Genre Guesstimation – The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991)

The idea behind this feature (Genre Guesstimation) is for me to watch a bunch of new movies (or ones that I haven’t seen many times) from the chosen monthly GG genre in order to expand my knowledge of movies within that particular genre.

This month’s genre has been chosen by Amanda of Hollywood Consumer and we will be reviewing our favorite L.A. Films.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Oct by sending them to la_amanda@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box! Great choice Amanda!

Let’s see if I felt that this movie would be worthy of being in the company of my others favorite movies in the genre of L.A. Films.…

“Crime doesn’t pay, boys! But it sure beats working.” Varney

Number of Times Seen – At least twice (video in the 90’s and 7 Oct 2019)

Brief Synopsis – A famous football player gets trapped in his house when a group of ex-policemen decide to evacuate the city and rob the very rich mansions in Beverly Hills.

My Take on it – When I recently came across this film, I knew it would be perfect for this month genre since the title itself already states where things take place.

This is a film that I recall seeing on video not long after it came out in the early 90’s and despite not remembering much about the plot, certain scenes and characters still felt fresh in my mind even after nearly 30 years.

As a big fan of Die Hard (1988) and films of the genre, I really enjoy films that try and emulate the kind of story presented there and this film is a but cheesy yet it’s still a guilty pleasure because of the way the story unfolds in a really fun way.

The way that they portray the main character as a big shot football player who is part of the Beverly Hills elite works wel especially when he is pitted against men that he knows from his past history in the city.

The story is done in a clever way and despite it being very predictable it’s still quite enjoyable to watch unfold.

Ken Wahl is pretty fun in the lead role even if some of his scenes come off as being quite corny.

The movie also has a great supporting cast that is filled with familiar faces like Harley Jane Kozak, Matt Frewer, Robert Davi, Lee Ving and Branscombe Richmond.

The film has some scenes that are done completely over the top, but if one keeps in mind that this film is a Die Hard (1988) doppelganger, then the whole thing can be extremely fun to watch even with the way they end up showing it all in a way that is accentuated by lots of bullets and explosion that help compensate for not having a very original plot.

Bottom Line – This is a film that is a guilty pleasure for me. It is part of the slew of films made to try and emulate the success of Die Hard (1988) just a few years earlier about an ordinary man against a group of terrorists/criminals. This time, it’s a football player living in Beverly Hills as it is taken over by a band of men who wish to rob the entire city of its wealth in one night. The story itself is clever despite being extremely predictable. Wahl is quite fun in the lead even if some of his scenes look a bit too corny. This movie has great supporting characters played by some very recognizable actors like Kozak, Frewer, Davi, Ving and Richmond. Certain scenes are played very over the top but of one keeps in mind that this is a Die Hard (1988) doppelganger, it can be quite fun to watch unfold. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Harley Jane Kozak was chosen for her role after being passed over for a role on Wiseguy. One of the producers worked on both productions, and really liked her. The only caveat was that she impress Ken Wahl, which she did. (From IMDB)

Genre Grandeur Worthy? – Fun film that does what it tries to do, but is far from being perfect.

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)