Romancing the stone

Romancing the stone

Cast: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny Devito and Zack Norman.

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Release Date: 1984

Genre: Action/Comedy

Running Time: 1hr 46 minutes

Rating: PG

Format: Blu-Ray

Synopsis: 

Romancing the stone, a classic from 1984! I always stumble across quite a few people who have never seen this movie, which surprises me because it's such a big hit! Directed by Robert Zemeckis, it's no surprise really that it did so well at the box office in 1984.

Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) is a romance novelist in New York, whilst finishing one of her books, she receives a treasure map in the mail from her recently murdered brother-in-law, in the mean time, her sister Elaine has been kidnapped in Columbia and the two criminals believed to be the killer demand Joan travels to Columbia to exchange the map for her sister, however things quickly take a turn for the worse and she ends up lost in the jungle where she meets Jack Colton (Michael Douglas) and let's just say that it all unravels from there.

This is an absolute classic! Starring Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas, two stars we sadly don't see much of anymore, however Michael Douglas has started to make a comeback as he starred in the hit Marvel film "Ant Man" that was released early last year. I believe Robert Zemeckis made this movie just before he started on "Back to the Future" starring Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Needless to say, I think he did a pretty good job with this film. He's not one for directing much these days, however his latest film did prove to be a big hit with the younger audiences in "The Polar Express" personally I think he's a fantastic director, I've enjoyed most of his films over the years.

I love that we see into Kathleen Turner's character Joan Wilder quite a bit, especially at the beginning, obviously we've gathered she's a romance novelist, this movie however is so much more then that. This is a real adventure that takes us all the way over to the Colombian Jungles, where she meets Jack (Douglas), who to be honest we're never entirely sure what he's doing there in the first place. Travelling perhaps? In search of his long lost treasure? We are however introduced to his character in a pretty interesting manner.

Danny Devito has a pretty interesting role in this movie. He's absolutely fantastic and shows a lot of character. He's absolutely hilarious and the car he drives in this movie is equally as amusing. I love the chemistry between Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, it's not necessarily love at first sight though. It's not made clear why Joan Wilder's sister's husband was murdered in the first place. Don't worry folks that wasn't a spoiler.

The cinematography really isn't too bad either, rumour has it, despite this movie being set in Columbia, it was actually filmed in Mexico, due to real life kidnappings going on in Columbia at the time. In all honesty I was convinced it could have been the Colombian Jungles. The set design is really good, most of it being set in the jungle. There are some pretty cool set designs/prop designs if you would prefer to call it that, of a plane that has come down, where the two characters hide one night and a bridge that is practically falling apart. In terms of filming it's nothing special really, I wouldn't necessarily say there are any fancy camera angles  or close ups, but none the less it's still brilliantly filmed.

The talented Alan Silvestri got hold of the chance to compose this soundtrack and he did a fantastic job. Particularly the opening and closing credits, it's a really nice soundtrack with a wonderful 80's feel to it. Rumor has it, Eddy Grant was set to do a song in it, but it was never shown in the movie or the soundtrack. Not too sure what happened there, but either way Alan did a magnificent job with the score. It's one of those scores that once you've heard it, you find yourself humming the tune.

I'd recommend this film to anyone that is a huge Robert Zemeckis fan who enjoys a bit of action and humour all tied into one. This is a classic film, that isn't too be missed.

4 1/2 stars out of 5!