At least "The Golden Child" represented a real change of pace for comedy star Eddie Murphy, cast here as Chandler Jarrell, a tracker of missing children whom, it is determined, is the perfect individual to retrieve a powerful child (J.L. Reate) who's been stolen by some very bad men. Should they succeed in corrupting the child, they can kill him and thus allow for evil to take over the planet. Jarrell is reluctant to accept this task (among other things, he doesn't want to experience the cold of Nepal) but, ultimately, his better nature takes over. "The Golden Child", as directed by Michael Ritchie and written by Dennis Feldman, takes what is a rather traditional fantasy quest and melds it with a contemporary, wise acre sensibility. Murphy is good and very likable in this part, and livens some scenes with his quips. He doesn't do too bad in the hero department, either. The great Charles Dance, as his nemesis, is a hoot with his straight faced performance. Charlotte Lewis is lovely to look at but that's about it. Old pros Victor Wong and James Hong add to the movie with their presence; Wong is fun in one of his standard eccentric roles. One can also hear the legendary and ultra ubiquitous Frank Welker lending a voice to an unseen demon, a voice just like the one he provided for Dr. Claw on the 'Inspector Gadget' series. There's a certain oddness to a particular sequence in the movie - the dream sequence - that makes it a real curio, as Feldman and Ritchie have fun with the whole weirdness of dreams. Dance appears to try to make Murphy an offer, and in response to some of Murphy's one liners, there's a cut to a studio audience laughing away. One of the best lines has to be, "Would you get your monkey off my back?", as Murphy refers to a henchman of Dance's with a primate like face. Granted, when Murphy gets to Nepal, there could have been a better fantasy quotient. As it is, the sequence where he proves his worth as the rescuer of the child could have had a little more meat to it. Some scenes come off as fairly awkward, but the ones that work are quite funny. The special effects aren't the greatest, but they lend a cheesy charm to the various goings-on. Michel Colombier's music is lively and loud, and the location shooting in Nepal is excellent, lending some much appreciated atmosphere. All of this is reasonably entertaining, and interesting enough. Don't let the scathing reviews dissuade you from giving it a chance. It's a nice alternative to the other Murphy vehicles from the period. Seven out of 10.
Review of The Golden Child
