Critique: Film> Reviews.

I'll begin this film review by confessing two things: 1. I've never really been a fan of Eddie Murphy; and 2. At the time of writing this, I've never seen any of the Beverley Hills Cop films. If any of these things had been different prior to watching, I may have been disappointed with Metro like a majority of the other film critics. My third, and perhaps most surprising, confession, however, is that I actually enjoyed this film.

It's a formulaic, but effective, buddy-cop comedy-action film. The action set pieces are well done and the central actors appear very confident in their character roles; Murphy, in particular, appears completely at east in front of the camera and is a joy to watch.

Plot wise, Metro is hardly Shakespearian, but no one ever expects that from an action movie anyway. Murphy is Roper, a hostage negotiator for the San Francisco Police Department, who has the dirty task of talking down madmen at gunpoint. After an energetic opening sequence, we see his close-friend brutally murdered after routinely questioning homicidal diamond thief Korda (Michael Wincott) at his apartment. Understandably upset, Roper vows for revenge with the help of his new partner McCall (Michael Rapaport), a rookie SWAT team sharp-shooter.

This leads us to a fantastic chase scene in downtown San Francisco involving a runaway cable car (from which the film took its title from). As ridiculous as this scene is, director Carter manages to cook up a large amount of suspense to keep the audience on the edge of their seats for the duration of this. The final action scene, which takes place in an abandoned steel-work factory, is also very well staged and just as entertaining.

Somewhere in the middle of all this action, Roper is also trying to get back with his ex-girlfriend Ronnie (played by British actress Carmen Ejogo) who is currently dating a famous baseball star. Metro may primarily be an action film, but for the moments that it cuts from the shoot outs and car chases to develop this on/off relationship between the two characters it is still enjoyable to watch. Murphy and Ejogo have an obvious chemistry with one another whenever they appear onscreen together, which means that the story is driven not just by spectacular action but also by character.

It is particularly with that last factor considered why I enjoyed this film. Gun-play and explosions come as standard in action movies, but not all can boast that they have the personality of their characters to develop the suspense that little bit more. While Metro may not offer anything new in terms of plot, the ride is at least an entertaining one for the duration of its running time -- and that's just fine by me.

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.