The Golden Child

I loved this movie. I totally disagree with some (negative) critiques that I've read over the years. This was a great vehicle for Eddie Murphy! He appeared to have a great time with his part as Chandler Jarrell and he should never care about what the critics say, if he had fun doing it – and most of his audience enjoyed it! And, it WAS fun to watch as it combined some great fantasy tension with Mr. Murphy's great comedic style. You have to keep in mind that 'Golden Child' is a 'fantasy' film – just an imaginative work of magic and wonder amidst the 'real' world. During the time this film was released, I was working in a video rental store. This was one of the most popular with all our customers. Every single time, we put this one up on our monitor, ALL the copies we had went out fast with wait-list requests that kept it on the queue for months! Everyone who rented it loved it! I was the resident film critic and all my regular customers would ask my opinion before they rented – this was one of my favorites and I knew the taste of my customers so I highly recommended this one to most of them. I really feel that this film is a Sleeper – it may not have done too well at the box office – due to very poor marketing – but it hit a high in the video rental and purchase market later! (YES, I did buy this film for my own video library!). I adored the little boy who played the 'Golden Child' – J. L. Reate - but after looking at his profile in IMDb, I noticed that he never did any more films. That is sad, because he definitely had an on-screen aura and could have continued with a film career. I also adored Victor Wong, who played the Old Man (I LOVED him in his part as 'Egg Shen' in 'Big Trouble in Little China' - 1986). At any rate, this was a great film. The only drawbacks that didn't seem to fit with the theme were some of the parts that got a bit more 'adult' in nature – such as 'Chandler's rather sexual remarks about the serpent lady that was presented to him as a silhouette. It was funny, but it still was out of sync. OK, so there were a few suggestive gratuitous scenes – those were put in for the mind-set of the day perhaps. This was still an adventurous and escapist type of film which we do need today to get away from all the hard core reality and depressing fluff that we are hit with from Hollywood. Now that's Entertainment!

Somewhat underrated Eddie Murphy movie with Eddie playing an American social worker recruited by a Tibetan woman to help rescue a kidnapped boy with special powers called the "Golden Child." I remember when this came out it wasn't met with a warm reception, from the critics or myself. In part I think because it wasn't a straight comedy like myself and others had come to expect from Eddie. But also because it wasn't as good as the similar Big Trouble in Little China, which came out the same year. Ironically, this was a bigger box office hit than Big Trouble but the latter has gone on to deservedly earn a cult fandom while Golden Child still has a mixed reputation at best.

Eddie Murphy is pretty good here and seems to be having a fun time. Charlotte Lewis is fine, performance-wise and looks-wise. Charles Dance is an enjoyable villain. The scene stealer here is Victor Wong, who was also in Big Trouble in Little China. The special effects are charming in that special way '80s effects often were. Love the Pepsi can dance scene. Some cheesy stuff in this movie for sure but, for the most part, it's pretty entertaining. If you like '80s movies you should find something to like with this. It's got action, comedy, and a little bit of fantasy all mixed together. It's not what I would call a classic but it is fun.

I'd seen parts of this movie on cable some years ago but never got around to watching it until recently. Now normally I'm not big on Eddie Murphy films (though I enjoyed Shrek), but this is the rare exception. It's got Asian mysticism and action with adventure. A chosen one versus a cult bent on their own agenda. What more do you want? If it's deep thought you're after, you won't find it here. But if you wanted a good action comedy, this is it!

I saw this movie available on Netflix and was interested in the premise. You have Eddie Murphy who plays a private detective that specializes in finding missing children. He is told he is the "chosen one" and must protect the "Golden Child" who was kidnapped by an evil sorcerer. I didn't know exactly what to expect. Eddie Murphy is known for doing a lot of action or comedy movies. This movie ends up being a mix of action, comedy and fantasy.

Some people will mention this movie was a low point in his career. Well this movie earned close to 80 million dollars. Eddie Murphy has done some more recent movies that have done far worse. There are a lot of funny parts in this movie. I really enjoyed this movie. This was a fun movie to watch.

The premise may seem goofy, but since Murphy's character doesn't take it seriously, it helps ease the audience into this mix of mysticism and modern-day hard-boiled child abduction. Excellent cast, particularly Charles Dance and Charlotte Lewis, and Murphy is at the height of his 80's peak in comedy/action. There's also some great F/X, a very surreal dream sequence, and a fairly original plot. Often overlooked in the pantheon of Murphy flicks, but this one is worth a look.