| Now
he's back as an LAPD detective forced to appear in a 24-hour reality TV cop show
with rookie patrolman Eddie Murphy. No wonder he acts like he's on autopilot.
Indeed, Tom Dey's
disappointing follow-up to "Shanghai Noon" is little more than action
comedy by numbers. The idea of casting method man De Niro opposite wild card Eddie
Murphy must have looked great on paper. But all it really achieves is to make
us hanker for earlier, superior capers like "Midnight Run" and "48
Hrs".
It's not the concept
that's at fault but the execution. Twinning De Niro's grizzled veteran with Eddie's
fame-seeking upstart is a neat gambit, and having William Shatner (playing himself!)
give them a crash course in TJ Hooker posturing is a masterstroke.
The problems start
once it becomes evident the script has nothing for them to do except participate
in an increasingly wearisome succession of shoot-outs, punch-ups, and car chases.
There are compensations.
Rene Russo more than holds her own as a tough-as-nails TV producer, despite being
saddled with the ludicrous name of Chase Renzi, and Dey has fun mocking every
bickering cop duo from Starsky & Hutch to Riggs and Murtaugh in "Lethal
Weapon".
But there's surely
something wrong with a comedy where the only belly laughs come from the selection
of outtakes tacked onto the end credits.
"Showtime"
opens in UK cinemas on Friday 3rd May 2002.
Reviewed by , 大象传媒 Films
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