El Stinko...but who WAS that soprano?

Rating: 5/10 (20 November 1998)

Everyone who comments favorably on this film seems to be of the school that says SFX + color + action + weird, offbeat ideas + supercool protagonist + sexy love interest = great movie. Sorry, it just doesn't work that way, not even in this post-Tarantino era. A great movie is always more than the sum of its parts. This one, despite getting an "A" for effort, just doesn't make the cut. The direction is too frenetic and frantic. The director seemed afraid to take his time and establish a rhythm. The result is a jumble of images that do little more than jangle the nerves. The one exception was the counterpoint of the fight vs. the singing diva sequence. (Borrowed, of course, from The Godfather and countless other movies). And just who was behind that incredible voice? Why have we not heard more of her?