Red Corner by Robert King - Seven out of 10

Red Corner by Robert King

Seven out of 10

Red Corner is surely well intentioned and there is something worthwhile in it…if you look for it.

Only you have to try hard to find it!

Richard Gere tries some of his smiles, familiar expressions to bring charisma, perhaps depth to the character of Jack Moore, an American attorney, working for a company that wants to do business in China.

He seems to be rather difficult to be liked, seeing as he has no qualms about advertising television programs that seem to be ‘pornographic, immoral ‘for the Chines market.

When the potential clients criticize and label the programming, the Machiavellian personage agrees with them:

‘You are right, it is pornographic and valueless’ pornographic was used, but there was another term to enhance it…

‘You buy from us and the Chinese would see that there is no reason for them to adopt capitalist ideas, since they are so disgusting’

It is rather ruthless.

Nevertheless, what happens next is much more than he deserves for being so selfish and looking for profits.

He spends the night with a beautiful woman, only to wake up and find that he is arrested and charged.

For the beautiful, young woman, daughter of a general of the Chinese army was killed.

It seems that Jack Moore would be sentenced and executed, for the case is clear against him.

Until, that is, elements appear that argue for a different scenario, one in which the defendant was drugged.

He has the support of a fierce, somewhat dissident lawyer, Shen Yuelin that uses the shirt the American was wearing when he was arrested to make the case that chloroform was used.

Somebody else had entered the room and framed the foreigner with the purpose of getting him out of the way.

There are some sudden, surprising discoveries, as happens in court dramas and investigative plots.

Alas, the overall effect is not the expected one and the Red Corner is best avoided, if it is included in the television program somewhere… as it was in our parts yesterday.