The Real McCoy (1993)

The Real McCoy

I was at work today, and when I mentioned to a friend that I had watched a boring movie called The Real McCoy the night before, starring Kim Basinger and Val Kilmer, he told me he had watched Crank. Apparently I should have watched Crank, based on what he said. As far as The Real McCoy goes, I explained that it was a pity that Val Kilmer's character started out as kind of interesting, in a comical way, but then seemed to have no personality about halfway through the film. My friend said "Isn't that always the case with Val Kilmer? Heh heh.". Joking, maybe, but I didn't feel that was fair. I said: "What about The Doors?"; Friend: "Oh yaahhhhh! That was a great movie!". I said: "What about The Salton Sea?"; Friend" "Oh yaaahhhhhhh! That was a great movie!.".

So, The Real McCoy is not just a Val Kilmer problem. Halfway through the film, everything shuts down. It's like the film stops all forward momentum, but just keeps going forward anyway. Kilmer simply becomes completely irrelevant to the proceedings, like he's just following Basinger around while she connects a few dots to get to the end credits.

This is a heist picture--a complex bank heist, to be precise. The complex bank heist is clever, but it requires very little action, just some nifty gadgets, and some repetitous rannygazoo to fake out the cops while the real quasi-action goes down. The thieves even bring along snacks and a thermos of coffee to keep them tided over during the heist--they've got that kind of time.

Before the heist is the human-interest stuff. Freshly-paroled heistmaster Karen McCoy (Kim Basinger) just wants to connect with her young son, who is being kept out of her reach by her estranged hubbie, who told the kid she was dead. She's saddled with a sweaty, lecherous parole officer who wants favours for allowing her her continued freedom. Then there's J. T. Barker (Val Kilmer) who recognizes her and starts trailing her around like a lovesick guppy, until she finally decides she needs him to help her get her son back--NOT from her ex-husband anymore, but from a crimeboss she blames for her jail-time, who wants her to pull off one last score, a hit on the Atlanta Union Bank (which seems to have a sign more suitable to a strip-joint). Enter the heist.

Basinger looks great; besides the lecherous parole officer she's the only thing to really generate any kind of emotional reaction in me (opposite reactions). The action scenes are few and far between. The plot has no delightful zigzags or jolts that get you interested in the scene you're watching, or the one to come. I find it hard to believe that this is the same director of Ricochet, with Denzel Washington, which is no classic, but plays mind-games, and doles out some gritty action. The Real McCoy makes several promises in the first half hour and then decides it doesn't have to keep any of them: no suspense, no romance, no real pyrotechnics during the heist, and to top it all off, a big tiger that obviously doesn't know what to do with an appetizing-looking bad guy. Some of the music by Brad Fiedel--of Terminator fame--is cool, and Kilmer has some fun at the start, but the movie is entirely too relaxed to function as a thriller. And I can't call it a successful comedy, romance, or family drama, by any stretch, so we're rut-snagged. My friend's twenty-second description of Crank was more involving than this pillow disguised as a movie. February 27, 2007

BANKER'S HOURS

It's always nice to see Kim Basinger. A lovely woman and a competent actress, it is her presence that makes THE REAL MCCOY a tolerable bank heist yarn. Basinger plays a slick bank robber who gets out on parole after serving six years of a ten year sentence. Her smarmy husband (an obnoxious Nick Searcy) has told their young son that his mother is dead, but Basinger is determined to have some kind of relationship with the boy. She hooks up with Val Kilmer who plays a fan of hers and who also entices her to do a bank heist for creepy Terence Stamp. Seems that Stamp is the culprit responsible for Basinger's imprisonment, so she doesn't want to have anything to do with him. But Stamp has other plans and kidnaps the son to force her to do the heist. Basinger does well with the conflicting maternal instincts, telling young Patrick that she is a friend of his deceased mommy. The heist itself is staged well by director Russell Mulcahy, but the end result is fairly obvious and even though Basinger has plans of her own, we find ourselves hoping she, Kilmer and the boy come out on top.
Mindless entertainment, but certainly not a dog. November 22, 2005

Not As Bad As The Reviews Would Indicate

A bank robber, Basinger, wants to go straight but she is forced to do another big bank job because her son is kidnapped by a bank-robbing kingpin. The story has many twists and turns. Although it is a bit far-fetched, the story is entertaining. January 27, 2005

Boring

Don't even consider this film unless you're obsessed with Kim Basinger or Val Kilmer. I saw it in 1993 and again last year and I had forgotten how boring it was. Now I remember. I wondered what the heck was the purpose for making this film. Kim was on a roll that year I can remember. She'd just finished filming the remake of The Getaway with her then hubby Alec Baldwin. Now that's a good film right there. I like Kim Basinger but not in this. No one seemed to. Along with John Cusack's " Money for Nothing ", " The Real McCoy " was the most overlooked film of the year. I miss 1993, but not when it comes to bad films like this. This should have never been made. Shame on them. Shame. January 20, 2004

A mediocre film which at times is entertaining

Kim Basinger plays Karen McCoy, a solo bank robber who gets caught one night while 'on the job'. After six years she's out on parole and rushes to see her beloved son, Patrick (Zach English). Much to her dismay and anger, she finds out that not only had her ex-husband Roy (Nick Searcy) been burning her letters to her son, he also told Patrick that his mother was dead! Karen must now work to make her life 'straight' as she tries to get custody to see her kid. But things start to get worse when former boss and gangster Jack Schmidt (Terrence Stamp) kidnaps her son and blackmails her to do one last bank heist. With the help of rookie criminal J.T. Barker (Val Kilmer), Karen must make sure she can get her son and herself out of this mess alive.

The idea is good, the cast is good, it's such a shame that "The Real McCoy" turns out to be a mediocre film floundering in a badly written script. Once again, I will say that the whole idea behind the movie is great, what if a ex-bank robber is blackmailed and must pull the most elaborate and difficult bank robbery? Unfortunately, whoever wrote the script had either no clue how to fill out the story or was in a rush to get it finished. The movie begins with Karen getting caught then we are brought to six years after the event. The next 40 minutes are dull as we are dragged through events that really didn't have to happen. Finally though, after trudging through the first 50 minutes, we get to see some action. The bank robbery is well done and loads of fun, up there with the first "Mission Impossible" movie. But after the climax bank heist, the ending feels a bit cut short. In my opinion, the first 40 minutes could have been compressed into half the time, then lengthened the ending by adding some more twists and turns.

Then we have the acting. Some of the reviewers complained about Kim Basinger. All I can say is that I feel very bad for her. I bet her character was really hard to act out since the director/writer duo couldn't seem to make up what kind of person they wanted! Did they want a frail woman to be pitied upon because of her constant clashes with overbearing males? Or did they want a strong woman with plenty of smarts to be able to be an expert robber? Karen McCoy has too many mixed up personalities to be able to really like, though Kim Basinger at times gives a good performance. Terrence Stamp is just completely wasted on, there's nothing special about his bad-guy role. On the good side, we have the young and talented actor Val Kilmer as Karen's sidekick. I've always thought of him as a very versatile actor, I mean he's acted out so many different roles (a spy in "The Saint", a superhero in "Batman Forever", a warrior in "Willow", a legend in "Tombstone", etc.). Seeing him play J.T. Barker was a lot fun, backwards baseball cap, Southern accent, and all! He got all the best lines in the film and played his role with the greatest of ease. It's too bad we didn't get to see more of him.

There are some great action scenes, including of course the climax bank heist. Val Kilmer gets to drive a VERY cool car (can't really see if it's a Camarro or a Firebird since they were very similar looking cars). Though it's kind of weird to hear screeching tires in the pouring rain, for car lovers it's absolutely wonderful to hear the car's nice engine!

So, here's a summary: It's too bad the script couldn't have been worked out better since we have three such great stars acting in the movie. But if you are a Val Kilmer, Kim Basinger, or Terrence Stamp fan and loves a good caper, check this film out. May 12, 2003

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