The Golden Child

"The Golden Child" is one of Eddie Murphy's most underrated films of the 80's but even though it's not well liked by many, well i have always loved it for the fun fantasy adventure it is & Eddie Murphy is still good fun here with his witty comedy.

Eddie Murphy, who is a hero of mine from growing up, here he plays a great role & play's it more straight & restrained, he's still funny but not overly energetic or crazy & i like his performance alot!!! He plays Detective Chandler Jarrell who specialises in missing children cases, discovers he's "The Chosen One" to help find a missing magical Tibetan Child who has great powers that can save the world from Evil, it's a totally fantastical Comedy adventure story with excellent pure 80's special effects & music & has a feel or vibe like the Classic "Big Trouble in little China" but not as great, & also stars two actors from that movie with Victor Wong & James Hong. The look & production design is excellent & some of the down town L.A scenes are actually very grimy & gritty, actually it's quite a dark movie with it's theme of child abduction & there's a very dark scene of a young girl found face down & dead in a grubby & gritty area of Los Angeles. Without the Fantasy & Magic side it would be a more Darker Noir Detective Thriller which in a way it really is!!! But that's also a plus point to this movie is it's basically set in the real dangerous world where these evil things do really happen but the Fantasy part helps to cope with it & gives a nice comforting feel that even the comedy legend Eddie Murphy has to come accross evil in the world. The demon monster villain at the end is Awesome & looks great still.

"The Golden Child" is so 80's & so much fun & was Directed by Michael Ritchie who has done many excellent films such as Fletch (Chevy Chase) & Fletch Lives & The Couch Trip (Dan Aykroyd) & Cops & Robbersons (Chase), he knows great comedy.

It's a different type of role for Eddie Murphy & he's great in it. "The Golden Child" is very underrated & i can see why some didn't enjoy it because it's not the usual Murphy brand of antics, he's more serious & reserved in a way but definitely suits the movie because of it's dark atmosphere & as a kids family type fantasy Comedy it has some scary stuff in here.

Yes i have Nostalgia for this flick but it's a film i have always loved & enjoyed. I love most films that critics hate anyway!!! I love the 80"s

I saw this movie available on Netflix and was interested in the premise. You have Eddie Murphy who plays a private detective that specializes in finding missing children. He is told he is the "chosen one" and must protect the "Golden Child" who was kidnapped by an evil sorcerer. I didn't know exactly what to expect. Eddie Murphy is known for doing a lot of action or comedy movies. This movie ends up being a mix of action, comedy and fantasy.

Some people will mention this movie was a low point in his career. Well this movie earned close to 80 million dollars. Eddie Murphy has done some more recent movies that have done far worse. There are a lot of funny parts in this movie. I really enjoyed this movie. This was a fun movie to watch.

Eddie Murphy stars as Chandler Jarrell, during the height of his popularity. Chandler is a detective that has an uncanny skill at finding missing children. When a young boy known as the Golden Child is kidnapped by a nefarious group, he is approached by Kee Nang, played by Charlotte Lewis, with the hopes that he can find the child before he is killed. Referred to as The Chosen One, Chandler accepts the case and finds out that there is a lot in this world he does not understand.

This is a great movie, though not without some flaws. Having Charles Dance as the villain was absolutely the right choice.This is essentially a toned down version of Murphy's character from the Beverly Hills Cops movies.Be warned though if you have never seen it that the special effects do not all hold up.

By all means this is not Eddie Murphy's best film, like Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hours and Trading Places, but he has also done worse, Norbit anyone? But it is one of his most underrated films, perhaps even THE most underrated. By all means it is not perfect, as the story does have its silly and predictable moments, one or two parts in the middle half sag a tad in the pacing and the effects do seem creaky by today's standards, but it is not flat and unfunny like critics make it out to be and although I make every effort not to take IMDb ratings to heart I do think the rating is a disgrace for this film. The Golden Child may be flawed, but it also has its strengths, such as Eddie Murphy's charming performance, funny and smart script(or so I think), a fun performance from Charles Dance, decent direction and agreeable soundtrack. So overall, while it mayn't be to everybody's tastes, I do suggest you at least give The Golden Child a fair chance before judging it so harshly. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Whenever I see most reviews it's called 'a misfire for Eddie Murphy'. These critics want to take a look at some of the stuff he's doing these days, and maybe soften their stance in retrospect... "The Golden Child" is not highbrow entertainment, but thanks to some of the cast it breathes new life into old clichés, and gives Murphy one of his best roles. I don't understand the pervading lack of 'love' for its efforts, at all. Perhaps it was released at a time when the establishment had grown weary of knockabout, thrill-a-minute adventures? Steven Spielberg started it with Indiana Jones; it's unfair to make this one a scapegoat when what is possibly its biggest sin is also utterly harmless. There's nothing necessarily wrong with trying to capitalise on trends.

Yes it's silly, but even an occasional observer should be able to understand that 'ridiculous' is where Hollywood's idea of mysticism begins and ends. What's more important than believability with a story like this is that the audience have entertaining tour guides on hand to show them the mysterious sights. Michael Ritchie and Eddie Murphy fit the bill for this capacity just fine. My advice to you is to buy the ticket and take the ride.