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 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 let down 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.