TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews Review of Loose Cannons

Loose Cannons (1990)

Could have been decent entertainment, if it didn't take itself so damn seriously

[1/10 · 4 February 2005]

I usually find Dan Aykroyd to be good in comedies, and I'm rarely disappointed by Gene Hackman, whatever the movie. So, when I hear about them in a movie together, I naturally want to check it out. Even if it's rated low here on IMDb. Well, this is one of the times where I wish I hadn't been so curious... or at least that I took the advice of one of the many reviewers on this site, and didn't watch it. Fortunately, I had been prepared that it wasn't going to be particularly good, so I didn't pay that much attention to it. Whenever I did look at the screen or even listen to the audio, I felt sorry. Sorry for Aykroyd, sorry for Hackman, sorry for anyone else who has even a tiny bit of talent and yet worked on this movie(one person I'm not feeling sorry for is director Bob Clark, who doesn't seem to have crapped out one single half-decent semi-quality film in his entire career, despite how lengthy it is). The plot is ridiculous. The pacing is poor. The acting isn't even slightly impressive. The characters are clichés and stereotypes. The humor is all crude innuendos and people swearing. How is that funny? Oh, and of course there's Aykroyd's characters multiple personality disorder. Ah yes. Lets laugh at a terrible mental disorder. And what's with how serious the film tries to be, at times? It might have been slightly entertaining, if it didn't take itself so seriously. All in all, just a terrible failure on every conceivable level. I recommend this only to hardcore fans of Hackman and Aykroyd. Everyone else should do themselves a huge favor and skip this. There are plenty of other films with the two actors, and most of them are far better. 1/10