Against All Odds [Special Edition]

Too Hot to Handle
Expert opinion says that since the advent of color film, a good contemporary noir film is an L.A. noir film; that seems to be largely so, except then you've got "Body Heat," set in Florida. Be that as it may, "Against All Odds" is an LA noir film: it profits from the unique atmosphere of Los Angeles, the sinister corruption behind the sunny smile; the reality of arid desert behind the wastefully-watered green lawn. And most particularly, the parched, penned-up ill-respected Los Angeles River that features in Roman Polansky's mythic "Chinatown, and "in "The Narrows," one of Michael Connelly's recent books. The river also, of course, features in that well-known teenage film noir,"Grease," in which John Travolta and his all-singing, all-dancing fool friends stage their drag race in the river's concreted bed, graced by only the merest trickle of water. The Los Angeles River: Ignored until it rampages.

"Against All Odds" is a loose 1980's remake of Robert Mitchum's film noir,...

Beautiful scenery of Mayan ruins and a good story
Director Taylor Hackford doesn't make a lot of mistakes. But he points out one in the deleted scenes area of this disc. When I saw it back in 1984, I didn't understand what the heck Jeff Bridges was doing flying around Mexico to throw James Woods off the train while Rachel Ward went to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza (an awesome but hellishly hot spot I visited in 1995). The deleted scene helps make this clear and really enhanced my enjoyment of the film.

Whether you like the movie or not, the chance to see the seaside ruins of Tulum and the astronomical temple of Chichen Itza is worth it. No one apparently had been allowed to film there before. And Jane Greer is great as the chilly mother of Ms. Ward and real estate heiress. In a role that demonstrates the calm and quiet banality of evil, Ms. Greer is also a link back to the film's inspiration - the great "Out of the Past," which she did with Robert Mitchum in 1947.

It's true the film comes apart a...

Jeff Bridges at his best
No actor has ever looked more sexy on film than Jeff Bridges does here. His chiseled physique, his tousled hair, and all his graceful movements and facial expressions kept me riveted to his presence throughout like I've never been with any other actor in any other film.

Despite some flaws, Against All Odds is a good film and visually beautiful. Jeff Bridges and James Woods put in great performances, as usual, and Rachel Ward's performance was really not bad for a model-turned-actress. Having Jeff and James to play against helped elevate her performance, I'm sure.

Jeff Bridges has always been one of my favorite actors. He was especially stellar in Fearless and The Fabulous Baker Boys, and though I've always considered him to be a handsome man, I never realized just how beautiful and sexy he was capable of being until I rented Against All Odds. It's worth seeing for that reason alone.

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