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Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
It was inevitable that Francis Ford Coppola, having directed Bram Stoker’s Dracula and produced Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, would eventually try his hand at Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, the third member of horror literature’s holy trinity. What was not inevitable is the downright bizarre nature of his adaptation. To call this a modern-day update of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella would only be a small piece of the pie; this film is more like a complete overhaul, tossing aside Stevenson’s plotline and throwing in comic-book superheroes, kung-fu, a few revenge plots, the mafia, and the prophetic second coming of a Chinese freedom fighter into the mix. Did you know that Dr. Henry Jekyll is the reincarnation of the legendary White Tiger, a master of martial arts and ancient herbal medicine? In my reviews of both Dracula and Frankenstein, I complained that too much contemporizing spoiled the brew and that the source materials would have been enough to make good movies. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde plays like Coppola’s sarcastic response to my remarks. Against all odds, the film works for what it is, but once you get over the initial shock of its drastic departure from the novella, it grows routine and completely forgettable. As I summarize some of the plot, keep in mind that the opening credits do read, “Based on the story by Robert Louis Stevenson.” None of what follows should be spoilers if you know the movie kung-fu/revenge formula (or if you’ve ever seen Death Wish), but read no further if you really don’t want to know what happens in the film. Dr. Henry Jekyll (Adam Baldwin) is a cocky, American plastic surgeon honeymooning with his new wife (Karen Cliche) in Hong Kong. On their honeymoon, they inadvertently get in the middle of a war between two feuding mafias, and when one of the head kingpin’s sons gets fatally shot, Jekyll is forced at gunpoint to try to save him. He fails, and as a consequence, the kingpin steals Jekyll’s kidneys for his underground organ market, ties him and his wife up to a bomb, and blows them both to kingdom come. Jekyll’s wife is instantly killed, but Jekyll miraculously survives and is rescued by the mysterious Dr. Chau (Chang Tseng), who nurses Jekyll with a mixture of ancient Chinese herbs and medicine. Dr. Chau is a Mr. Miyagi-type of fellow, which means that he is a humorous, cluttered old man who happens to be a master martial artist and has a knack for spouting words of ancient wisdom. He also has an unexplained interest in Jekyll. Once Jekyll is completely healthy again (how he can function without his kidneys is never explained), he cuts his hair and changes his name to Edward Hyde to keep a low profile. Chau then begins to secretly train him in the ways of martial arts and ancient herbal medicine, in long teacher/pupil sequences that echo Karate Kid and The Empire Strikes Back. It turns out that Jekyll is the next incarnation of the legendary Chinese crime-fighter the White Tiger, and avenging the death of his wife will only be the beginning of what will be a prosperous life as a superhero. I suppose that fighting crime is a massive transition from plastic surgery, but Jekyll seems up to it (to be fair, a murdered wife and stolen organs are good enough motivations to change occupations). After Chau trains him, Jekyll uses his new knowledge to create a mixture of Chinese herbs that temporarily enhances his senses to superhuman ability, which he utilizes in his plan to take down the Chinese mob. The rest of the film is Jekyll’s revenge, which includes lots of kung-fu fighting that ranges in quality from pretty good to pretty average. In the meantime, there is also a Chicago cop on the loose (played by Steve Bastoni) who is also after the Chinese mafia because they killed his police partner. What are the chances, do you suppose, that the cop and the superhero will eventually join forces to overthrow the bad guys? Did Daniel-san paint the fence? By now, you have probably already realized that Coppola’s Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde owes more to Marvel Comic’s The Punisher than to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Victorian novella. In fact, this film almost plays like a rejected script for the former. I can only speculate that a B-movie producer fished it out of a garbage can (which is where most B-movie producers find their scripts anyway), read it, and thought, “Hey, this ancient herb plot is a bit like Jekyll and Hyde. All we’d have to do is change some names!” How Francis Ford Coppola was ever suckered on board is anyone’s guess, but here is a probable scenario: Coppola sits in his hot-tub, wondering how he can make a few extra bucks over the weekend. On cue, his agent gives him a ring on his cell-phone and exclaims, "Hey, they need an executive producer for another Jekyll and Hyde picture. You've already done Dracula and Frankenstein. Another wouldn't hurt; we could sell them in a three-in-one DVD pack, because we're clever Hollywood marketers. What do you say?" One wonders if Coppola even bothered to read the script, or if he just wrote them a check. One thing is certain: It couldn’t have been a very big check. From the production values and obvious breaks for commercials, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is clearly made-for-television entertainment, and it’s abrupt, unresolved ending indicates that it was possibly a pilot that was never picked up as a series. In any case, it is impossible to critique this film as a serious adaptation of Stevenson’s novella, but when considered as what it is—a B-grade kung-fu/revenge film—it is routine but not altogether bad. I admired director Colin Budd’s use of Hong Kong, which is depicted as a beautiful tourist trap that is so busy that anyone could get lost there, including a presumably dead superhero plotting his revenge. Most of the acting is also acceptable: Adam Baldwin makes an effective, tortured soul who is slowly stumbling upon his true destiny, and Chang Tseng successfully creates an intelligent character out of Dr. Chau that isn’t just another Mr. Miyagi clone. I enjoyed many of the training sequences between the two men which, while obvious, were high-spirited. The supporting cast ranges from good to hammy, but in a B-level action movie, hammy is as necessary as electricity in a Frankenstein film. The film’s true backbone is found in the action sequences, which are at times very good. There is a very strong sequence in which Bastoni’s character leads a police assault on the Chinese mafia. The scene is shot in slow-motion and includes a soft, operatic soundtrack that manages to emphasize the tragedy in senseless violence. Jekyll also employs some ingenious methods for taking out his enemies. On the other hand, the closing showdown is undistinguished and boring, and the lack of any true ending makes for a pretty distracting conclusion. That the film was probably intended as a pilot episode for a longer series would have made this acceptable, except for the fact that the distributors indeed went back and filmed a few extra scenes of gruesome violence and sexuality to boost its appeal on the movie market. I wish that they’d have also taken the time to reshoot a more satisfactory conclusion. I guess that the money from Coppola’s check finally ran out. A.K.A.: Francis Ford Coppola’s Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde Click
here to read my review of Coppola-directed Bram Stoker's
Dracula. Cast: A Telescene Film Group Production.
Directed by Colin Budds. Written by Peter M. Lenkov, from the
novella by Robert Louis Stevenson. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola.
Rated R, for violence, language, and brief sexuality/nudity. Running
time: 91 minutes. Original United States theatrical release date:
June 10, 1999 (in select cities).
Questions? Comments? E-mail me: danel_the_tinman@hotmail.com |
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