[.ca] The Long Kiss Goodnight (ISBN 0780618548)

Amazon.com Essential Video:
Geena Davis and her former husband, director Renny Harlin, attempted to pick up the pieces after the debacle of their box-office disaster, Cutthroat Island. What they came up with was this repulsive ode to American film noir, based on a script by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) about an amnesiac schoolteacher (Davis) who searches for her true identity and finds she is actually a secret agent immersed in a deadly plot to topple the government. Mechanistic in its violence, obnoxious in its attitude, the film makes Davis, a once-promising actress, nothing more than a special effect. She tosses one to sadists in the audience by allowing her character to be beaten, punched unconscious, and tortured. The DVD release has optional full-screen and widescreen presentations, plus Dolby surround sound, theatrical trailer, cast information, optional French-language soundtrack and optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh

From Amazon.co.uk:
Geena Davis and her former husband, director Renny Harlin, attempted to pick up the pieces after the debacle of their box-office disaster, Cutthroat Island. What they came up with was The Long Kiss Goodnight, a repulsive ode to American film noir, based on a script by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) about an amnesiac schoolteacher (Davis) who searches for her true identity and finds she is actually a secret agent immersed in a deadly plot to topple the government. Mechanistic in its violence, obnoxious in its attitude, the film makes Davis, a once-promising actress, nothing more than a special effect. She tosses one to sadists in the audience by allowing her character to be beaten, punched unconscious and tortured. --Tom Keogh

will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat!:
This movie is stupendous from the beginning to the end! Geena Davis plays the part of a woman who has had amnesia for eight years and bore a daughter and doesn't know who the father is. She is the average good mother with no idea that her past was filled with just the opposite of that tranquil representation. She has hired Samuel Jackson, a second-rate gumshoe, to try and trace her background. By chance he stumbles upon a clue, but before he can get to her, she is attacked in her home by a madman out to kill her. She discovers she has amazing skills in defense. She and Samuel team up to chase down the clues he has found and end up in a dangerous game of espionage, murder and more! The movie was thrilling, with just enough touches of humor and wit to give it a humanistic touch. The movie is smooth, connected and thrilling from the beginning to end. Enjoy!

politically correct Hollywood garbage:
I don't hold spy thrillers to high standards of plausibility, but there are limits beyond which politically correct Hollywood impulses make these productions painful to watch. Apparently Arabs are simply unacceptable villains as terrorists--who could imagine Arabs indulging in terror? The CIA (or its nameless intelligence agency stand-in) is at the top of the Hollywood list, however (followed by neo-Nazis and businessmen). Except it's the CIA from an alternate universe: all-knowing, all-competent. This movie manages to up the P.C. a notch beyond the others, however. Not only is the CIA going to kill thousands in Niagara Falls in a poison gas attack to help it lobby for a budget increase, it's going to leave the body of an innocent Arab at the scene for a scapegoat. You would think that they would be too embarrassed to keep this in circulation after 9/11, but being P.C. means never having to say you're sorry.

Wow Humm Baby! Jerry Mouse! Cute!:
Genna Davis gives a good performance as a woman trying to remember her past as a secret agent. Unlike her previous Oscar winning gem in The Accidental Tourist, she does a 180 degree turn in this role as a character smooth as silk & cold as ice. Samuel L. Jackson is once again one of the most diverse actors in Hollywood with this supporting role. Overall, this is a surprisingly good action drama with lots of suspense. It works!

Geena sizzles!:
I had never heard of this film till it popped up on cable tv and I can't understand why. Geena outdoes Arnold as an action hero in this film! Geena is an ex-CIA assassin who is brainwashed and given an identity as a school teacher with a quiet family life in a rural town. She continues that life for 8 years with a husband and daughter. Clues start coming to her that she may have been someone else, especially when someone tries to kill her. It seems that her former employers have discovered that she never died and want to make sure that she does. She hires Samuel L. Jackson, who is a former police officer. Together they form a pair that is as entertaining as Mel Gibson & Danny Glover. When Geena finally regains her memory she undergoes a tranformation into the killing machine she once was with the song "She's Not There" playing in the background. What follows is Geena and Samuel have to go after the bad guys and hopefully stay alive. All through the rest of the film Geena has to decide who she really is. The killing unfeeling machine? The mother/schoolteacher with the quiet family life? Or a combination of both? Especially, since the bad guys grab Geena's daughter. Great action scenes that rank up with any of the Die Hard movies!

Ditto:
This movie is a fine action movie. If you've ever seen the Bourne Identity (which was done well after this came out), it's pretty much the same plot. Ex-spy messes up a hit and gets amnesia, then recovers his/ her memories but along the way discovers what kind of a person he/ she has become. The Bourne Identity has better effects, a better script and more believable characters. It's just done better. What the Bourne Identity lacks big time is what makes The Long Kiss Goodnight seem about as good. Two things actually. Samuel L. Jackson: a pure classic. This guy makes any movie good just by throwing in his wit. The other element is Geena Davis. Normally I'm not a big Geena fan, but she's just so beautiful in this movie (especially when she gets into her spy getup) that you simply don't care that the plot is a little cliche at times or the action sequences are corny at other times. The lead character is so easy on the eye that the movie IS better for it. Don't pay attention to that editorial blurb selected by Amazon, the movie isn't bad at all. The Long Kiss Goodnight is good to watch two or three times, but doesn't really get better every time you watch it. Recommended (for guys especially).