Review of The Golden Child (1986) by Ola G — 13 Oct 2015

In a temple in an unknown location in northeastern Nepal, a young boy with mystical abilities - the Golden Child - receives badges of station and demonstrates his power to the monks of the temple by reviving a dead eastern rosella, which becomes a constant companion. However, a band of villains led by a mysterious man, Sardo Numspa (Charles Dance), breaks into the hidden temple, slaughters the monks and abducts the boy. Some time afterwards, a young woman named Kee Nang (Charlotte Lewis) watches a Los Angeles TV show in which social worker Chandler Jarrell (Eddie Murphy) talks about his latest case, a missing girl named Cheryll Mosley. She seeks him out the next day and informs him of the kidnapping of the Golden Child and that he is the 'Chosen One' who would save the Child. Chandler does not take this seriously, even after the astral form of the Child and his bird familiar begin following him.

Soon Cheryll Mosley is found, dead from blood loss, near an abandoned house smeared with Tibetan graffiti and a pot full of blood-soaked oatmeal. Kee Nang reveals to him that this house was a holding place for the Child and introduces Chandler to Doctor Hong, a mystic expert, and Kala (a creature half dragon, half woman, who remains hidden behind a screen). The three track down a motorcycle gang, the Yellow Dragons, which Cheryll had joined, and Chinese restaurant owner Tommy Tong, a henchman of Numspa, to whom Cheryll had been 'sold' for her blood, used to make the Child vulnerable to earthly harm. Tong, however, is killed by Numspa as a potential traitor. Still not taking the case too seriously, Chandler is drawn by Numspa-whom Chandler begins to continuously call "Numsy"-into a controlled dream, where he receives a burn mark on his arm. Numspa also presents his demands: the Ajanti Dagger (a mystic weapon which is capable of killing the Golden Child) in exchange for the boy. Chandler finally agrees to help, and he and Kee Nang travel to Tibet to retrieve the Ajanti Dagger...

"The Golden Child" was originally intended as a serious adventure drama with Mel Gibson in the lead role. After Gibson turned the film down and Eddie Murphy replaced him, the script was rewritten as a partial comedy. Released in December 1986, The Golden Child was a box office success. It earned USD$79,817,937 in the U.S. alone, making it the eighth biggest film of the year. However, the film was considered a disappointment by the studio when compared to Murphy's previous film, Beverly Hills Cop, which garnered USD$234,760,478 at the US box office. Been ages since I saw "The Golden Child" and I was keen to resee it. Eddie Murphy was hot in the mid 80s after three massive hits at the box office, "48 Hrs", "Trading Places" and "Beverly Hills Cop". But, one can wonder why he chose to do this one as the set up and script doesn´t really fit him in my eyes. Maybe the problem was the rewrite from a serious adventure drama to an action adventure comedy. It´s amongst his worst movies to be honest, both plot (it doesn´t really know what it wants to be) and production wise. Eddie Murphy is not at his best. I do like the lovely Charlotte Lewis, but she is handled in a weird way. And Charles Dance is never bad, even if he does look a bit lost here. The effects are hardly up to scratch when seeing it today, but most likely it was ok in 1986. It's pretty poor from a directorial perspective as well. No one seems to really have had the heart in the production. "The Golden Child" can be passed and it won´t be missed.