Product Details

• Actors: Eddie Murphy, J.L. Reate, Charles Dance, Charlotte Lewis, Victor Wong
• Directors: Michael Ritchie
• Writers: Dennis Feldman
• Producers: Charles R. Meeker, Dennis Feldman, Edward S. Feldman, Gordon A. Webb, Richard Tienken
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: September 3, 1996
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000003KDJ
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,971 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  #14 in	Video > Comedy > Comedy Stars > Eddie Murphy
  #76 in	Video > Comedy > Cult Classics

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Eddie Murphy does keep testing our patience by trying to expand his cinematic horizons. For some reason, he is the only person on the entire planet who can rescue a magically gifted child from the clutches of evil kidnappers. A detective who specializes in locating lost children, he is chosen by a Tibetan princess to lead a rescue mission that will save the world from the clutches of Old Nick.

Murphy was at the height of his career, having enjoyed his first box-office crest when he attempted this more dramatic role. If his career survived the gamble, it certainly was not because of the lackluster script, mediocre production values, or leaden performance of costar Charlotte Lewis. Not that Murphy does much with his role, either. He mugs for the camera and his timing is off in both dramatic and comedic moments. Stick with his earlier triumphs, or explore his subsequent return to confident comedy turns in The Nutty Professor. -- Rochelle O'Gorman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comic Adventure, March 23, 2006

By	Elijah Chingosho "Dr Elijah Chingosho" (Nairobi, Kenya) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Golden Child (DVD)

"The Golden Child" is an interesting, fun and action packed comic/adventure with a touch of horror where Jarrel (Eddie Murphy) stars as the Chosen One. In this role, he has the "onerous" responsibility of finding the "Golden Child". The Golden Child is a Buddhist child with supernatural powers who was kidnapped by some evil villains and sorcerers. I first saw this film in the late 1980s and I loved it. I still enjoy watching it to this day, particularly the sarcastic humour typical of Eddie Murphy.

Eddie Murphy plays the reluctant hero, having been thrust into an unnatural and supernatural world of sorcery and mysticism. The Golden child, who is one in a line of divine Lamas and upon his compassion and grace the fate of the world rests, is a delightful and charming kid. The lady who identifies Eddie Murphy as the Chosen One is cute. Charles Dance, who plays as the wicked "Sardun Numspa", performs his role with expertise.

In this film, Eddie Murphy looks more serious than usual and the swearing and four letter words are much less. Eddie Murphy fans will enjoy his usual cute jokes. Viewers will also enjoy many visual appealing scenes.

This is one of Eddie Murphy's best movies. This amusing and mysterious movie is well worth watching. This is recommended viewing for those who love comedy and adventure and do not mind the weird and supernatural.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Murphy flick, May 9, 2002

By	Rottenberg's rotten book review (nyc) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Murphy was so popular before this flick came out, somebody wrote at the time, that he could survive if it flopped. "Golden Child" was a commercial disappointment and it did hurt him. To this day, I don't know why.

Murphy is Chandler Jerroll - an LA-based PI with a flip attitude on anything. He's a hero of the city of angels, but he's no angel himself. In short, he is the "chosen one", the foretold hero destined to save the "golden child" from evil. While Jerroll searches LA for lost children, the enchanted golden child rises in spiritual purity in a snowy monastery in the Himalayas. The wicked forces of Sardo Numspar (Charles Dance) invade the monastery and, after overrunning the monks, spirit the boy away in a cage. The boy, it turns out, is one of a line of divine lamas upon whom the world rests, and whom evil must destroy. Dark Forces had already claimed other golden children. With the loss of the "bringer of justice", the death of another golden child will plunge the world into hell. Why Murphy is the "Chosen One" (and who's doing the choosing here?) are subjects the script keeps wisely away from. Instead, what we get is a deft mix of high adventure and comedy. It shouldn't work at all, but Murphy mugs on cue and can handle the preposterousness of the situation - a modern LA guy having to battle the forces of evil. The joke of the flick is that Eddie Murphy is the Chosen One - only a comically refined mind could effectively mix the fun and action like he does. Crude special effects aside, the fantasy mixes well with the comedy, and Murphy's light touch plays well off of the evil Numspar and Charlotte Lewis as Jerrol's love interest. This is simply an underappreciated classic.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you like John Carpenter, you might like this film, January 15, 2005

By	Lunar Strain "Thrash, don't mind if I do" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Golden Child (DVD)

John Carpenter has always been my favorite director and I will defend his films to the end. I love the atmosphere he injects into his stylish, dark films. On that note I have always liked The Golden Child. I'm not huge Eddie Murphy fan but there's always something about this film I liked. It has a certain quirkiness to it that reminded me of some Carpenter classics as Big Touble in Little China. Well, I recently bought a John Carpenter book and it said that he was actually going to direct the film at first but backed out. Well no wonder I like this picture. It's a shame he never directed it as it might of turned out even more interesting, but I am glad he decided to do Big Trouble in Little China instead.