This is How Movies Should Be Made

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Continuing my plan to watch every Mel Gibson movie in order, I come to 1990's Bird On A Wire.Plot In A Paragraph: Rick (Gibson) helped convict a drug-dealing FBI agent, and was placed in the witness protection program. Fifteen years later his former fiancée Marianne (Goldie Hawn) crosses paths with him at a gas station, and before you know it, goons show up to kill him, and the two former lovers go on the run.Slated by critics upon release, I have a real soft spot for this movie. OK some of the things wouldn't fly today (Gibson's gay hairdresser for example) and Goldie Hawn has been remaking the same movie over and over since Foul Play. But I do like it. Most of it is down to the two leads. The movie pretty much let's Gibson do his own thing, and he seemed to be having fun, but at times he does come off as a bit of a jerk!! At his best here, he is a bit of a watered down Riggs!! Hell his pose on the poster/DVD cover is almost identical to the one on Lethal Weapon 2. As for Hawn, she looked great!! I'm of the opinion that Goldie Hawn got more and more attractive as she got older, peaking in the Bird On A Wire and HouseSitter era. She handles all her action scenes, romantic scenes and comedy scenes wonderfully!! And man what an ass!! I love it.I also like John Badham as a director, he has directed more than a few movies that I love!!I'm of the opinion that it was solely the star power of Gibson (and of course Hawn) that made the movie a hit, as it grossed $70 million at the domestic box office to finish the year the 16th highest grossing movie of 1990!! A head of Rocky V, Godfather 3, Goodfells and Edward Scissorhands despite some truly awful reviews!! Including one that said "Bird On A Wire fails on every level"

Marianne Graves (Goldie Hawn) is a tough lawyer. Passing through Detroit, she runs into mechanic Billy Ray who looks exactly like her fiancé Rick Jarmin (Mel Gibson). Only Rick died in a plane crash 15 years ago. Rick is actually in witness protection and calls into the FBI to find his case handler gone. He had put away corrupt drug-dealing DEA agent Eugene Sorenson (David Carradine) who is now out on parole. Agent Joe Weyburn (Stephen Tobolowsky) schemes to get his new identity and location. Sorenson and his partner Albert Diggs (Bill Duke) almost kill him before Marianne comes to the rescue. The police are after them for the gas station owner's death and so do the bad guys.The situation is forced. Rick should have revealed his story sooner to Marianne. She most certainly walks away from him especially with their initial fighting. The police are after them with the flimsiest of evidence. The setup isn't very believable. There was a whole trial but apparently, one mouse click will erase everything. The movie is caught between the broadest of comedy and the biggest of action. I'm willing to live with all of it but the fake gay hairdresser is bad. The zoo is a weird place to go for the climax. The most notable thing about this action comedy is the title song.

Rick Jarmin is in the witness protection programme. When an old flame of his recognises him at his gas station work place, he is naturally concerned for his safety, and well he should be because the men he informed on, Albert Diggs and Eugene Sorenson, are hot on his tail. This sets up a sequence of events that lead to Rick and his former lover, Marianne Graves going on the run, with hilarious results.Tho released in 1990, Bird On A Wire positively oozes an 80s feel, from Mel Gibson's (Jarmin) hair to the way director John Badham films his action sequences, it feels 80s and really it probably should have been kept back there. For although this is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, in fact Gibson and Goldie Hawn (Graves) are a delightful duo, it just feels repetitive and never really gets to anywhere you wasn't expecting. That is mainly because the 80s (and early 90s) were full of these type of thrillers relying on guffaw set pieces to bring home the bacon, chances are that if you watched another five of these genre films from the same time frame you will be getting deja vu.Some laughs to be had here for sure, and there is nothing wrong with the bad guy portrayals on show, courtesy of Bill Duke and David Carradine, it's just now tired and showing its unimaginative age. 5/10

'Bird on a Wire' is Good Time-Pass. Its Fast-Paced, Crisply Written & Nicely Acted. It surely can be watched once.'Bird on a Wire' Synopsis: A FBI informant has kept his new identity secret for 15 years, now an old flame has recognized him and the bad guys are back for revenge.'Bird on a Wire' begins & ends well. It packs in enough entertainment in those 100 odd minutes. Louis Venosta & David Seltzer's Screenplay is Crispy & Fast-Paced. John Badham's Direction is passable. Cinematography & Editing are fair. Action-Sequences are well-done.Performance-Wise: Mel Gibson & Goldie Hawn are in superb form. Its truly a pleasure to watch 2 legendary performers deliver such cheerful & memorable performances. David Carradine is excellent as the bad-guy. Others fill the bill.On the whole, 'Bird on a Wire' is Time-Pass.