The Real McCoy (1993)

Rating: D-

Dir: Russell Mulcahy,
Star: Kim Basinger, Val Kilmer, Terence Stamp, Gailard Sartain

Tired and lame. Bank burglar Basinger vows to go straight when she gets out of jail, only to be convinced to pull one final job by Stamp, the guy who betrayed her last time. We’ll blame the writers here, since they fail to address issues like why Stamp chose to turn her in, and why this extremely rich character decides to come along on the raid, for reasons which are awkwardly obvious. And it doesn’t so much end, as peter out without a real climax. This is a shame: Basinger is convincing and sympathetic in her portrayal, although the son-who-thinks-she’s-dead angle is only needed to provide a lever with which she can be forced into action, and is immensely irritating otherwise. Stamp is wasted, and Kilmer is present only because I presume the writers heard there always has to be a romantic angle. See Once A Thief. See Licence to Steal. Hell, see Hudson Hawk.