Just perfect...

A Masterpiece!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Decent, highly watchable pulp crime fiction from Walter Hill, based upon the novel "The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome" by John Godey, and scripted by Ken Friedman. It's much too predictable in terms of the story developments, so it misses its chance for greatness, but thanks to an excellent cast, typically efficient direction from Hill, and a seedy ambiance, it still works pretty well. Mickey Rourke does nicely as the title character, a small time criminal with a deformed face who's had a pretty hard knock life. He participates in a heist to assist father figure Mikey Chalmette (Scott Wilson), but their partners in crime, Rafe Garrett (Lance Henriksen) and Sunny Boyd (Ellen Barkin) double cross them, leading to Mikey's death and Johnny's arrest. While in prison, Johnny is approached by a well intentioned young doctor, Steven Resher (Forest Whitaker), who proposes performing plastic surgery on Johnny's features to assist him in attempting a new life. Of course, what the cynical police detective A.Z. Drones (Morgan Freeman) believes is what we all know to expect: once a lowlife, ALWAYS a lowlife, and even while working a legitimate job, Johnny plans vengeance. The violence is, as is standard for Hill's work, quite stylish and brutal. The makeup on Rourke, courtesy of Michael Westmore and Zoltan Elek, is impressive. Ry Cooder's flavourful music is as always a treat to listen to. Rourke is capably supported by Henriksen and Barkin, who are a colourful pair of utterly trashy, despicable villains; her pronunciation of the word "geek" is indeed priceless. Freeman is a hoot as the cop, and the too briefly seen Wilson is wonderful. Elizabeth McGovern is appealing enough as the obligatory love interest. Also appearing are David Schramm ('Wings') as crooked lawyer Vic Dumask, Hill repertory player Peter Jason as shipyard boss Mr. Bonet, J.W. Smith as criminal accomplice Larry, Jeffrey Meek as thieving shipyard employee Earl, and prominent comedian / character actor Blake Clark in a bit part as a sheriff. The story may be mostly standard fare, but it's still well told and the movie is solidly entertaining right up to its inevitable conclusion. Seven out of 10.

Well renowned action director Walter Hill tackles a more moody, character driven crime drama in the shape of "Johnny Handsome" and it would have to be one of his under-the-radar productions. The story follows that of a deformed criminal John who stages a heist, however there's a double-cross which sees his best friend killed and him going to prison. There he is asked to take part in a rehabilitation program, where they clear him of his deformity while also getting him parole. Hoping now that he can start a new life, however John is still burning inside for vengeance. Presenting an ideal cast, Hill really does cast a spell over his audience with solid (even if it does feel a bit underdone) story-telling backed up by credibly good performances from leading man Mickey Rourke (within the peak of his career) and equally so support by Morgan Freeman, Ellen Barkin Lance Henrikson, Elizabeth McGovern and Forest Whitaker. Everybody chips in, adding their own stamp to proceedings and establishing gripping character rapports or confrontations (e.g. between Freeman's detective and Whitaker's doctor).Hill's cruise-like direction is crisp and tidy, engineering some intense passages and some well-oiled, edgy action set-pieces, although they are low-key (still violent) but this really does belong to its cast and the interestingly, smart story (that was adapted off John Godey's novel "The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome"). The ambitious plot does have a lot going on and it might not all come together, but how it does play out stays constantly interesting and rather unpleasant in its details. Rourke's character Johnny is given a chance to start over and go straight, from this physical change brings much needed confidence but the hunger inside for revenge can't simply be cured or forgotten. Someone he cared for, who saw beyond his deformity deserved payback. Johnny would deliver it. So he carefully plans out the revenge, wanting to tease before actually ending it and things get even more suspenseful when the situation starts to go off the rails. Lance Henrikson and Ellen Barkin really do nail down their explosively sly parts of the two crooks who betrayed Johnny. The ever-reliable, Hill regular Ry Cooder adds a smoking touch to the music score.One of those films I didn't know all that much of, but came away pleasantly surprised.

Having seen the trailer multiple times as well as seeing 2 other Walter Hill films (Red Heat and Trespass), I had come across this underrated gem at Borders for $15. And I decided, why not? For me, the movie was $15 well spent.Mickey Rourke plays John Sedley, a small-time hood whose deformation has given him the nickname, "Johnny Handsome", who is in the midst of planning a robbery with his friend, Mikey Chalmette (Played by Scott Wilson) and 2 other criminals, Rafe and Sunny (Played by the always great Lance Henriksen and Ellen Barkin.) In the middle of the robbery, John and Mikey are double-crossed by Sunny and Rafe. Mikey ends up killed and Johnny is arrested. While in jail, Lt. Drones (Played by Morgan Freeman) offers Johnny a chance to participate in a rehab program. Johnny accepts the offer and while at the rehab, Johnny is stabbed and taken to a hospital. At the hospital, the sympathetic Dr. Steven Fisher (Played by Forest Whitaker) gives Johnny a new face, a new identity (Johnny is given the name Johnny Mitchell), and a new shot at life. Johnny is eventually granted parole and gets a job at a plant. Going straight isn't all that easy, however. What Johnny really intends to do is get even with Rafe and Sunny.I found the film to be an intense and underrated revenge noir that really deserves more attention than it already has. The score by Ry Cooder (Also responsible for the equally good score for Trespass) fits the film well too. The only thing that I did not like about the film was the ending, which was pretty sad. Nevertheless, it's a fun film that will hopefully, get more recognition in the future.Highly recommended.DVD Extras: The movie is presented in a crisp 1.33:3 full frame format, although I really don't know why Artisan decided against showing the film in it's original 1.85 aspect ratio, but it's still a good presentation. It's also VHS sourced, as if you watch the film all the way to the end, you'll see the I.V.E. logo.

I wanted to just say that Mickey Rourke is one of my favorite actors...period.....but when i saw this flick i always wondered when he had surgery and had a normal face he learned to speak normally....well i found it weird that when Lance Henrikson(another of my favorite actors)slashed Mickeys face.....Mickey started talking like he was abnormal again....I always wondered if Mickey thought that was a good idea or that the director thought that was a good idea.....just seemed like bad acting to me....anyone else find that weird. ?.......all in all sometimes Mickey and Lance have made good role choices, but i think that someone should have told them that some of the dialog or scripts should be changed to make them look like great actors that they are.....Deniro and Pacino hardly ever make this mistake even though they do at times, but thats what makes them a little bit above the latter....i also wanted to point out that Mickey and Lance have made better choices lately and since i do love their acting and such that they keep it up.....thanks, Eddie