The Golden Child

THE GOLDEN CHILD (PG)

D: Michael Ritchie

Paramount (Edward S. Feldman & Robert D. Wachs)

USA 🇺🇸 1986

94 mins

Comedy/Fantasy

W: Dennis Feldman

DP: Donald E. Thorin

Ed: Richard A. Harris

Mus: Michel Colombier

Eddie Murphy (Chandler Jarrell), Charles Dance (Sando Nanspa), J.L. Reate (The Golden Child), Charlotte Lewis (Kee Nang), Victor Wong (The Old Man)

Hot on the heels of Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom and Big Trouble In Little China comes another adventure-fantasy with an Oriental inspiration, starring Eddie Murphy as a social worker on the search for a mysterious Dalai Lama-like child with the power to bring peace throughout the world.

The main problem with this film is that it can't decide which genre to commit to and winds up a complete hodge-podge with an annoyingly smug performance from Murphy rather than an enchanting one. Product placement also seems rather forcibly shoed into the plot as well, especially in the scene with the dancing Pepsi can. Some people with nostalgic sensibilities might still enjoy it, and that's cool, but even as a kid I found this movie average at best.

5/10