Excellent revenge movie.

igard

I saw this film when it was first released and then again recently, and liked it even more the second time. It's a very bleak, violent film about a deformed crook nicknamed Johnny Handsome. The film starts off with a botched robbery, two evil criminals (played with relish by Ellen Barkin and Lance Hendrickson) kill Johnny's old friend and leave Johnny to get arrested. While in prison, a friendly doctor gives Johnny the opportunity to get facial reconstructive surgery, and a chance at a new life. But all he wants is revenge.

All of the actors in the film are great, Mickey Rourke's sullen and mysterious Johnny, Morgan Freeman as the detective who won't buy that Johnny has reformed, and best of all Barkin and Hendrickson as two criminals who seem to dislike each other as much as they dislike everyone else.

My rating 8/10

score 9/10

igard 7 October 2000

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0271634/