On J List of Movie Reviews

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Jack's Back (1988)

Rate: 4
Viewed: 12/18

12/18: Calling all die-hard James Spader fans, have I got a movie for them: Jack's Back.

I don't use the word "die-hard" lightly because James Spader is literally the only good thing going here. The story is so run-of-the-mill that I wonder why he bothered with such a trite piece of crap. For some reason, the director seems obsessed with the golden hour and bright strobe lights in the background during the middle of the night.

The first half-hour is okay with an interesting plotline although I developed a good idea of who the killer might be which is eventually proved to be true despite the numerous red herrings. Then, the twist comes, leaving me in a perplexed state that I was unable to shake it off the next thirty minutes. Finally, everybody phones in his performance on the home stretch, not caring a fig about what's going on, hence the sucky ending.

Figuring out who the killer might be won't be difficult due to two reasons: whoever worked in the office had special access to information about the prostitute's pregnancy and there were only a handful of them. But hey...whatever happened to the black doctor? He just disappeared.

James Spader's other character, in black leather jacket with druggie hairdo and all, seems cool, but I have to chuckle at the fact that he "manages" a sportswear shoe store. Regardless, he holds his ground acting-wise while being failed by everybody else including the writer-director of Road House.

All in all, don't be misled by the cover of Jack's Back because the movie isn't going that way.

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