Certainly not Eddie Murphy's best, The Golden Child does provide some laughs in the way that only Murphy can provide. For the first time on Blu-ray and with a new transfer, any true fans of the film that are out there will want to add this to the other Eddie Murphy purchases that Paramount has just released.
“Newly remastered from a 4k transfer, director Michael Ritchie’s hit action-comedy comes to Blu-ray for the first time. Eddie Murphy is “the Chosen One,” a social worker on a madcap mission to find “the Golden Child,” a young boy possessing mystical powers. Joined by Kee Nang (Charlotte Lewis), they’ll battle the countless henchmen of Sardo Numspa (Charles Dance), the mysterious and evil cult leader holding the boy captive. It’s a dangerous quest, complete with obstacle courses and a mythical amulet, sharply combining Murphy’s wit with eye-popping special effects for an unforgettable adventure.”
When people talk about Eddie Murphy’s hot streak of the ‘80s, the usually don’t seem to mention The Golden Child. While the film definitely takes some risks, as does Eddie Murphy in accepting the role, it is an overall lackluster attempt at combining an ambitious fantasy driven story and Eddie Murphy’s comedy.
Originally written as a straight fantasy adventure, it wasn’t until Eddie Murphy joined the cast was it retooled for comedy, like a poor graft that was rejected, the film struggles to find its stride in many ways. Now, it’s not all bad, and there are a few good moments that genuinely make me laugh, but The Golden Child has many hurdles to overcome, first and foremost Murphy himself dismissing the film during its initial release. Despite this, as I said, there are some funny moments, mainly stemming from the absurdity of Eddie Murphy being thrust into a mystical story filled with supernatural powers and demons.
The overall story, about the kidnapping of the Golden Child, a perfect human that embodies the goodness of the human spirit, preventing evil from entering our world is actually very entertaining. Charles Dance makes a good villain as always, albeit quite cartoonish at times, especially his lackies who are very strange looking and are given no backstory or explanation for their weird appearance. Are they demons? Just weirdos? It’s only one thing of many that is glossed over in this otherwise entertaining tale, as the Golden Child plays tricks on his kidnappers, uses powerful magic and otherwise seems perfectly okay to be imprisoned and possibly murdered.
The majority of the comedy comes from Eddie Murphy’s reaction to suddenly being proclaimed the Chosen One and his reluctance to believe any of the supernatural hogwash that everyone else around him seems to accept so readily. At times, especially at the beginning of the film, it can come across as extremely insensitive and almost insulting to other cultures as he simply makes fun of their beliefs right to their faces. Eventually though, he relents, and begins to somewhat accept what is happening around him is real. Maybe not entirely, which still makes for some quite entertaining sequences. Charlotte Lewis is stunning, doing a very good job in her role in guiding Murphy along his quest. The two have questionable chemistry in my opinion, but she is still an asset to the film.
Where the film falls flat, for me anyway, is the majority of the writing and Murphy’s delivery. You can really tell that he isn’t into the character or the material, and sometimes the delivery is just plain awful. The entire film is inconsistent with these types of examples. Whether this is possibly the order of filming the scenes where Murphy becomes visibly checked-out from the film, I don’t know, but it is distracting and essentially ruins any chance the film has at succeeding. Additionally, the grandiose story calls for some very complicated effects, which look absolutely horrid. The final confrontation, a Claymation demon that is probably the worst thing about this film, is just insulting. Action sequences are clumsy and not well choreographed, and sometimes just seem downright odd.
Video
The Golden Child is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1, featuring a new remaster from a 4k film transfer. The film looks good overall. The new transfer is very clear and detailed. Colors appear to be vibrant, especially all the mystical sequences that have a majority of bright colors and dazzling lights.
Audio
The audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1. This track sounds good, a nice mix of the surrounds and center channel, providing clear and concise dialogue. The musical score and atmospheric effects come through nicely on the surrounds. The score itself is rather odd at times. The Chandler Jarrell theme obviously tries to emulate other Murphy cop-comedies and is just pretty annoying. There are also weird selections, like when Jarrell is talking to the old Monk about wooing the heart of Kee Nang. It’s inconsistent, and not really good.
Special Features
This Paramount Presents release includes a slipcover for the film that opens to reveal the theatrical poster, the 11th in the line. The is the first Paramount Presents film that doesn’t include a Filmmaker Focus. I’m curious as to the reason, but will just have to speculate I suppose. The bonus features include:
- The Making of The Golden Child (HD)
- The Chosen Ones
- Daggers, Design and Demons
- Theatrical Trailer
It’s great that Paramount has released this on Blu-ray for the first time, as I’m sure there are fans of the film out there eager to get their hands on it. Do I think it is in line with their Paramount Presents Collection? Perhaps not, given the caliber of their previous releases, but nonetheless the access to the film in High Definition will always be a welcomed thing. For the right price, this is a great grab to include with all of the other Eddie Murphy films just released in anticipation of his newest film due out in the coming months.
