Originally, I had wanted to see "Red Corner" at the movies, but I'm kind of glad that I waited until I rented the video. It had its moments, with Jack (Richard Gere) having a real big lesson in Beijing culture, sex, and law, all in one night. Probably the most interesting and suspenseful parts of this film were Jack's initial experiences with the Chinese prison system.
We learn much of the legal system, however, through Jack's Chinese court-appointed attorney, who is smart and beautiful (a combination that has kept her single for some time). She is involved in the other extremely suspenseful sequence when Jack is chased through the crowded streets (a scene very reminiscent of Elizabeth Shue's dash to an embassy in "The Saint"). But, to be honest, the movie seemed to slow to a grinding halt after that. After a while, I saw very little difference between the American and the Chinese court practices, and the thought of his attorney trying to explain that China actually does have an effective (albeit harsh) form of justice is nauseating--in light of the obvious human rights violations that have taken place in the Republic for many years.
Like many American movies that try to capture culture, it pretty much plays to stereotypes. However, it does something that Hollywood does best: Take a story, make it suspenseful, inject some love, a couple of courtroom scenes....and of course get an actor like Richard Gere to pull it off.
We learn much of the legal system, however, through Jack's Chinese court-appointed attorney, who is smart and beautiful (a combination that has kept her single for some time). She is involved in the other extremely suspenseful sequence when Jack is chased through the crowded streets (a scene very reminiscent of Elizabeth Shue's dash to an embassy in "The Saint"). But, to be honest, the movie seemed to slow to a grinding halt after that. After a while, I saw very little difference between the American and the Chinese court practices, and the thought of his attorney trying to explain that China actually does have an effective (albeit harsh) form of justice is nauseating--in light of the obvious human rights violations that have taken place in the Republic for many years.
Like many American movies that try to capture culture, it pretty much plays to stereotypes. However, it does something that Hollywood does best: Take a story, make it suspenseful, inject some love, a couple of courtroom scenes....and of course get an actor like Richard Gere to pull it off.