Perfectly paced, reasonably acted, and filled to the brim with James Bond spoofs in what's one of the best parody spy films ever made.
My sister used to like this film but I never saw it all the way through, only catching glimpses here and there (though I suspect the appeal of the film for her, at the time, was most likely leading man Richard Grieco).
It's hard to deny that Grieco here had tons of charm and plenty of charisma to spare. He fit the role reasonably well as an athletic slacker who chased girls, skipped class, and had a smart mouth to boot. Having him take on the role of mistaken identity is pulled off with just enough spit shine and plot grease to keep the plot moving without getting weighed down in the minutiae of unneeded theatrics or exposition.
At the heart of the film it's an espionage adventure with a few goofy hijinks that never overstay their welcome.
And despite very much being an American satire of the very British James Bond, the film takes many of its latter-half action sequences seriously enough to be entertaining as an action flick.
I never pegged Richard Grieco for being much of an action hero, but here in this film he shined rather well. It also holds up surprisingly against many bigger budget movies out at the time (and even films in similar categories today). The final showdown is filled with shootouts, explosions, helicopter rotors gone wild, and fiery castle.
It's a shame we no longer get fun popcorn films like this with charming leading men that have just enough machismo to appeal to the male demographic, while easily sporting the looks to swoon the female audience. Sexily cool cars (the Lotus looked so awesome in this film), gimmicky but nifty gadgets, and a scene-chewing villain all make If Looks Could Kill a real gem of the early 90s.
A very modest runtime and no wasted celluloid easily makes this a worthwhile weekend watch every now and then.
My sister used to like this film but I never saw it all the way through, only catching glimpses here and there (though I suspect the appeal of the film for her, at the time, was most likely leading man Richard Grieco).
It's hard to deny that Grieco here had tons of charm and plenty of charisma to spare. He fit the role reasonably well as an athletic slacker who chased girls, skipped class, and had a smart mouth to boot. Having him take on the role of mistaken identity is pulled off with just enough spit shine and plot grease to keep the plot moving without getting weighed down in the minutiae of unneeded theatrics or exposition.
At the heart of the film it's an espionage adventure with a few goofy hijinks that never overstay their welcome.
And despite very much being an American satire of the very British James Bond, the film takes many of its latter-half action sequences seriously enough to be entertaining as an action flick.
I never pegged Richard Grieco for being much of an action hero, but here in this film he shined rather well. It also holds up surprisingly against many bigger budget movies out at the time (and even films in similar categories today). The final showdown is filled with shootouts, explosions, helicopter rotors gone wild, and fiery castle.
It's a shame we no longer get fun popcorn films like this with charming leading men that have just enough machismo to appeal to the male demographic, while easily sporting the looks to swoon the female audience. Sexily cool cars (the Lotus looked so awesome in this film), gimmicky but nifty gadgets, and a scene-chewing villain all make If Looks Could Kill a real gem of the early 90s.
A very modest runtime and no wasted celluloid easily makes this a worthwhile weekend watch every now and then.