Alright, fellow tapeheads, let's rewind to a time when action movies had a certain crunch. We're talking 1996, a peak era for high-octane thrills that felt gloriously, sometimes dangerously, real. Pop the tape in, adjust the tracking if you need to (we've all been there), because tonight we're diving headfirst into Renny Harlin's explosive amnesia-actioner, The Long Kiss Goodnight.
### From PTA Mom to Professional Killer
Remember Geena Davis? Fresh off roles like Thelma & Louise (1991) and A League of Their Own (1992), she wasn’t necessarily the first name you thought of for a guns-blazing action hero. Yet, here she is as Samantha Caine, a sweet, small-town schoolteacher with picture-perfect suburban life and absolutely no memory of who she was before washing ashore eight years prior. But when a bump on the head starts unlocking fragments of a past life – one involving knives, explosives, and deadly precision – things get interesting fast. It’s a killer premise, literally, delivered with the trademark snappy dialogue and holiday setting flair of writer Shane Black, who famously snagged a then-record $4 million for this script. You can feel his voice all over it – the cynical wit, the unlikely partnerships, the Christmas lights twinkling amidst the chaos.
### Enter Mitch Henessey, Private Eye Extraordinaire (Sort Of)
Samantha hires Mitch Henessey, a low-rent private investigator played with absolute charismatic perfection by Samuel L. Jackson, hot off his career-redefining turn in Pulp Fiction (1994). Their chemistry is the secret weapon of this movie. Mitch isn't your typical action sidekick; he’s initially out of his depth, constantly commenting on the escalating insanity, and frankly, often terrified. But Jackson injects him with such swagger and humor ("Yes, you are theমধ آشپز!" still gets a laugh) that he becomes utterly indispensable. Their banter is pure gold, a classic Shane Black odd couple navigating a world of bullets and conspiracies. It's fun seeing Jackson in this slightly less-polished, pre-Nick Fury phase, bringing a grounded reality to the increasingly wild proceedings.
### When Practical Effects Ruled the Roost
Let's talk action, because director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2 (1990), Cliffhanger (1993)) knows how to stage it big, loud, and practically. This movie is a glorious testament to the era before CGI smoothed over every rough edge. Remember that scene where Samantha/Charly dispatches baddies while ice skating? Or the utterly bonkers sequence involving a water wheel? It feels tangible. The explosions are real fireballs, the car crashes involve actual metal crunching, and the stunt work is often breathtaking.
One particularly memorable sequence involves a massive tanker truck careening off a bridge. Word is, filming that complex practical stunt up in the freezing conditions of Ontario, Canada (which doubled for Pennsylvania and New York) was a serious undertaking, requiring meticulous planning and nerves of steel from the stunt crew. You feel the impact in a way that often gets lost in today's digital spectacles. Sure, some moments might look a bit dated now, a little less seamless than modern VFX, but there's an undeniable visceral thrill to knowing that, for the most part, what you were seeing actually happened in front of the camera. The gunfights feel brutal, the stakes immediate. Alan Silvestri's typically robust score only heightens the tension.
### A Slight Chill at the Box Office
Despite the pedigree of Black, Harlin, Davis (then married to Harlin), and Jackson, The Long Kiss Goodnight didn't exactly set the box office ablaze upon release. It performed decently but didn't quite meet the high expectations set by its budget (around $65 million) and star power. Critics were mixed, some finding it overly violent or derivative. Yet, like so many films we cherish from the VHS era, it found its audience later, becoming a true cult favorite on home video and cable. People discovered the potent mix of sharp writing, charismatic leads, and genuinely thrilling, practical action sequences. It’s a film that’s arguably better appreciated now, standing as a prime example of a certain kind of 90s action filmmaking that’s sadly become rare. Supporting actors like Patrick Malahide as the calculating villain Perkins also add a solid layer of menace.
### The Verdict
The Long Kiss Goodnight is a blast, plain and simple. It perfectly balances Shane Black’s snarky dialogue and intricate plotting with Renny Harlin’s penchant for spectacular, pyrotechnic-heavy action set pieces. Geena Davis fully commits to the dual role, convincingly selling both the vulnerable Samantha and the lethal Charly Baltimore, proving she could absolutely carry an action film. Samuel L. Jackson steals every scene he’s in, creating one of the most memorable non-traditional sidekicks of the decade. The practical effects feel refreshingly raw, and the whole thing crackles with that specific 90s energy – a little excessive, maybe, but undeniably entertaining.
Rating: 8.5/10 - This score reflects the film's high entertainment value, stellar lead performances, sharp script, and fantastic practical action, slightly tempered by some typical 90s action movie bloat but ultimately delivering exactly what fans of the era crave.
Final Thought: In an age of green screens, The Long Kiss Goodnight is a glorious, explosive reminder of when action heroes bled, things actually blew up, and finding the right tape at the rental store felt like striking gold. Still kicks major ass today.