Senseless film with Whitney as the only asset

I remember seeing the promos for this film as a kid when it first came out and mostly I was just pissed that Costner wasn't doing another cool movie like Robin Hood or Field of Dreams. I avoided the film until last night, when I finally went ahead and gave it a watch.

And you know what? While it's not a film that I think I'll ever watch again, I actually found it to be an interesting watch and for the most part I enjoyed it.

To address your points:

1. Perhaps you misunderstood Kevin's character. He's a samurai--this point is made explicitly--and his life is all about maintaining discipline and being the best that he can be at his job. This fact is reflected in his austere apartment that contains little beyond the essentials to live. Also remember that he had seen the samurai film 62 times and seemed enamored with the idea of facing death head on in the stoic execution of his duties. So if he never showed emotion, this is why. Perhaps you'd rather him be a happy-go-lucky bodyguard, cracking jokes and slapping high-fives with everyone, but that's just not the character. And I think the character that was crafted is interesting.

2. I'll halfway agree with you here. Rachel having hired the hitman seemed far-fetched--and obviously it does make her unlikable--but it's not outside the bounds of reason. What is outside the bounds of reason however is the way Rachel handled it and how she seemed totally unaffected both by her sister's grave betrayal as well as her death.

3. I agree it didn't make sense for her to win Best Actress when clearly the award should've been something music-related, but it's a minor detail. And I don't care about any of the creative liberties they may have taken with the time of day on the red carpet or whatever. Who cares.

4. Didn't mind him.

(continued below)

5. I thought the note-sender NOT being the guy trying to kill Rachel was a good twist. You might ask the question of why Costner's bodyguard friend continued to pursue his target even after his employer had been killed--or rather, after he killed his employer, which is never quite explained--but I think that goes back to the mentality of discipline or completing the job for which one has been paid. It's an honor thing. Maybe you shouldn't have turned the movie off though, because you clearly don't know how it ends. Frank does not die. He recovers, they have a big final kiss and he goes off to continue his work with another client.

Your final paragraph makes me wonder if your whole post is a troll job. Do you really think they would've dubbed Whitney Houston's voice with another actress? Are you genuinely not familiar with who Whitney Houston is?

The film is certainly not a perfect film, but I appreciated that it was something that felt a little different and it entertained me.

FINAL GRADE: B-

"The actress that plays Rachel was Whitney Houston. She wasn't in much in the 90s. Waiting to Exhale and The Preacher's Wife followed. Too bad. She was okay, and had a very pretty smile. I wonder why more casting directors never hired her for movies. As for her singing voice (if that was her and not a dubbing), it was great. She should have done more songs for movies after this one."

Brilliant.

I see there is a good reason you didn't choose jasonmusicguy as your handle ;)