Review of Golden Child, The

Introduction

"The Golden Child" was Eddie Murphy`s next film after "Beverly Hills Cop", if you discount 1984`s utterly rubbish "Best Defense", which I`m sure Murphy himself would like to do! It represents a bit of a change too, since we see Murphy move away from the expletive-filled Axel Foley to the more sedate Chandler Jarrell, who spends most of his time telling his foes that he is going to "bus` yo ass". Mary Whitehouse wouldn`t get too upset at that would she?

The plot, what little there is of it, sees our hero called in to help find "The Golden Child", a journey which takes him from the USA to Tibet, with some Indiana Jones style adventuring along the way. Can he defeat the evil stereotyped British villain (Charles Dance)?

Video

We are presented with a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, which is good in parts and bad in others. There`s quite a bit of dirt on the print, and there are quite a few artefacts on show. It`s still very watchable though.

As for special effects, I`m afraid that they are rather showing their age, despite being overseen by those wizards at Industrial Light and Magic. The dancing can is briefly good, but then looks dated, and some of the back projection is rather ropey. It doesn`t detract from your enjoyment too much though.

Audio

The sound has been given a DD5.1 remix, although you won`t always notice it. There are some scenes that make the best of the available channels, but it`s usually the soundtrack that reaches out beyond the centre channel. And it`s the soundtrack that allows you to instantly place the film bang in the mid-1980s, as it`s a typical example of the period. There are some similarities with a certain song from Beverly Hills Cop too!

Features

Just a non-anamorphic trailer. Look at me jumping up and down with excitement.

Conclusion

The Golden Child manages to be a success and a failure at the same time. As an attempt to have a wider appeal, and to be a family film, it works. But as a vehicle for Murphy`s particular brand of comedy it ultimately fails, due to the "toned down" nature of the script. Fans of Eddie Murphy can still find things to laugh at, and the trademark laugh is there, but in the end it just feels a little bit too "sanitised".

The disc is a bit of a let down too, with only an average picture and sound, and a distinct lack of extras. If you want a gentle 1980s action comedy, or you are a fan of Murphy, then you might rent this one for old time`s sake. I can`t really see why you would want to buy it though.