On M List of Movie Reviews
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The Mighty Quinn (1989)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
12/02, 4/04, 5/24
5/24:
Not many people know this, but The Mighty Quinn is the film that made a bona fide star out of Denzel Washington.
Then, Glory happened, and the rest is history. Anyway, it's a weak neo-noir that was
actually shot on location in Jamaica although there's not much to see of the country. The convoluted story isn't interesting,
and there's neither sex nor excitement out of it. Silly is the incorporation of Capoeira out of the blue.
Correct me if I'm wrong: if Isola left the poisonous snake in the hotel room which eventually killed Donald Pater, then she's the
murderer, yes? So...arrest her. Not entirely innocent, Maubee is an accomplice to murder. Why didn't he leave the country with
her if they had a briefcase full of $10,000 bills? By the way, what's the significance of James Fox and Mimi Rogers having
a larger screen presence if their characters play a small role in the murder case?
Denzel Washington is fine, but everybody else is too weak to match him. Robert Townsend is miscast because the
role calls for somebody who's larger than life. Yet he's so ordinary. That's why he fell off the map after appearing in the
next two giant stinkers: The Five Heartbeats and The Meteor Man.
All in all, The Mighty Quinn makes for an okay viewing if you want to catch something from the 80's with Denzel Washington
in a leading role.