Dick Tracy Review
by Jaye Mathisen (icsu6000 AT caesar DOT cs DOT montana DOT edu)June 27th, 1990
DICK TRACY
[Probable Spoilers]
Reviewer: Jaye Mathisen
Copyright 1990 Jaye Mathisen
Summary:
Comic book hero comes to life on the big screen. Classy
filming, and good performances by the whole cast make this one a winner.
Who's Dick Tracy? I don't know. About the only thing I know about
Dick is he has a radio wristwatch, and doesn't he have a secret decoder
ring? Or is that Captain Crunch?
Anyway, I didn't have a lot of preconceived notions about Dick
Tracy when I went to see it. I'd seen the previews, and they looked OK,
but there wasn't the same level of anticipation as for BATMAN. Maybe
Dick's a character for another generation. He's certainly not a big
part of mine.
I was definitely impressed with the show. Warren Beatty plays a
great Dick Tracy, right down to the yellow overcoat and hat. Madonna
turned in what has got to be one of the best performances of her film
career. The woman radiated sex. I was certainly surprised to see her
in the ending. My guess as to the real identity of No-Face was way out
in left field. Justifiable, but not on the mark. Al Pacino was superb
as the gangster Big Boy Caprice. His constant little "quotes" by famous
people were a nice touch.
All of the smaller parts were done well too. 88 Keys (Mandy
Patinkin), Flattop, Mumbles (Dustin Hoffman), and the rest of the
disfigured criminal elements were right on the mark. My impression was
that everybody was having a lot of fun with the part, and played them to
the hilt. Tess Trueheart (Glenn Headly) turned in a good performance as
Tracy's girlfriend, and the Kid provided a light touch of humor.
Rating:
Classy stuff. The comic book-like use of color, the make-up,
the sets were all very well done. Given my lack of familiarity
with the history of Dick Tracy, it was still easy to follow the
movie, except for trying to remember all the gangster names.
But if you can picture the face, you can probably remember the
name. Great acting, an okay plot, good makeup, and nice special
effects earn this one a 4 stars (****,excellent) out of 4.
Enjoyability
You don't have to be familiar with Dick Tracy to see this film.
It's good, very good. Go see it. Take the kids. Take your
wife. Take your grandmother. Take your kids' friends and their
parents. 4 stars out of 4.
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