Subject: REVIEW: THE LAWNMOWER MAN

From: [email-masked] (Murray Chapman)
Date: 3 Jun 92 00:25:06 GMT

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			     THE LAWNMOWER MAN
		       A film review by Murray Chapman
			Copyright 1992 Murray Chapman

     I saw "Stephen King's THE LAWNMOWER MAN" yesterday.  Unfortunately,
it looks like yet another Stephen King project has made a mediocre
movie.

     This movie is about research into virtual reality and intelligence
enhancement.  Resident Mad Scientist Pierce Brosnan takes the lovable
and retarded man who mows his lawn and tries to increase his
intelligence.

     The movie's computer generated scenes are visually stunning,
however the movie is so seriously flawed in other areas that I found
myself squirming every time they switched to real life action.

     The sets were dark and gloomy--I am surprised that nobody tripped
over the equipment which littered the lab.  The dialogue was *obviously*
re-recorded: two characters talking in a large concrete room should have
some sort of echo, right?  The imminent presence of either (a) a
supernatural force, or (b) massive computer power is signalled by puffs
of smoke and/or flashing lights.

     No character development.  No plot surprises.  Plenty of characters
with vultures on their shoulders.

     The only way in which this movie is similar to SK's short story is
the fact that there is a Lawnmower Man in it: someone who mows lawns.
SK *did not* write the screenplay, nor does his name appear anywhere but
in the title.  (He was not an executive producer or anything like that.)

     Virtual reality was handled *much* *much* *much* better in
BRAINSTORM.  Go and see THE LAWNMOWER MAN if you want ten minutes of
stunning computer graphics and 90 minutes of B-grade plot.

     Stephen King has declared himself an unabashed fan of B-grade
movies.  Well, he should be just thrilled to bits with this one.  It has
all of the cliches' of horror films from the 1950's, and likewise
degenerates to a predictable apocalyptic ending.

Rating: 7 out of 10.  (5 + 2 bonus for the SPFX)

Murray Chapman
[email-masked]