retrogaming

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

“Hudson Hawk” is considered one of the worst films of the 1990s. I watched it late at night on cable when I was a kid and I loved it. I enjoyed its free-wheeling plot and silly action sequences. Maybe it was because I’ve always been a fan of Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello’s acting? Willis and Aiello have incredible chemistry, and every scene with them together are the best scenes in the film.

Is it a great film? No. But being young, my standards were lower and I watched it every time I found it on HBO or TBS. Then, I traded a Game Boy cartridge for the “Hudson Hawk” video game.

“Hudson Hawk” on Game Boy is exceptional, because there’s not many heist video games. It was a simple platform game, but unlike games of that format, it wasn’t easy to maneuver all of the potential threats. The game is like the classics, “Double Dragon” or “Ghosts ’n Goblins” because of how enemies appear suddenly in windows and behind Hawk as he’s trying to steal priceless items.

Playing as Hudson Hawk, you had to jump and climb between suspended platforms while sidestepping obstacles. As the famous cat burglar, you are sent on a mission to steal three Da Vinci artefacts. You try to avoid sounding alarms as you move through the different levels of the game. Dealing with dogs is the hardest part of the game; they’re quick and unpredictable. The security guards are a push over as an enemy. Simply punching them swiftly or throwing a ball at them took them out. You don’t expect the aggressive kangaroos or the stampeding rhinoceros in the library. The various, oddball enemies give the Special FX Ltd. game an originality.

As over-the-top as Richard E. Grant is as the film’s villain, Darwin Mayflower, he’s still entertaining. Grant, in my opinion, has been one of the most underrated actors of the last thirty years in cinema. He steals every scene he is in, and throughout his long career, I can’t think of one bad performance by the Swazi-British actor. Some critics would say “Hudson Hawk” is his worst performance, but I think it’s fun, and you can tell he’s having a good time torturing Willis’ character.

The Game Boy game and the 1991 film gave me an odd, mystifying joy that I still don’t fully understand. I spent hours of my childhood trying to steal artefacts with my Game Boy close to my face.