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Oh what a disappointment ... the movie clearly had a generous budget, and the
sets and special effects reflect that. Eddie Murphy has always been exuberant,
and I don't know how they got such a restrained performance from him. A couple
of times, sadly, he reverts to 'Beverly Hills Cop with Fangs', then it's all down
hill ... The basic premise is a little weak, involving the Bermuda Triangle,
loads of African-American sentimentality (What's worse than white patronizing
black? Black patronizing black, that's what) and fairly feeble references to the
vampire tradition. I could forgive all that ... but I cannot forgive the
intrusion of sad one-liners whenever the suspense starts to rise, gutter language
for the sake of 'street cred' or whatever the current term is, and a script that
is an insult to most of the cast. Why stop Murphy acting like a 13 year old, then
import others to do exactly that? Then the 'twist' at the end of the story
manages to completely undermine the Grand Finale - all for a couple of feeble
one-liners The final insult is a soundtrack that utilizes Stevie Wonder
and Bob Marley hits - but rerecorded by others. Why? Why? Why? Why?
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