MovieMonday.com - Looker with Albert Finney, James Coburn, Susan Dey, Dorian Harewood, Leigh Taylor-Young

Techno Films

Looker (B-)

STARS...
Albert Finney, James Coburn, Susan Dey, Dorian Harewood, and Leigh Taylor-Young.

PLOT SUMMARY...
Someone is killing beautiful, commercial models, and replacing them with computer simulations.

QUICK SCAN...
LOOKER could be compared to "Megaville". The film features action, romance, and FX. Albert Finney is okay, as a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who gets drawn into the mystery. Susan Dey ( "L.A. Law" ) fans may enjoy this flick. James Coburn looks sleek and chic, as a high tech bad guy. The FX, involving the "Looker" gun, are okay.

DIRECTOR: Michael Crichton
YEAR & RATING: 1981 (PG)

BEST BETS:

Wolfen

Videodrome

SYNOPSIS...
A top plastic surgeon does minor surgery on some beautiful women, who are models. When these woman start to kill themselves, the surgeon investigates. The surgeon becomes a suspect in the murders.

The surgeon is zapped with a light gun, losing track of time. He then teams up with one of the surviving models, to figure out what is going on. The surgeon and the model uncover a plan to hypnotically control human behavior, via special, computer generated images of people.

The model is kidnapped. The surgeon impersonates a security guard to penetrate the H.Q. of the evil man,who is behind the "Looker" hypnotic control plot. The evil guy is killed by a cop. The surgeon and the model exit together.

Review:

LOOKER, Written and Directed, by Michael Crichton, is a slick, well made, but only moderately involving Sci-Fi effort.

Albert Finney is one of the top plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills. When several of his recent female patients and models commit suicide, he teams up with model ,Susan Dey, to investigate.

My favorite scene is when Susan Dey is stripped naked and photographed from many angles by hi-tech equipment. "Partridge Family" and "L.A. Law" fans may feel likewise.

The LOOKER gun, a good looking prop, is used in an inconsistent fashion. When used on Finney, earlier in the film, it appears to stun him for 30/45 minutes. Later, used by Finney on a bad guy, it seems to stun him for five minutes or less. This inconsistent use of a pivotal prop is sloppy, a case of Director Crichton indulging Writer Crichton.

The usually fine actor, Albert Finney ("Tom Jones", "Wolfen") under Crichton's Direction, comes across a bit distracted. Perhaps the Looker gun was fired in his face one too many times.

Crichton's dialogue is sometimes quite flat. At one point, bad guy James Coburn's assistant, Leigh Taylor-Young ("Picket Fences"), concerned that Coburn blabbed too much to Finney, tells him, "You told him everything." Coburn replies, "I told him nothing." This kind of blah dialogue, causes even "real" characters to seem computer generated.

The screen images, by Director of Photography, Paul Lohmann, are pretty, diffused, and creamy, like TV commercials.

The film's Musical Score, by Barry De Vorzon, leans toward the electronic and helps to build suspense.

The song, LOOKER, Music and lyrics by Barry De Vorzon and Michael Towers, performed by Sue Saad, is quite catchy, in a pop jingle kind of way.

LOOKER may be somewhat watchable for undemanding viewer or Finney/Dey fans. For most, Crichton's "West World" will be a much better rental. LOOKER is barely worth a look.

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Looker (B-)
	STARS... Albert Finney, James Coburn, Susan Dey, Dorian Harewood, and Leigh Taylor-Young. PLOT SUMMARY... Someone is killing beautiful, commercial models, and replacing them with computer simulations. QUICK SCAN... LOOKER could be compared to "Megaville". The film features action, romance, and FX. Albert Finney is okay, as a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who gets drawn into the mystery. Susan Dey ( "L.A. Law" ) fans may enjoy this flick. James Coburn looks sleek and chic, as a high tech bad guy. The FX, involving the "Looker" gun, are okay.
DIRECTOR: Michael Crichton YEAR & RATING: 1981 (PG) BEST BETS: Wolfen Videodrome	SYNOPSIS... A top plastic surgeon does minor surgery on some beautiful women, who are models. When these woman start to kill themselves, the surgeon investigates. The surgeon becomes a suspect in the murders. The surgeon is zapped with a light gun, losing track of time. He then teams up with one of the surviving models, to figure out what is going on. The surgeon and the model uncover a plan to hypnotically control human behavior, via special, computer generated images of people. The model is kidnapped. The surgeon impersonates a security guard to penetrate the H.Q. of the evil man,who is behind the "Looker" hypnotic control plot. The evil guy is killed by a cop. The surgeon and the model exit together.
Review: LOOKER, Written and Directed, by Michael Crichton, is a slick, well made, but only moderately involving Sci-Fi effort. Albert Finney is one of the top plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills. When several of his recent female patients and models commit suicide, he teams up with model ,Susan Dey, to investigate. My favorite scene is when Susan Dey is stripped naked and photographed from many angles by hi-tech equipment. "Partridge Family" and "L.A. Law" fans may feel likewise. The LOOKER gun, a good looking prop, is used in an inconsistent fashion. When used on Finney, earlier in the film, it appears to stun him for 30/45 minutes. Later, used by Finney on a bad guy, it seems to stun him for five minutes or less. This inconsistent use of a pivotal prop is sloppy, a case of Director Crichton indulging Writer Crichton. The usually fine actor, Albert Finney ("Tom Jones", "Wolfen") under Crichton's Direction, comes across a bit distracted. Perhaps the Looker gun was fired in his face one too many times. Crichton's dialogue is sometimes quite flat. At one point, bad guy James Coburn's assistant, Leigh Taylor-Young ("Picket Fences"), concerned that Coburn blabbed too much to Finney, tells him, "You told him everything." Coburn replies, "I told him nothing." This kind of blah dialogue, causes even "real" characters to seem computer generated. The screen images, by Director of Photography, Paul Lohmann, are pretty, diffused, and creamy, like TV commercials. The film's Musical Score, by Barry De Vorzon, leans toward the electronic and helps to build suspense. The song, LOOKER, Music and lyrics by Barry De Vorzon and Michael Towers, performed by Sue Saad, is quite catchy, in a pop jingle kind of way. LOOKER may be somewhat watchable for undemanding viewer or Finney/Dey fans. For most, Crichton's "West World" will be a much better rental. LOOKER is barely worth a look.