BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Frank Alexander I hesitate to write this, as I am not a huge fan of reviving classics. However, three factors - the chemistry amongst the cast members, the combination of devoted former viewers and their kids who became new viewers, and the age-old American moral story that the good guys always win in the end - ensured that the revival of the Perry Mason franchise in the guise of two-hour TV movies would be a ratings smash.As with a few other revivals of older franchises - the first Star Trek movie is a prime example - this plodded along at times, but its main purpose was to re-acquaint former viewers with an updated cast and to introduce new viewers to the show and its format. Later Mason TV movies were better than this; but after 19 years off the air, I think die-hard fans would have looked at a filmstrip of old stills from the original series. Just having Mason back in the saddle again, with his old confidential secretary at his side (and on trial for murder, no less) along with the son of his old detective pal was enough to put a grin on my face. The premise was a bit of a stretch, in that a well-respected appellate-court justice will impulsively resign his court to defend his faithful old sidekick but Mason is a stand-up guy.The plot in a nutshell is that someone has it in for Arthur Gordon, a wealthy businessman. Any number of people want him dead, including everyone in his family and undoubtedly some of his business competitors. Someone goes to extreme lengths to not only do him in, but to frame Della Street for the murder as well. Suffice it to say that by framing her, two birds will be killed with one stone. Mason has his work cut out for him to get to the bottom of the mess.William Hopper, Bill Talman and Ray Collins all died between 1965 and 1970. It would have been a kick to have seen them, too, but two out of five ain't bad. All things considered, not a bad watch at all.

Iain StLeon The TV Movie - Perry Mason Returns, is a departure from the normal format of the 1950's and 1960's, this is the modern take on the former golden age of televisions hit series.Unlike the stories of old that were completed in an hour long show, the TV Movies is an hour and half. In order to extend the running time, they have used much more filler such as a car chase in the hills and is very disjointed in contrast to the rest of the story.The opening sets the stage for the entire movie and it is great to see Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) & Della Street (Barbara Hale) back together again. The chemistry between the two of them has not been lost during the 20 year absents from TV.The flow of the storyline allows you to workout who the killer is. After Perry meets with the daughter of the murder man and Ken Braddock (Richard Anderson), it is clear here that he is involved, but without a clue as to the way in which Perry will figure it out. Unlike the TV series, in this TV Movie they give it away a bit too easy and too early.In the court room, Perry is up to his usual tricks and misdirection with great effect, to the objection of the district attorney.I rate this as an effective comeback from 20 years in the wilderness, with some lack luster moments. The performance of the other cast members can not be compared to the old series as they fail in comparison. William Katt (Barbara Hale's son) is OK as Paul Drake Jr, but is a far cry from William Hooper who played Paul Drake in the TV Series.Anyone who is a fan of the original series as I am will not be disappointed, but they will see just how good the chemistry between the original cast was. For someone new to the series, it won't light the imagination like the TV series did but is still a good, watchable 80's TV movie.I rate this a 7/10, if it was only an hour long and used the same format as the TV series this would have made the entire show more punchy and would have garnered a higher rating.

tedg This film is interesting not for what it is, but its place in a the scheme of things. By itself, it is dreadful, every bit of it. Taken alone, there are inherited characters played by actors who were accidents. There is an attempt to play with a formula that got worn out, so there is a hipster detective and a couple car chases. The "77 Sunset Strip" model is followed here, I think because the original series competed with it (and its ilk). The formula that worked before was scrambled here, but in the later episodes of this second time around, they got better as they went back to basics.The thing is worth considering because of the stage of evolution it represents. The detective story was a great invention, a big step forward in narrative types. It was followed by the mystery novel, where the reader and writer engaged in a tussle for control, sometimes (in the later form) complicated by a detective who has as much control as the writer. This was high art, in fact still is in some form in literature.Film picked it up and evolved the noir form, perhaps the greatest American invention. In written fiction, the standard model is based on the reader trying to determine the murderer by assembling causal dynamics. Erle Stanley Gardner changed the formula in a clever way. He wrote tons of Perry Mason stories from his "fiction factory," using a very strict formula. In his stories, it is impossible to guess the murderer (or sometimes two) by understanding cause. Instead, you eliminated all that could have done it, because the solution is the least likely. Gardner in his day was the most popular author in the English language.So while film took the mystery form and evolved it into noir in amazing variety, TeeVee picked up this strange deadend on the evolutionary tree. The stories were imported wholesale, with the characters modified significantly. Perry was less a playboy and Della was not his lover. No big deal. I think the long run of this show established the form of the detective story we have today when it is distinct from noir: viewers don't want to work at figuring things out. They just want to collect all the pieces as the movie proceeds and see how they assemble at the end, the assembly done for them.When Perry went off the air, it was a sad end to the more pure negated form (negated because of that "least likely" business). So when he came back with this relatively long form, it was hugely anticipated. I recall this. And I recall how we celebrated the show and its successors, not because they were good but merely because they existed. Again. This negated the negation of the negated form.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

bob the moo Rich business man Mr Gordon has many enemies and a family that wouldn't miss him if he dropped dead. Someone hires a hitman to kill him and it is carried out in such a way to frame Gordon's secretary Della Street. When Della is accused of the murder, Perry mason resigns his position as judge to defend her and employs the son of his old colleague, Paul Drake, the act as private investigator on the case.This film is the first of the many Perry Mason TVM's that were made in the late 80's and early 90's. This is the one that set up the new characters and the formula for all the movies. I have never seen the original series so don't know if this is just a lift of that formula or not, but they are all the same thing in different clothes and settings!The plot here is the same as all the other TVM's except it does feel better written and more worked. The main flaw with the plot is the whole idea of a man dressed up as a woman – it isn't that big a deal but you must wonder how seriously they expect us to take the plot when Mason sets up his usual courtroom antics that would get kicked out in any real court but are accepted here! The final twists aren't even as daft as usual but it does set up the usual big finish. Burr loves nothing more that getting to boom `isn't it true etc, isn't it also true etc' and it makes for a dramatic if slightly hammy climax.Burr seems very happy to be back in his old role and works hard, compared to later TVM's where he almost appears to be going through the motions. Hale is good and it's good to see her getting more of a role than usual. Katt is also good and his haircut hasn't yet gone curly and his action scenes are reasonably tense. The rest of the cast are made up of the usual red herrings for Mason to chase around the courtroom until he gets the real killer. The `oh look it's…..' faces are Taylor who is OK and Anderson. Freeman is also amusing to see if you only know him as Elijah Mohammed from Malcolm X. The cast is also interesting when you look at it in terms of the mason series and note that one of the Gordon family (Kathryn) is actress Kerrie Keane who is in two later Mason movies playing different roles.If you've enjoyed any of the Mason TVMs then this will please you as well. Because it is the first of the TVM run it feels better and that a lot more work has gone into it, as much as I enjoy the rest, some did feel like they were rushed out in a short time. Overall this is one of the better of the modern Mason series.