Hudson Hawk (1991)

Pretty Good

Expected more

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

A cat burglar is forced to steal Da Vinci works of art for a world domination plot. Hudson Hawk is plain dumb, the acting is pretty mediocre and over the top and the action is goofy as hell but in a weird way besides all those bad things good things come out as well for example the jokes do land most of the time, the action is handled well and it's funny as well. This is the perfect example of a turn off your brain kind of film and it honors all those stupid movies from the 90's really well like Batman Forever and Batman and Robin or even Mr. Magoo this is nowhere near in the best movies that Bruce Willis has ever made but comparing to all those new crappy action movies he star in just to get that paycheck this one is a Masterpiece for sure i give it a 7.5/10

Hudson Hawk is the most fun I've had watching a Bruce Willis movie. It's also Bruce at his looniest, playing a slick heeled cat burglar swept up on a globetrotting adventure of epic weirdness and supreme tongue in cheek mayhem. It's what would happen if Mel Brooks, Indiana Jones, Bugs Bunny and James Bond got to drinking one night and decided to collaborate on a movie. People didn't appreciate its style at the time of release, and were no doubt confused by its abstract, off colour antics. To certain people who have a strange sense of humour (like myself), though, it's a treasure trove of priceless encounters, whack job characters and a ludicrously entertaining, larger than life plot line. Willis is Hudson Hawk, a cunning cat burglar who is blackmailed into stealing priceless Da Vinci works of art for evil billionaires Darwin and Minerva Mayflower (a coked up Richard E. Grant and butt ugly gargoyle Sandra Bernhard). They employ a quartet of demented goons named after chocolate bars, including a mute David Caruso as Kit Kat. Also pursuing him is smart ass ex military prick Kaplan (scene stealing James Coburn). He's aided by his wise cracking buddy Tommy Two Tone (Danny Aiello), and catches the romantic eye of beautiful Vatican nun Anna (Andie MacDowell) who's got a few tricks up her sleeve. The plot is an inane goose chase of setups, double crosses, lighthearted banter, and pure whacked out fun. Willis puts his million dollar smirk to great use, making Hawk a sarcastic, charismatic goofball and carries the movie quite well. It's the constant vibe of demented hysterics thrumming through the script, performances and lavish production design that make this one a winner, though. I promise you've never seen an adventure movie quite like it.

Everyday, people try to accomplish goals. They struggle and sometimes fail and other times succeed. Sometimes the goals have meaning, other times it's the struggle to reach those goals that has meaning, and sometimes both the struggle to achieve a goal and the goal as well, are meaningless. They made this movie- it was a goal they struggled to achieve, and having completed their task the end result was/is Hudson Hawk. I mean, who am I to pass judgment on this movie, maybe it's really hard to get jokes on paper to become jokes on film, I don't know. And its too easy to call this movie self-indulgent, oh, accurate as hell, but still, too easy. Soundtrack available for purchase- you can own it!

At the time of release this film was poorly reviewed by critics who mistook it for a straight up action film with comedic pretensions. It is, in fact a straight up farce in the manner of Mel Brooks classics such as "Blazing Saddles" or "High Anxiety" - it even has musical numbers!That critics could fail to see this is perplexing, when many of them are educated men and women, with one would assume, a functioning sense of humor. It goes to show how big an effect expectations have upon a film.I don't think anyone watching today could fail to see that Hudson Hawk is a slapstick, knockabout comedy with some very entertaining characters, a unique idea and a very original and worthwhile film.Many people object that the plot is rambling and disconnected. Of course the 'plot' is ludicrous - but the plot matters about as much as the plot of "Young Frankenstein" or "Monty Python & the Holy Grail". It simply serves to set the scene for comedy sketches and throwaway gags, many of which are hilarious and inventively surreal.If this were billed as "Terry Gilliams" Hudson hawk, I think it would have done much better in critical circles. Written as it was by Bruce Willis, they were obviously more predisposed to dismiss it.All in All Hudson Hawk is an overlooked comedy classic full of inventive fun.Hudson