Johnny Handsome (1989)

Stylist Walter Hill has Directed some Very Underrated and Under-Appreciated Movies and this is One of them. With a Killer Cast including Lance Henriksen, Ellen Barkin, Morgan Freeman, and Forest Whitaker it is Mickey Rourke as the Title Character that Slinks Back in the Frame and Plays Off the Others with Pathos and Empathy that draws the Viewer into this Violent and Edgy Neo-Noir.It is a Colorful Downer of a Movie that has Roots in the Pulp Fiction and Film Noir of the Thirties and Forties. Set in Modern Day New Orleans the Mood is Bleak and Sombre. The Movie Burns with Style and the Charismatic Characters all Contribute to this Low Brow Version of a Greek Tragedy. The Film was Ignored and Panned but it is a Gem Waiting for Discovery by Modern Film Buffs and has a Packed in Quality that Unleashes a Baggage of Bang Up Scenes that Click with a Cutting Edge of Nastiness and Cynicism. Henriksen and Barkin are Foul Mouthed Low Lifes of the Highest Order and Morgan Freeman is on hand to Deliver some of the most Defeatist Dialog.Mickey Rourke shows once again a Knack for Picking the most Off Beat Roles and Delivers yet another take of Someone Outside the Orbit of Hollywood. The Ry Cooder Score is just One More Addition to this Already Rich Rumble of the Mean Streets.

Johnny Handsome is a great,underrated Crime Drama,Film Noir and Thriller that's filled with great direction,wonderful performances,film score and is one of Walter Hill and Mickey Rourke's best films and is very overlooked.Based on the novel The Three Worlds Of Johnny Handsome by John Godey and set in New Orleans Johnny Handsome tells the story of John Sedley(Mickey Rourke)a man nicknamed Johnny Handsome because of the physical deformities on his face who sets up a robbery with two lowlifes named Sunny(Ellen Barkin)and Rafe(Lance Henriksen)to help his friend,Mikey(Scott Wilson)an older brother-type. When the robbery goes wrong,Mikey is killed by Rafe and Johnny is set-up by Sunny and Rafe to take the fall and gets put in prison and is stabbed while he's inside prison. While Johnny is in the hospital and in a coma,a sympathetic surgeon named Dr. Steven Fisher(Forrest Whitaker)offers Johnny a reconstructive surgery on his face and a new life. Although Johnny has a new face and name,Johnny still wants to get revenge on Sunny and Rafe at all costs new face or not.Johnny Handsome is an excellent film that is true to the genre and spirit of Film Noir,it's dark,gritty and ugly and the film works so well not just as Crime Drama,Film Noir or Thriller,but also as a great character study. Walter Hill definitely knows the Film Noir genre having done another Film Noir in 1978 with his classic The Driver. What I love about the film is that Hill creates a world of a dark world not at all related to the 80s but to the 40s,where in this film and in the works of Dashell Hammett and Raymond Chandler some of the characters are good,bad or something else in between. Where in the 80s most films were bright and colorful,Johnny Handsome is grim and gritty and doesn't fit in with the colorful world of the 80s where all characters are good and everything is going to turnout all right and I think that is one of the reasons that Johnny Handsome is underrated because right from the opening credits it's established that Johnny Handsome is not a lighthearted film but a film that is going to be bleak and dark until the very end. Johnny Handsome is a film that could have easily been made in the 40s. What I also love about Johnny Handsome is that it's a great character study. The main character John Sedley is a tragic character in many respects,because even though John has had surgery on his face and has a new name,John still feels like he has his old face and has the same emotions he had before. John also has to go out into the world with his new face try to deal with his past and present. The past where Dr.Fisher gives John a new face and a new life and feels that he will turnout o.k or having to deal with local cop L.T A.Z.Drones(Morgan Freeman)who despite seeing Johnny's new face doesn't believe that John will never,ever change and will always be a criminal. Another thing from his past is Sunny and Rafe and how John still carries the emotional scars from dealing with those two and trying to get revenge. In the present,Johnny doesn't want his new girlfriend and lover Donna(Elizabeth McGovern)to know about his past or who he used to be,but unfortunately for Johnny his past and present meet up. I think that one of the themes of the film is that you can change how a person looks on the outside but,you can't change how they feel on the inside Some probably would see Hill's films as just Action films,but the characters in his films have depth and history and it's one of the many reasons Walter Hill is one of my favorite film directors. Johnny Handsome is not only a great Film Noir but also a great character study of John Sedley. Although not as Action-packed as many of Hill's films,Johnny Handsome has a few well-executed Action scenes that will get the viewer riled up which are violent and fast and at times brutal which greatly matches the film's dark and gritty tone. With the exception of a couple films Hill has never been known for making long films and if their is a flaw with this film is that it's not long enough in my opinion and should have been 15-20 minutes longer and had more scenes with the characters because I wanted to see much more,but that doesn't stop the film from being great and memorable. The ending of this film is brilliant,powerful,bleak and sad but is true to the dark and grim spirit of Film Noir. An excellent and unforgettable conclusion.The whole cast does a great job. Mickey Rourke is excellent and at his best as John Sedley,bringing depth,toughness and sadness to the role. One of Rourke's most underrated performances. Ellen Barkin is fantastic,over the top and sexy as Sunny a sexy,but slimy woman. Elizabeth McGovern does a great job as Donna,Johnny's new girlfriend. Lance Henriksen is menacing and believable as Rafe,Sunny's partner in crime. Morgan Freeman is great as always as cop L.T. A.Z.Drones a cop who's always on Johnny's case. Forest Whitaker is wonderful as Dr.Fisher a sympathetic doctor who tries to help and understand Johnny. Scott Glenn does a fine job in his small role as Mikey,John's friend and older brother-type.Walter Hill's direction is excellent,bringing a dark,gritty,somber look to the film and also does well with the Action scenes. Great direction,Hill.Ry Cooder's score is amazing and it gives the film a hard edge with it's somber,blues-like sound and truly adds to the film.In final word,if you love Walter Hill,Mickey Rourke,Crime Dramas,Film Noir or Thrillers,I Highly suggest you see out Johnny Handsome an underrated and overlooked film that will stay with you after you watch it and is Walter Hill and Mickey Rourke at their best. Highly Recommended. 10/10.

A man who is double-crossed by his partners, imprisoned and who is then knifed while in prison by a man paid by his partners.This man survives the knife-attack, gets a new face and a new identity. Now he knows, that hidden behind his new face he can pass undetected among those who tried to destroy him...This film is more than revenge flick. It shows a man with a severe facial deformity mocked by others as "Johnny Handsome." When he has plastic surgery performed on his face and later sees his new face, he has mixed feelings of both disbelief and exhilaration. Now he is no long stigmatized as a freak and can lead a normal life. He lands an honest job and begins seeing Donna McCarty, a respectable woman who knows little of his past. But in his way are the people who tried to kill him in prison. Overall: I'm at a loss to see why this film wasn't a Box Office success. I'm a big Lance Henriksen fan and in this film he plays his menacing best. Similar to the role he played in Jean Claude Van Damme film: Hard Target. Veteran actress Alen Barkin complements him well. For once Mickey Rourke does a good role in his part as the titular character Johnny. Verdict: Definitely a MUST BUY!Similar revenge films: Payback, For A Few Dollars More, Robocop, Zero Tolerance, Face/Off, and Commando.

I wanted to just say that Mickey Rourke is one of my favorite actors...period.....but when i saw this flick i always wondered when he had surgery and had a normal face he learned to speak normally....well i found it weird that when Lance Henrikson(another of my favorite actors)slashed Mickeys face.....Mickey started talking like he was abnormal again....I always wondered if Mickey thought that was a good idea or that the director thought that was a good idea.....just seemed like bad acting to me....anyone else find that weird. ?.......all in all sometimes Mickey and Lance have made good role choices, but i think that someone should have told them that some of the dialog or scripts should be changed to make them look like great actors that they are.....Deniro and Pacino hardly ever make this mistake even though they do at times, but thats what makes them a little bit above the latter....i also wanted to point out that Mickey and Lance have made better choices lately and since i do love their acting and such that they keep it up.....thanks, Eddie