you won't care anyway.

Gere tries to have his cake and eat it too by portraying Jack Moore, a hotshot US lawyer finalizing a big satellite-entertainment deal destined for China -- a big-money proposition that will bring riches to all those involved. Gere is ideal as Moore -- distinguished, intelligent and able to snag heart-stopping models quicker than a paparazzi with a flash. Money, looks and power -- a combination, at least in the movies, that looks for and finds trouble. The producers really try to give you your money's worth by throwing in glitz and glamour with some full nudity added for good measure -- it doesn't work. After bedding a runway model within moments of her catwalk, Gere wakes up with the mother of all hangovers, gets dragged out of bed by shouting Chinese police, and is led through his posh hotel suite to see that same woman blood-soaked on the floor. I always find it amusing that filmmakers need to portray scenes like this with all kinds of scurrying people, absurd amounts of commotion, all to give the feeling that there is a really something going on. However, would it really be that way when you think that the only people the police have to deal with are one dead body and one unconscious drunk in a bed? The Brady Bunch poses more of a threat.

While the premise could have worked as an average suspense thriller, perhaps on late-night TV, the filmmakers feel the need to make this into a political suspense thriller -- or at least Gere feels this need. It is by no coincidence that the story is set in China. Gere, like many, deplores the Chinese government's human-rights record and enjoys flogging it in public. It's an admirable cause; however, he picks the most inopportune times to forward his agenda. In the end, he ends up being far less effective than he could be. We see Jack dragged into court while not being able to understand a word, forcible attempts to make him plead guilty, a number of beatings here and there, and, of course, nasty things like turning the lights out when he's trying to read and washing out his cereal bowl in the toilet. They even step on his glasses, darn it! Everyone in power is bent on putting him away, or better yet, killing him. To add insult to injury, the US Embassy doesn't really want to help! Why? We're not sure, but if they did want to help, you can be sure the movie would be over a whole lot more quickly.

Of course, in a situation like this, Jack has no one to turn to but the assigned Chinese attorney who just happens to be female and, of course, beautiful. Does he get her in bed too? That's about the only real suspense here. We get to see legal wrangling, political intrigue and Gere attempting to revive his American Gigolo role. Seem preposterous? Well, it is.

What could have been an effective expose on human rights is reduced to contrived scenes that defy any plausibility. If everyone in power wants him put away, would they really need to rig a gang of thugs to beat him in a stairwell? Wouldn't out in the courtroom, or maybe in an office, be better? The could just shoot him. Why do they have to turn out the lights so he can't read? Why not just take the book away? And for a government bent on putting him in prison for life, they are certainly very accommodating when, after a completely ludicrous escape attempt complete with a rooftop chase with dress shoes and handcuffs, they park him right back into his prisoner's box and let him continue where he left off the day before -- no additional charges laid. I'm sure that in North America he would get locked up, his bail hiked to the clouds, and he’d be awaiting trial for the next few years. And finally, why do all film court cases have to get solved within two minutes by supporting actors who only show up at the beginning and end of the film? Oops, did I spoil a surprise?

The technical aspects of the DVD are a mixed bag. The sound is rich and dynamic with plenty chutzpah thrown in to stir up heat, even where there is none. I always like the sound of drums, and they are used nicely here. The cinematography is bright, lush and vibrant with a wonderful texture and some nice editing sequences. However, this DVD also displayed some irritating digital artifacts that I'm not sure are the fault of the mastering, the DVD, or the player I use. For example, at about the 33-minute mark in a scene in the courtroom, the characters are shot close-up with a shallow depth of field. The result on film is clear front images with a surreal, blurred background rich with color. The DVD's rendition of the background becomes the problem because it turns highly pixelated on certain shots. At other times, the shading becomes blotchy and almost crawls in a distracting way as the camera moves along. On the plus side, there are a decent number of DVD extras, including the obligatory theatrical trailer and some commentary. But, I must say, nothing in the extras really interested me.

Politics and Hollywood rarely work -- Warren Beatty's recent Bullworth is an exception. Worse than that, Richard Gere and many of the movies he chooses to star in rarely work either. In his best films -- Looking for Mr. Goodbar, American Gigolo, Officer and a Gentleman, Breathless, Internal Affairs, Primal Fear and even Mr. Jones -- Gere can be very good, almost irreplaceable. In the wrong role, like this one, he is instantly forgettable. Red Corner paints itself into a corner where no common sense prevails.


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