Deceptions

There were a few good things about this crime/thriller made for TV film but the negatives outweigh the positives unfortunately. By that I mean that this 1990 period piece is very much dated by both the lame acting and the "trying way too hard" jazzy suspenseful music score in the background permeating throughout the entire film.

I actually started laughing when I saw Homicide Detective Nick Gentry exercising by punching away at a punching bag in his apartment flat then placing his bruised hand in a pitcher of ice water. Why was that funny? Well it is what he did after taking his hand out of the pitcher of ice water. The sweaty and shirtless Detective Gentry raised the pitcher of ice water and drank from it and then just as if from a scene from the 1983 film Flashdance the wet chair dance scene, he pours the water all over his head and shirtless chest. I will have to call this scene over the top and not fitting in with the story line at all.

Yes, a young Nicollette Sheridan in a skimpy bikini is easy on the eyes and worth a look at this made for TV film as is actor Robert Davi's performance as Harry Hamlin's detective partner. The story line of who killed Ms. Sheridan's wealthy husband is a bit of a head scratcher but the love/hate relationship between the two lead actors, namely Hamlin and Sheridan and that annoying jazz musical score I had enough after the first 20 minutes of the film.

I give the film a barely pass rating of 5 out of 10 IMDb rating.

This is an excellent movie which keeps you guessing till the end. don't know why others gave it such a bad rating. Nicolette sheridan with a British accent is the cynosure in this movie has done an excellent job and looks great . Also the ending is a bit shocking. also it is worth watching the movie again once you know the ending.

This is a pretty good movie if you like murder mysteries. Harry Hamlin does his usual good job at being the bad boy cop who does not have enough sense not to get involved with a suspect and the usual gratuitous sex was nice Ms Sheridan has the required nice Bod. And the Sax Soundtrack is familiar from the red shoes dairies movies. And it was not annoying. it surprised me at the end but I had figured it out or had a good ides about who did it. must not have been that hard to figure out if i got it right

If i wanted some mindless entertainment i would watch it again

A friend described this as la verguenza de Hollywood - the shame of Hollywood.

The dialogue is worse than cliched, Hamlin's acting is awful, the action drags.

this movie quickly declares itself as a did-she or didn't-she detective mystery. i am not so sure about the plot, but it is worth contemplating and it has its distinctive moments (which is not easy when there are so many similar plots out there). the movie has that shot-in-l.a. look that makes it seem cheap even if the visuals are well conceived. director reuben preuss shows obvious talent. the real surprise is that nicolette sheridan can act. she is cast as "a walking wet dream" and even if you are not immediately captivated by her luscious looks, she quickly wins the viewer's affections with an intelligent portrayal of her character. there is one scene, in a hotel room, where ms. sheridan shows great strength, and one wonders whether BEVERLY HILLS NINJA is a fair place for such a capable actress to be plying her trade. robert davi also turns in a strong performance. harry hamlin is not my idea of a leading man. but he does not grate, and he wins for his role sufficient sympathy to keep the movie going, even if the script calls for an inhuman number of emotional twists from his character. the actor's guild should put a limit on the number of turnabouts that the writers can demand of a character. if you want to claim that this movie doesn't hold a candle to BASIC INSTINCT, ask yourself what this very capable crew might have done with a bigger budget, darker sets, and a little more time to work out the story line.