The Mighty Quinn

Directed by Carl Schenkel, The Mighty Quinn follows Jamaican police officer Xavier Quinn (Denzel Washington) as he’s drawn into a deadly conspiracy after his childhood friend (Robert Townsend’s Maubee) goes missing. It’s a workable premise that’s employed to watchable yet entirely hit-and-miss effect by Schenkel, as the filmmaker, armed with a screenplay by Hampton Fancher, delivers a meandering, padded-out endeavor that’s rarely, if ever, as wholeheartedly engrossing as one might’ve anticipated – with the movie’s arms-length atmosphere perpetuated by a convoluted mystery that grows less and less interesting as time progresses. There’s little doubt, then, that The Mighty Quinn manages to just squeak by based on its stylish visuals, appealing island atmosphere, and proliferation of engaging performances, as, in terms of the latter, Washington offers up a compelling turn that goes a long way towards smoothing over the rocky narrative’s various bumps and lulls. (It doesn’t hurt, either, that Schenkel elicits solid work from periphery players like Mimi Rogers, Keye Luke, and Sheryl Lee Ralph, although it’s M. Emmet Walsh’s memorable appearance as a sinister assassin that remains a highlight.) And while certain plot elements are oddly forgotten in the movie’s second half (eg James Fox’s menacing figure just disappears), The Mighty Quinn builds to an almost incongruously violent climax that ensures it closes on a relatively stirring note – which does, in the end, confirm the film’s place as a decent-enough thriller that feels like it should be so much better.

**1/2 out of ****