Badass cop Morgan Freeman in 'Johnny Handsome'

      Next year, Hill is set to release "Undisputed," a prison boxing/crime drama which maybe his return to his form of yesteryear. For my money, Hill has only directed one post-"Extreme Prejudice" movie worth seeing. 1989's "Johnny Handsome" is one of my guilty pleasures. I have been a fan of bad-boy Mickey Rourke ever since his cameo as the arsonist in "Body Heat." "Johnny Handsome" is the tale of a criminal who has a facial deformity similar to the one portrayed in "Mask." He is surgically repaired, and the question becomes, can Johnny now change his inner ugliness. Evil cop, Lt. Drones (Morgan Freeman) is betting the answer is "No." The movie is a strong, brutal, character driven drama that I think is one of Hill's best films. It has the added treat of a sexy and evil performance by one of my favorites, Ellen Barkin. Lance Henrikson , Elizabeth McGovern, Scott Wilson (In Cold Blood) and Forest Whitaker also add powerful performances.

      Hill's output after "Johnny Handsome" has been downhill (in my humble opinion). Even his all-star (Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken) remake of Kurosawa's "Yojimbo," "Last Man Standing" fell flat. Here's hoping that "Undisputed" will be a KO by Hill.

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Rusty White