Wonderful character development!

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Johnny Handsome (1989) *** (out of 4)John Sedley (Mickey Rourke) is a deformed criminal who goes to pull a heist with Rafe (Lance Henriksen) and Sunny (Ellen Barkin) but they double cross him, which leads him into prison. Inside there's an attempt on his life but he barely survives and that's when Dr. Fisher (Forest Whitaker) offers him an option for plastic surgery. He's let out of prison and starts his new life, which is based around revenge.Director Walter Hill was riding a wave of success going into this picture. If you go through his career you'll see that he took at stab at several different genres throughout the 1980's with this one here being his attempt at a film noir. All the elements of the noir are on hand here but of course it's been updated for the era, which means it's in color, has a lot more sexuality and of course the nature of the material has been boosted to a R-rating.JOHNNY HANDSOME works on many different levels but we can just focus on the payback aspect of the story. The character is someone that you actually like and he's someone who end up caring for and feeling bad for. When you like a character so much it's easy to root for them and the film then gives us a couple great villains to root against. The entire revenge aspect work so well and Hill pulls you into this life and really takes you along for a terrific ride.It certainly helps that the cast are so wonderful with Rourke leading the way in what's really a double role. He did a wonderful job at playing the deformed character and he really comes to life once he becomes the handsome guy who sets out for revenge. Hendriksen is also terrific as the main bad guy as he certainly makes you hate the character. Barkin brings the same type of toughness and sexuality that she displayed in SEA OF LOVE. You've then got a nice turn by Whitaker, a good performance from Elizabeth McGovern and then there's Morgan Freeman playing a cop who you never know what he's up to.The film contains a great score, some really good cinematography and of course there's Walter Hill's eye that helps pull all of this together. The film really isn't as violent as some of Hill's previous films but it also contains some glorious style that the director really didn't show in earlier movies. JOHNNY HANDSOME is an extremely entertaining film that's worth watching.

Walter Hill's bluesy, melancholic crime thriller Johnny Handsome is a grimy concoction of violent heists and brutal shootouts held together by a character study of facially deformed career criminal John Sedley (Mickey Rourke). Sedley, looking like a cross between the elephant man and an orc, is a withdrawn, awkward outsider whose only success has been in illegal activities. Him and his partner (Scott Wilson) hook up with evil pair of dirtbags Rafé Garett (Lance Henriksen) and Sunny Boyd (Ellen Barkin) to pull off a jewelry store job. They get double crossed by the no good shitheels, his partner winds up dead, and Johnny gets caught. As part of an experimental program, Johnny undergoes a procedure to have his face altered to look normal. It's a success, and with a new face, Johnny gets parole, a legit job and begins to start anew. However, the bloody betrayal still haunts him, and slowly he starts to want revenge. This film lives in the snappy world of garish, larger than life criminals and hard nosed, mean spirited cops, a heightened, slimy version of the action genre that Hill delivers like the pro he is. Moody blues, smoky, detritus stained alleyways and the ever present vibe of the seedy side of New Orleans permeate every alcove of this piece, giving it a distinct, off noir flavor. Rourke nails the transformation from out casted freak into alpha dog slick tough guy like a caterpillar emerging from its cocoon, making us feel for Johnny despite his sordid lifestyle. Henriksen is a preening, sickening monster as street rat Garrett, a high strung, sadistic degenerate that will shoot his mother in the face if he thought he'd get a dollar and a smoke out of it. Barkin is a snake, oozing sluttiness and petulant, psychotic damaged goods charm from every whiny drawl and coy little grimace, the ultimate bad girl. Morgan Freeman turns up in a rare tough guy turn, as A.Z. Drones, the uptight cop who sees nothing but trash in Johnny and has no hope for any change. Freeman's reaction to Johnny's new face is one of sarcastic, stunned hilarity and is a career best scene from him. Forest Whitaker makes an appearance as the sympathetic doctor in charge of the operation, and Elizabeth Mcgovernn is a welcome breath of fresh air from the greasy rogues gallery, as a nice girl he meets at his legit job. This gritty yarn waltzes in straight from a dime store novella, and Hill knows how to guide it just this side of silly, with just the right amount of cheeky pulp, grounded writing, rambunctious, blood soaked shootouts, and well, bold drawn characterizations.

Stylist Walter Hill has Directed some Very Underrated and Under-Appreciated Movies and this is One of them. With a Killer Cast including Lance Henriksen, Ellen Barkin, Morgan Freeman, and Forest Whitaker it is Mickey Rourke as the Title Character that Slinks Back in the Frame and Plays Off the Others with Pathos and Empathy that draws the Viewer into this Violent and Edgy Neo-Noir.It is a Colorful Downer of a Movie that has Roots in the Pulp Fiction and Film Noir of the Thirties and Forties. Set in Modern Day New Orleans the Mood is Bleak and Sombre. The Movie Burns with Style and the Charismatic Characters all Contribute to this Low Brow Version of a Greek Tragedy. The Film was Ignored and Panned but it is a Gem Waiting for Discovery by Modern Film Buffs and has a Packed in Quality that Unleashes a Baggage of Bang Up Scenes that Click with a Cutting Edge of Nastiness and Cynicism. Henriksen and Barkin are Foul Mouthed Low Lifes of the Highest Order and Morgan Freeman is on hand to Deliver some of the most Defeatist Dialog.Mickey Rourke shows once again a Knack for Picking the most Off Beat Roles and Delivers yet another take of Someone Outside the Orbit of Hollywood. The Ry Cooder Score is just One More Addition to this Already Rich Rumble of the Mean Streets.

Johnny Handsome is a great,underrated Crime Drama,Film Noir and Thriller that's filled with great direction,wonderful performances,film score and is one of Walter Hill and Mickey Rourke's best films and is very overlooked.Based on the novel The Three Worlds Of Johnny Handsome by John Godey and set in New Orleans Johnny Handsome tells the story of John Sedley(Mickey Rourke)a man nicknamed Johnny Handsome because of the physical deformities on his face who sets up a robbery with two lowlifes named Sunny(Ellen Barkin)and Rafe(Lance Henriksen)to help his friend,Mikey(Scott Wilson)an older brother-type. When the robbery goes wrong,Mikey is killed by Rafe and Johnny is set-up by Sunny and Rafe to take the fall and gets put in prison and is stabbed while he's inside prison. While Johnny is in the hospital and in a coma,a sympathetic surgeon named Dr. Steven Fisher(Forrest Whitaker)offers Johnny a reconstructive surgery on his face and a new life. Although Johnny has a new face and name,Johnny still wants to get revenge on Sunny and Rafe at all costs new face or not.Johnny Handsome is an excellent film that is true to the genre and spirit of Film Noir,it's dark,gritty and ugly and the film works so well not just as Crime Drama,Film Noir or Thriller,but also as a great character study. Walter Hill definitely knows the Film Noir genre having done another Film Noir in 1978 with his classic The Driver. What I love about the film is that Hill creates a world of a dark world not at all related to the 80s but to the 40s,where in this film and in the works of Dashell Hammett and Raymond Chandler some of the characters are good,bad or something else in between. Where in the 80s most films were bright and colorful,Johnny Handsome is grim and gritty and doesn't fit in with the colorful world of the 80s where all characters are good and everything is going to turnout all right and I think that is one of the reasons that Johnny Handsome is underrated because right from the opening credits it's established that Johnny Handsome is not a lighthearted film but a film that is going to be bleak and dark until the very end. Johnny Handsome is a film that could have easily been made in the 40s. What I also love about Johnny Handsome is that it's a great character study. The main character John Sedley is a tragic character in many respects,because even though John has had surgery on his face and has a new name,John still feels like he has his old face and has the same emotions he had before. John also has to go out into the world with his new face try to deal with his past and present. The past where Dr.Fisher gives John a new face and a new life and feels that he will turnout o.k or having to deal with local cop L.T A.Z.Drones(Morgan Freeman)who despite seeing Johnny's new face doesn't believe that John will never,ever change and will always be a criminal. Another thing from his past is Sunny and Rafe and how John still carries the emotional scars from dealing with those two and trying to get revenge. In the present,Johnny doesn't want his new girlfriend and lover Donna(Elizabeth McGovern)to know about his past or who he used to be,but unfortunately for Johnny his past and present meet up. I think that one of the themes of the film is that you can change how a person looks on the outside but,you can't change how they feel on the inside Some probably would see Hill's films as just Action films,but the characters in his films have depth and history and it's one of the many reasons Walter Hill is one of my favorite film directors. Johnny Handsome is not only a great Film Noir but also a great character study of John Sedley. Although not as Action-packed as many of Hill's films,Johnny Handsome has a few well-executed Action scenes that will get the viewer riled up which are violent and fast and at times brutal which greatly matches the film's dark and gritty tone. With the exception of a couple films Hill has never been known for making long films and if their is a flaw with this film is that it's not long enough in my opinion and should have been 15-20 minutes longer and had more scenes with the characters because I wanted to see much more,but that doesn't stop the film from being great and memorable. The ending of this film is brilliant,powerful,bleak and sad but is true to the dark and grim spirit of Film Noir. An excellent and unforgettable conclusion.The whole cast does a great job. Mickey Rourke is excellent and at his best as John Sedley,bringing depth,toughness and sadness to the role. One of Rourke's most underrated performances. Ellen Barkin is fantastic,over the top and sexy as Sunny a sexy,but slimy woman. Elizabeth McGovern does a great job as Donna,Johnny's new girlfriend. Lance Henriksen is menacing and believable as Rafe,Sunny's partner in crime. Morgan Freeman is great as always as cop L.T. A.Z.Drones a cop who's always on Johnny's case. Forest Whitaker is wonderful as Dr.Fisher a sympathetic doctor who tries to help and understand Johnny. Scott Glenn does a fine job in his small role as Mikey,John's friend and older brother-type.Walter Hill's direction is excellent,bringing a dark,gritty,somber look to the film and also does well with the Action scenes. Great direction,Hill.Ry Cooder's score is amazing and it gives the film a hard edge with it's somber,blues-like sound and truly adds to the film.In final word,if you love Walter Hill,Mickey Rourke,Crime Dramas,Film Noir or Thrillers,I Highly suggest you see out Johnny Handsome an underrated and overlooked film that will stay with you after you watch it and is Walter Hill and Mickey Rourke at their best. Highly Recommended. 10/10.