HUDSON HAWK

In 1991, the flop of Bruce Willis’ self-conscious caper wiped the selfaware smirk off his face. A little self-control might have helped…

Why it was a good idea (on paper)

After The Bonfire Of The Vanities’ ensemble flop, Bruce Willis returned to what he did best: starring, singing, cracking wise, cracking heads. Alongside indie-hip director Michael Lehmann (Heathers), screenwriters Daniel Waters (also Heathers) and Steven E. de Souza (Die Hard) brought added smirk. This Hawk was headed skywards.

What went wrong?

With Robert Kraft, Willis conjured the idea of a globe-trotting, swingtune-singing cat-burglar years previously. By some accounts, he wasn’t about to cede control to his director on set, preferring to improvise unscripted lines. The oversized, Joel Silver-produced project rolled out of control like an un-checked gurney on the Brooklyn Bridge. Crew and cast were changed, including Maruschka Detmers, who collapsed on set from back trouble; Andie MacDowell stepped in with the dolphin noises. Other problems included a strike in Budapest, overpriced props and, for Willis, Italian crew members’ preferences for long lunches and strict working hours. Mismarketed as an actioner, the tonally wayward result crashed like some other ’80s action heroes’ ’90s vanity projects, from Arnie’s

Last Action Hero to Sly’s Judge Dredd.

Redeeming feature

Between frenetic chases and cine-literate movie nods, Hawk didn’t lack imagination or knowing energy. But did Richard E. Grant and Sandra Bernhard’s hyper-energised villains serve up camp fun or offthe-leash mugging? YMMV.

What happened next?

Watching the film with MacDowell, Grant feared he would “never work again”. He did, though Lehmann left big-budget event movies behind and Willis parked the smirk for a more sober-faced persona.

Should it be remade?

Did The Da Vinci Code ape Hawk’s global conspiracies? Did Baby

Driver remix its musical ideas? Perhaps, but the film flew and fell as a Willis vehicle: inseparable from its maker, the core concept died hard. “Hudson Hawk go boom-boom,” indeed.