The Mighty Quinn (1989)

Wonderful character development!

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Released in 1989, The Mighty Quinn is currently rated as Denzel Washington's 46th best movie (on IMDB). I'm not saying it's bad but it's never going to become a classic and it is starting to show its age a little. Denzel plays Xavier Quinn, the police chief on a Caribbean island where some stereotypical eccentricities are maybe rather over-emphasised. He's very dashing in his formal uniform and while out of favour with his wife, he's still not short of admirers. His not-so-smooth life is then even more disturbed by a murder at a smart local hotel. The powers that be seem rather too keen to close down the investigation fast and pin the blame on Maubee - a colourful ne'er-do-well who was also Quinn's childhood friend. A role that gives Robert Townsend plenty of scope to enjoy himself. Denzel himself, though, is perhaps at his 46th best. What in later his roles becomes a cool stillness, here sometimes just looks a little stiff. His Jamaican accent also occasionally wanders and his singing is a departure.Don't be totally put off though. Denzel is still easy to watch and it's a gently diverting classic murder mystery set in a colourful community and beautiful scenery. 6/10

Relaxed -- very relaxed -- murder story, with Denzel Washington as a detective ordered to find and capture his friend so the murder can be rapidly cleared up and the tourist trade flow along liquidly. Halfway through, Washington begins to believe that there is more to the case than meets the eye, and that his buddy will be no more than a scapegoat.Very nice location shooting in Jamaica. If you like reggae, you will LOVE this film's score. There are lots of shots of the beautiful beach. Hey, mon, why you jomp in dee wah-tah faw? The more desperately seedy areas of Kingston are avoided, as they would be in one of Hitchcock's movies set in an exotic locale. The viewpoint is that of the tourist used to saying in nice hotels, the kind with jacuzzis but no venomous snakes.Denzel Washington handles the accent pretty well without quite shedding his own phones. Sometimes it fades more than others. The other performers don't really have too much to do. Everyone seems to be enjoying himself, as if on vacation.The movie is rather good-natured considering the plot. The white guys tend to be bad, while the local people of color are at worst raffish. Is there still such racial friction in Jamaica? I don't know, but in the Bahamas the races get along well with one another, as they do in much of the Caribbean. Maybe big cities breed animosities spontaneously.There's nothing truly outstanding about this routine flick, except, as I've noted, the score. It's not especially exciting, mysterious, amusing, or engaging in any other way. It's not a bad flick if you're prepared to let it take you by the hand and lead you along the colorful streets, pointing out sites of interest, suggesting you taste the jerky and try one of those pink drinks in a tall glass with a flower and a paper umbrella sticking out of it. We call it Captain Bluebeard's Mango Flavored Rum Punch. Mind the umbrella. One of awah tourists lost an eye last year. Don't drink? Fine, bad faw the health. Care for one of awah Jah-may-can cigars? You might not remember much of it later but you won't object to having watched it.

something halfway DIFFERENT from Hollywood's usual fare; Denzel plays a rather straight-laced Chief of Police of a Jamaica-like island and must track down his free-spirit childhood friend, Maubee, suspected of murder. the best thing about this movie (to me) was its island locations and people, a great change of pace from the usual SoCal or New Yawk stuff. M. Emit Walsh is a scene stealer as a bemused corporate operative down to fix some loose ends. the numerous musical interludes are excellent (and its great to watch a movie without the usual hip-hop or angst-metal). many of the 'minor' characters--Ubu Pearl, Coco, Jose, Jump--are lots more interesting than the major ones. on the down side are some of the usual clichés--arrogant rich whites, the politician that browbeats the police so as not to alarm the tourists, the usual domestic strife, the precocious kid, a subplot involving the, gasp, CIA. watch this some night with 'Countryman' for a Caribbean Film Festival.

This movie gives me a warm fuzzy feeling and I recommend that anyone that just wants to relax and watch Denzel Washington look awesome and enjoy a 1980s mystery this is it. In fact I'm going to buy this movie to keep in my collection.