Curacao (1993) Reviews

• Spoilers ***

  CAPTAIN INDIFFERENT2000-07-23

  Seen this video on the shelves often enough so decided to give it a watch. Peterson who I don't mind from Michael Mann's Manhunter does a good job with the stereotypical hero character he's given. He's a disgraced American intelligence agent who has been exiled to a small embassy on just as small an island for killing a fellow (supposedly corrupt) agent. His only comrade is bar owner Scott, who seems to be the only other laid back dude on the island and content with exile. But of course Scott has a secret past, that has South Africa's intelligence agency and the powerful Hsung brothers looking to scorch his ass over his secret past involving a sunken boat with 20 + dead sailors and a hidden log book. Peterson is unwillingly sucked into the dilemma by all parties and even his own agency who promise a welcome back into the fold (by an ex-partner and sexy love interest from his past of course). Won't give away the outcome, or any twists but I will say it is a fair example of it's genre (in my opinion only). The gunplay is a little poor (but hey it was 1993), Peterson's character is also a little self righteous when criticising the South Africans and their policies, especially considering he's an American agent who don't always have a history of being all that upright or incorruptable (morally speaking). The visuals would have been greater with a wider view of the island settings and its karnival scenes however some places in the movie, (hostage and bar scenes) looked like sets regardless of how well the actors tried to, well... act. But I still enjoyed the movie since it's hero was less of a James Bond and more of a Len Deighton or John Le Carre character.

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• Get your kicks on Curacao

  PeterJackson2000-09-17

  This is a very slow-paced drama about a bored embassy employee on Curacao. Then he finds out his friend, an old captain(George C. Scott), has some secrets. Soon both their lives are in danger. Not really that special, but quite an interesting story and well-acted too. 6/10

• Manages mediocrity in spite of Scott and Petersen

  =G=2002-07-07

  "Curacao" is a foreign intrigue drama set on the title Caribbean Island which involves a retired sea captain and bar owner (Scott) and a demoted CIA field operative (Petersen). The film has numerous bad guys, foreign agents and thugs, skulking about the pair of protagonists all coveting something Scott has which they want and are prepared to kill for. A lukewarm low budget tv flick, "Curacao" is spiced up with a couple of babes and use some Carnival street parades as window dressing. Little more than fodder for the bored couch potato. C-

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• Stylish And Intense Caribbean Spy Thriller With A Great Cast

  ShootingShark2008-11-12

  Steven Guerin is a disgraced fed working a dead-end security job on the beautiful south Caribbean island of Curaçao when suddenly things go a bit crazy. A friend confesses his part in a terrible crime which is now catching up with him, a dangerous South African spy offers him a suspicious job, and a beautiful colleague/lover from his past arrives to complicate matters. What's the right thing to do ? This glossy and enjoyable made-for-cable film is a stylish modern version of glamorous forties classics like To Have And Have Not or The Glass Key, all sultry dames, put-upon heroes, sneaky plot machinations and idyllic scenery. The Dutch Antilles setting of Curaçao is fabulous, with its lush tropical backdrops, steamy groves, sudden downpours, Venetian stylings and carnival atmosphere - it pretty much has erotic thriller stamped all over it. As too does Petersen, who burns through the Bogart/Cagney lead, smouldering intensity, speaking quietly, piercing the other actors with thoughtful stares. Scott has an interesting part as the cowardly bartender Wettering, the lynch-pin of the story, but is unusually ordinary and lumbers himself with a slightly lame accent. However, there is excellent support from Carmen (In The Mouth Of Madness) as the career-comes-first agent, Sayle (Gorky Park) as the nasty apartheid Boss, and Anglim (Haunted Summer) as the world-weary flatfoot. The whole thing is polished off with pleasing photography by Ellery Ryan and a good clattering spy story revolving around a purloined ship's manifest. A fine cable movie by Schultz, who's made some other interesting stuff (The Seventh Sign, To Walk With Lions). Scripted by James D. Buchanan, from his book The Prince Of Malta. The UK TV print has the rather insipid alternative title, Deadly Currents.

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• Wonderfully moody, dark little film with a tight story

  donnazzass2004-01-22

  I just saw this movie on TV. I watched it because I am a great fan of William Peterson and I thought he was appropriately moody and mysterious in it. I liked the story and the way it was told and the bits of "colour locale" of Curacao, i.e. "Karnaval", which lasts about half a year now, I have been told. George C. Scott was, well, George C. Scott. He was never a favorite of mine, but he did the usual job. What puzzled me is this: Trish vandeVere, Scott's last wife (how he ever could have picked this mediocre actress over the formidable COLLEEN DEWHURST will forever be a riddle to me, but then aging men do silly things) ... where was I ... Oh, ok, Ole Trish was billed as a major part, in the role of Rose. Did anyone who saw this movie ever see Trish, or a person named Rose? I did not. Perhaps she was cut out of the TV version, but it was already a made for TV movie... so what was up with that. Just billing and bucks?

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