Highly Overrated But Still Good

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

A private detective specializing in missing children is charged with the task of finding a special child who dark forces want to eliminate.John Carpenter was originally scheduled to direct the film, but dropped out and would later direct "Big Trouble in Little China", a film with similar Chinese mysticism themes (Chinese American actors Victor Wong, James Hong, and Peter Kwong appear in both films). Starring Kurt Russell, Carpenter's project was reported to have been rushed through post-production to ensure a premiere date that preceded "The Golden Child".I love that the two films have this history because watching "Golden Child" instantly makes me think of "Big Trouble". For as much as they do not have in common, there just are not that many films with fantastic Chinese elements in them. At least not in American film.

Chandler Jarrell (Eddie Murphy) is an expert at finding lost children. Jarrell learns of a case where a missing Tibetan child known as The Golden Child has been kidnapped and is asked to assist in rescuing the child. The Golden Child is no ordinary child and is the sole person responsible for ensuring peace will remain on Earth, but evil sorcerers lead by Sardo Numspa (Charles Dance) intend to use the child for their own evil purposes and in order to appease their evil god.I'm prepared to commend this film because despite some of its weaknesses it is a fairly original story and for that reason it is very easy to get involved with the film. This film of course has Eddie Murphy in it from a time back in the 1980's when he was very much still in his prime. Part of the reason that this film works is Murphy himself - he brings his usual energy to the table and the fact that he also plays a good guy who's fairly likable also helped to keep me invested in the film.This film is also pretty funny - I liked it at the start where Murphy is trying to make an appeal about his search for a lost kid and the talk show host is talking over him and tries to change the subject or discuss more trivial matters. It's funny because it's believable and I assume it meant to act as some sort of satire on arrogant and self-absorbed talk show hosts. What the writers were trying to say here didn't really matter to me (the fact that I found it funny was more important). The humour here was also surprisingly clean for a Murphy vehicle and it's even more surprising given the dark plot that the writers serve up here. All these aspects work well to create an entertaining and original film but....I've applauded the film for having a fairly original story, but sadly the development of the story is quite poor and is never really fleshed out enough to make this aspect work. There was also a random section where it's as though Murphy and the evil sorcerers are on a film set with a live audience which I never really understood. It kind of goes from interesting & refreshing to bizarre and strange - the final sequence is ridiculous and mildly embarrassing. I also felt that because the bizarre story dominated so much of the second half of the film that it almost undid all the humour and intrigue that had been built up in the first half.This film is far from perfect, but Murphy's energy, the original story, and the reasonable number of laughs that you get here do make it watchable. Dance isn't given much to do, but he is effective in his scenes and actually makes a good villain (albeit his character is a little thin). Lewis is more than a pretty face and actually holds her own well here and the chemistry between her and Murphy isn't bad.This film has an IMDb rating of 5.8 and I think that the IMDb community have got it about right; it's not great enough to stack up against some of Murphy's better vehicles, but it isn't bad enough to render it unwatchable.

When you say Eddie Murphy is in a poor movie, it's not a surprise, it's the norm, now a days. But back in 1986 when this was released, it is a massive shock. Following on from a hot streak of good performances in funny movies like 48 Hrs, Trading Places, Best Defense and sandwiched in between Beverley Hills Cop and it's sequel. The Golden Child stands out for all the wrong reasons. confined by the restraints of a PG movie, this is a much watered down Eddie Murphy and a diluted Eddie Murphy of the 80's is not a funny one. Charles Dance is always a reliable actor, and he does his best, with what he is given. Sadly he is not given a great deal to do. The gorgeous Charlotte Lewis is the best thing in this awful movie. I would rather go see a firework display on a very rainy night, than watch this again. Don't watch it, pass it by, avoid it like the plague. Excluding Lewis and Dance, the acting is bad, bad, bad. Murphy included.I give this a generous 4/10. 1 point for Charles Dance, 1 point for The unbelievably sexy Charlotte Lewis, and two points for scenes featuring her in A, a wet shirt, and B, tied up in Murphy's dream sequence.

There Was a time when Eddie Murphy was one seriously funny guy, and this film is a good example of that, released in the fall of 1986 THE GOLDEN CHILD was met with mixed to mostly negative reviews (Then again Roger Ebert liked it) I really don't see why people didn't like this film, and to some extent it still to this day is considered a low point in eddies career, for those of you who haven't seen this film before/since i suggest giving it another watch with an open mind knowing that its a fantasy comedy and not your usual Eddie Murphy film (Probably the reason why people just didn't get into it) The Plot concerns Eddie trying to find a kidnapped child who holds magical powers that can bring love and peace in the world or can bring chaos and destroy the world if the child were to be polluted with anything evil, and the people who kidnapped him want to sacrifice the child to gain and use his power for their own evil scheme.PROS: Eddie Murphy is hilarious just playing the average Joe who cannot believe the situation around him, as things get crazier Eddie just gets funnier, Charles Dance as the main Villain does a Decent job at playing a Super Serious villain who seems to constantly keep pronouncing his J's Silent Which leads to a lot amusement when Eddie Murphy shares scenes with him. The Art Directiom is Splendid and the Cinematography is stunning (Especially with the scenes in Tibet) The Musical Score by Michael Colobier is so 80s but infectiously catchy Funk influenced Pop Rock that just makes you feel like a Bad A%$ The Film has a great supporting Cast Half of which appear in another similarly themed movie Called BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA And there's a handful of creative set pieces that really stand out (I.E) The Cave which Eddie must retrieve a dagger and a Hilarious Dream Sequence with Eddie and the villain.CONS: The Final showdown with the Villain feels a little rushed and the Villain's final form isn't all that inspired And the Film's Visual FX don't hold up well in 2 or 3 scenes But aside from that the Film is a lot of Fun, Eddie needs to release a special edition DVD/Blu Ray for this one, but according to some sources he's not too fond of this film (Honestly I don't see why, maybe because it was made at the height of his career and it burned him inside that it didn't do as well as it should have)Overall: 7/10 "Not as good as Coming to America or Beverly Hills cop, but its not far behind and definitely better than anything Eddie made in the 90s onwards.