A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Plot; A man who specializes in finding missing children is tasked with recovering "The Golden Child", a young boy who is prophesized to be the savior of mankind.This is a weird movie. And also terrible. This is a weird and terrible movie. With star Eddie Murphy coming off of the smash hit Beverly Hills Cop, it's no surprise that he and director Michael Ritchie more or less try to make this Beverly Hills Monk, with Murphy essentially porting over his Axel Foley character in all but name. Unfortunately the material here is vastly inferior, and even Murphy's shtick isn't enough to spackle over this disjointed mess of a movie.

The Golden Child revives a dead bird in Nepal and is kidnapped by the evil Sardo Numspa (Charles Dance). Five days later in L.A., missing kids specialist investigator Chandler Jarrell (Eddie Murphy) is searching for Cheryll Mosley. Kee Nang (Charlotte Lewis) tells him about a 400 year old prediction. The Golden Child's destiny is to save the world and taken to a city of angels. He is to be saved by a man who's no angel and that's Jarrell. Cheryll's murder is linked to the missing Golden Child. In his dream, Sardo Numspa offers Jarrell the child in exchange for the Ajanti Dagger.Eddie Murphy is doing another wise-cracking detective and he's good at that. He has plenty of fun being sarcastic. The movie itself is inferior. Charlotte Lewis is absolutely beautiful but not the most charismatic. Only Victor Wong is able to take full advantage of Murphy. Their back and forth is fun. A lot of this movie is eye-rolling. The first is probably the annoying TV host. He's set up to be funny but he's annoyingly wrong. Many parts of this movie is like that and comedic moments don't turn out to be funny.

Somewhat underrated Eddie Murphy movie with Eddie playing an American social worker recruited by a Tibetan woman to help rescue a kidnapped boy with special powers called the "Golden Child." I remember when this came out it wasn't met with a warm reception, from the critics or myself. In part I think because it wasn't a straight comedy like myself and others had come to expect from Eddie. But also because it wasn't as good as the similar Big Trouble in Little China, which came out the same year. Ironically, this was a bigger box office hit than Big Trouble but the latter has gone on to deservedly earn a cult fandom while Golden Child still has a mixed reputation at best.Eddie Murphy is pretty good here and seems to be having a fun time. Charlotte Lewis is fine, performance-wise and looks-wise. Charles Dance is an enjoyable villain. The scene stealer here is Victor Wong, who was also in Big Trouble in Little China. The special effects are charming in that special way '80s effects often were. Love the Pepsi can dance scene. Some cheesy stuff in this movie for sure but, for the most part, it's pretty entertaining. If you like '80s movies you should find something to like with this. It's got action, comedy, and a little bit of fantasy all mixed together. It's not what I would call a classic but it is fun.

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.