Heaven's Prisoners
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Movie Reviews of Heaven's Prisoners
Movie Review: Heavens Prisoners
Summary: 4 Stars
Storyline followed the book precicely. Wish actors & actresses could learn to do a Southern accent.Movie Review: A good primer
Summary: 3 Stars
The best thing that I can say about this movie is that it led me to the incredible series of novels by James Lee Burke featuring Dave Robicheaux, the tortured ex-soldier, ex-detective, ex-drinker, ex-philanderer, ex-etc. Like so many other deep literary character studies, this film version comes off flat and superficial because it dwells on the superficial elements of events and scenery. What makes Burke's novels so great is the psychic depth of the characters. Each character, no matter how minor, has a birthplace, a childhood, memory and environment that informs his or her presence in the story. Even the scenery in his novels has history. There are ways to bring all of this to the screen, but it doesn't happen here. Alec Baldwin made a credible Dave Robicheaux, but the rest of the film is mostly eye candy, with the exception of Hawthorne James as the scary assassin. James must have read the book. One reviewer said it was a good way to capture the atmosphere of the novels. A better way is to visit New Iberia and spend an afternoon on the chamber of commerce's "Dave Robicheaux Tour."Movie Review: This New Orleans movie is about atmosphere, not plot
Summary: 3 Stars
Ever since "Streetcar Named Desire" New Orleans has been a very popular movie location, but this was one of the lesser efforts. This film has some strong points--good Louisiana atmosphere, good performances and good action--but the positives are at least balanced, and probably outweighed, by its negatives, to wit, slow pacing and a plot that makes no sense.
Alec Baldwin plays a retired New Orleans cop who has moved out to the bayou with his wife. While they are out on their boat, a plane crashes, and the Baldwin character saves a little girl who was on the plane. Four adults did not survive. They decide they want to keep the girl. A DEA agent comes out to the house and asks about one of the adults who died in the crash. Then, inexplicably, violence begins and quickly escalates ito brutal murders. Why? I have no idea. None of it makes any sense. The movie should have been callled "Prisoners of senseless violence." Maybe there was a rational motivation in the novels.
There is a brief nude scene with Teri Hatcher, but no sex with anyone. Strange.
Movie Review: Alec Baldwin Could've Been Hard-Boiled But Ends Up Soggy
Summary: 2 Stars
I remember going to great lengths to fit a matinée showing of HEAVEN'S PRISONERS into a busy Saturday afternoon during its 1996 theatrical release. Considering the source material and the talent behind and in front of the camera, our little filmgoing party of detective-film fans and Alec Baldwin groupies (a.k.a. my mom, my stepfather, and me) found this contemporary film noir to be a big disappointment. Baldwin, who also served as co-producer, brought James Lee Burke's New Orleans ex-cop/recovering alcoholic hero Dave Robichoux from the printed page to the big screen. While Baldwin and the rest of the cast did well in fleshing out Burke's characters and have some tangy tough-guy/gal dialogue, they're hampered by two things:
1.) The film's slo-o-o-ow pacing. Maybe the Louisiana heat got to everyone, not just Baldwin. Of all the actors, Long Island native Baldwin sweats the most, so much that it began to remind me of the sweating-bullets gags with Albert Brooks in BROADCAST NEWS and Robert Hays in AIRPLANE!
2.) A plot that, as rendered in the film (whether it's the fault of the screenwriter or the editor, I can't be sure), never quite follows through on any of its elements. It's too bad, because these elements could've made for an exciting movie: drug dealing, illegal alien smuggling, rival crime bosses (one is played colorfully by Eric Roberts before he became a parody of himself, essentially playing a Southern-fried version of his character from director Phil Joanou's 1992 thriller FINAL ANALYSIS), an adorable little Salvadoran orphan girl (named "Alafair" by the Robichouxs, after Dave's mom. Late in my pregnancy at the time, I liked the name Alafair so much, I nearly changed my mind about naming my then-unborn daughter Siobhan!), and a bevy of beautiful, beguiling women, including earth mother Kelly Lynch, vampy Teri Hatcher in a full-frontal nude scene that was much ballyhooed at the time, and Mary Stuart Masterson, looking like a young Jessica Lange in what was then a change-of-pace role for her: a troubled stripper who loves Robichoux. Despite the sexy promises in the movie's ads, none of the ladies share anything with Baldwin but dialogue and some kisses and/or embraces. Maybe the climate was already so hot, the filmmakers didn't want to add any further steaminess for fear of poor Baldwin collapsing from heat prostration! As my mom put it at the time: "I thought the height of my day would be seeing sexy, dashing Alec Baldwin, but he came up sweaty, rumpled, tired, depressed, and moving as if he was in slow motion. If he'd made love as many times as he got beaten up, it would've been the sexiest picture of '96!"
To be fair, there *are* a number of strong characterization and action scenes, but there's just too darn much talky, molasses-paced lag time between them -- and yet, oddly, some of the scenes end abruptly just as they're about to become intriguing! Perhaps Joanou, Baldwin & Co. could've dredged a tighter, more involving thriller out of this if they'd whittled the 140-minute running time down to 105 minutes or so. As HEAVEN'S PRISONERS is now...well, read James Lee Burke's books instead.
Movie Review: Not worth watching
Summary: 2 Stars
I don't know why they made this. I read elsewhere the director split before the movie was done. They just stopped and the producer, who didn't like the director, did the final edit, and it shows. Very poor casting all around. The only good scene was the airplane crash, and that isn't saying much! Probably will go in the trash. Watch "In the Electric Mist" with Tommy Lee Jones instead, if you like James Lee Burke and Dave R.