Metro

Directed by Thomas Carter, Metro follows slick hostage negotiator Scott Roper (Eddie Murphy) as he and his new partner (Michael Rapaport’s Kevin McCall) set out to take down a dangerous, cunning jewel thief (Michael Wincott’s Michael Korda). It’s a familiar setup that’s employed to mostly above-average effect by Carter, as the filmmaker, working from a script by Randy Feldman, delivers an erratically-paced yet generally entertaining thriller that benefits from Murphy’s engaging, compelling performance and an ongoing emphasis on better-than-expected action sequences – with the latter reflected most keenly in an exciting mid-movie set-piece involving Roper and Korda’s battle in and around a San Francisco cable car. There’s little doubt, however, that Metro does suffer from a somewhat hit-and-miss second act that’s compounded by a palpably overlong running time, as the picture’s midsection has been littered with a number of decidedly underwhelming subplots, including (and especially) Roper’s gambling addiction, that perpetuate the frustratingly uneven vibe (ie the film is in desperate need of some serious streamlining, ultimately). Such concerns become moot once Metro progresses into its tense and violent final stretch, with the effectiveness of this portion of the proceedings ensuring that the whole thing concludes on an appreciatively electrifying note – which does, in the end, cement the movie’s place as a predominantly watchable piece of work that ranks as one of Murphy’s better action-oriented efforts.

*** out of ****