As i see it there are a number of major flaws in this movie. The three major ones are this:
- a movie like dirty harry was reviled by critics who called it fascist (a word they use to describe anything they dislike or politically disagree with) for it's portrayal of police sidestepping or ignoring the constitutional rights of the criminals in the movie. What then are we to make of this movie which features numerous egregious violations of such perceived "rights". Did any critics refer to this as fascist? Don't be silly, of course they didn't. But you can watch this back to back with dirty harry and decide for yourself which of the two skirts the law more.
- the movie hinges on the notion of whoopi goldberg being a highly desirable woman. Even in her thinner youth, i don't think you'd find a man who's first thought about whoopi goldberg would be "attractive"
hence any scenes that require that fall flat and leave the viewer wondering "what universe are these people living in?"
- the tone of the movie is all over the place. On one hand it's trying to cash in on beverly hills cop.... and whoopi never had quite the charisma to substitute for eddie murphy. On the other hand it's trying to be dramatic, but that is undermined by ridiculous and unbelievable stock characters like the angry police captain, the superfluous sidekick, and the evil corporate mastermind. Combine that with the convenient way that every time a character has a chance to finish off whoopi.... they inexplicably hesitate for exaggerated body movements.
A good cast is wasted in what ultimately seems like it was partially rewritten as a star vehicle for whoopi.
