THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 11, 1994 TAG: 9410110048
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
IT WAS INEVITABLE that Sly and Sharon, Hollywood's two most flagrant exhibitionists, would eventually get together. In ``The Specialist,'' they take a shower.
You can bet that cleanliness is not their primary motivation. She's Hollywood's reigning sex goddess, and he's got to do something to pay for all those gym sessions. At 48, he's got all the muscles that pumping iron can produce - muscles that even Arnold hasn't heard of yet. She knows how to strut and purr at the same time - a feat that is occasionally amazing to watch. Together, they pose.
The result is more mist than steam, but still, they look great - even if they appear to be waiting around for a photographer to show up.
Luis Llosa, the director, has apparently let everyone go his own way. His cast has had extensive experience with bombs. Consequently, they don't seem interested in fading quietly. They shamelessly try to steal scenes from each other.
Stallone is the quietest, if only because his dialogue is limited to monosyllables. He walks through the part as if he were half-asleep. He does manage to grunt occasionally when Stone says sexy things to him on the phone.
Stone obviously enjoys being a movie star, and she is a delight to watch, if only for the witty way she makes fun of her own sexy persona. She, more than anyone else, lets us know that she knows this whole thing is silly but invites us to have fun anyway.
Most of the film is spent with characters on the phone.
He's an explosives expert, and she ostensibly wants to hire him to get revenge upon a Cuban-American crime family. They killed her parents. She phones and purrs, ``I hear you're good at explosives. I hear you know how to aim your explosives.''
Things begin, as do most action movies, with a loud prologue that serves little purpose other than to merely open the movie - and show a car explode and crash into a river. It takes place in Colombia in 1984 when we learn that Ned, Sly's CIA partner, is a maniac. Since he is played by James Woods, can there have been any doubt?
Woods has apparently been forced into supporting roles by the box office disasters of his recent leading man flicks. Here, he rages uncontrollably as he shouts, ``Go, go'' to lackeys who react every time Stallone ignites another bomb. Just to make sure we get the point, which we already did, he looks into the camera, foams at the mouth and growls, ``I'm the craziest person you'll meet in your life.'' OK, but we've already seen Tommy Lee Jones do this act.
Rod Steiger goes over the top as the head of the Cuban-American crime family with an accent that sounds like Brando's ``Godfather'' with a touch of Ricky Ricardo added. When things go wrong, he rages to his henchmen, ``I blame jou.''
The only interesting character in the film is the arrogant son, played with real steam by Eric Roberts, Julia's older brother and perhaps the real talent in the family. It's high time that he got a got a starring role of his own - and not just as the second-string villain.
Alexandra Seros' script has several nice twists. It begins with hints of film noir melodramatics but fizzles in the middle and sinks totally with a ludicrous ending that makes no sense whatsoever. Things sink so low along the way that, to stir up action, Sly throws a thug out a bus window - for no plot reason other than getting a seat for a nice old lady.
Only fans of showers need to rush to see this one. ILLUSTRATION: MOVIE REVIEW
``The Specialist''
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Rod Steiger,
Eric Roberts
Director: Luis Llosa
Screenplay: Alexandra Seros
MPAA rating: R (Sly and Sharon take a shower; language; the
violent explosions are separate)
Mal's rating: 1 1/2 Stars
Locations: Cinemark Movies 10, Chesapeak; Janaf, Main Gate Movies
10, Norfolk; Kemps River Crossing, Lynnhaven 8, Pembroke,
Surf-N-Sand, Virginia Beach
by CNB