Dr Jekyll Amp Mr Hyde Deals on Adam Baldwin

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

Category: (DVD)

10 new, starting at $3.18

7 used, starting at $2.98

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Mti Productions Release Date: 03/30/2004 Run time: 90 minutes

Any connection to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic horror tale is tenuous at best in this action-packed superhero story with dark undertones. Adam Baldwin is San Francisco surgeon Henry Jekyll, whose honeymoon in Hong Kong becomes a nightmare when a triad gang murders his wife and marks him for death. Saved by a mysterious Chinese healer who speaks in fortune cookie clichés, he becomes a kind of hero-in-training (think The Karate Kid and Mr. Miyagi) with a mystic twist: he discovers the herbal formula to release his inner brute and transforms into a demonic-looking Hyde. The colorful mix of cop show, gangster thriller, and mystic martial arts adventure ends on an anticlimactic note, as if this made-for-TV feature was the pilot for a never-launched TV series, but it's an energetic and spirited film that, for all its kooky clichés, remains oddly compelling. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Just Terrible

Reviewed by Tsuyoshi, 2010-01-11

Here is a Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novella turned into a terrible action movie. First, this made-for-TV film's incoherent story has virtually nothing to do with Jekyll and Hyde except the names of the protagonist. The worse thing is, as an "action" film (whether shoot-outs or martial arts) "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is still a terrible film. This is no Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan film. This is a cheesy action film in which your choice of weapon is a puffer fish. I am not joking.

Dr. Jekyll (Adam Baldwin) is a surgeon who travels to Hong Kong on his honeymoon. When a war breaks out between the triads, he too is caught in the battle and gets severely wounded trying to save his captured bride. Thanks to Dr. Chau (Chang Tseng), a mysterious Chinese medicine expert, the doctor recovers, but he also discovers that something strange is happening in his body.

There are so many loose ends not tied up, or disjointed ideas not fully developed, in this modernized adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson story. The film hardly deserves the name it actually credits as the author's name. This "Jekyll and Hyde" looks as if this is a pilot of a new TV series that didn't materialize. Judging from the quality of the film, it is not very surprising..

By the way, this film is co-executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola. But what part of the story did he find attractive?

Reminds me of Remo Williams

Reviewed by Gabe, 2007-09-23

If you liked Remo Williams - The Adventure Begins (1985) you may like this movie which is along the same lines - i.e. Man from the west is trained by Kung Fu master to be a force for good. However, if I were to compare, I seem to recall liking Remo Williams a lot more for the humour. Joel Grey in that movie was hilarious as he played out all the oriental stereotypes while at the same time injecting a unique fastidiousness.

This movie's link to the original Jekyll and Hyde story is nothing more than the names of the character played by Adam Baldwin. Like Remo, it was also intended to be a pilot for a TV series, but it wasn't very promising in the execution.

The plot was rather loose and the vengeance motivation is a powerful drive that needs a powerful resolution which I do not get from this movie.

The martial arts by today's standard is rather basic.

I give it two stars cos knowing what I know now, I'd rather watch Remo Williams.

Doc Jekyl and Kung-Fu Hyde

Reviewed by SylvesterFox007, 2006-02-19

This is the loosest adaptation of anything I've ever seen. In fact, loose doesn't even begin to describe it. What Sci-Fi has done is taken the title of the Robert Louis Stevenson's novella in order to draw viewers in, and nothing else.

The TV movie follows Dr. Henry Jekyll, now a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. The entire supporting cast of Stevenson's story, even in name, is nonexistent. Jekyll travels to China with his new bride for a honeymoon. There he encounters Chinese mobsters who maim the doctor, kill his wife, and leave him for revenge.

Up to this point, the movie had potential. An action-adventure vigilante retelling of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" might have been worth seeing. Unfortunately, the movie never even tries to live up to its source material. Dr. Jekyll apprentices himself to a local medicine man and studies martial arts under the name "Edward Hyde." It looks like Sci-Fi had to throw both of those names in there somewhere in order to keep the title. Eventually, in the final third of the movie, Dr. Jekyll does make a medicine that gives him glowing eyes, sharp teeth, and a killer edge. But Stevenson's theme of the struggle between good and evil inside of every man is unexplored. If Sci-Fi was going to take the title, they should have at the very least tried to stay true to the theme. Under the influence of the medicine, Dr. Jekyll is aware, even more aware, of what he is doing. Mr. Hyde is all alias, no altar ego.

The acting performances are solid, but the movie is hard to enjoy when it begs to be compared to its classic source material. Before the halfway point of the movie, the "Based on the book by Robert Louis Stevenson" in the credits seems like a bold-faced lie. If you enjoy American-in-China-karate-action movies, and you have nothing better to watch, try this on for size. If you're looking for an adaptation of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", avoid this, or you'll be sorely disappointed.

By the way, the recent "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" was a better Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde action movie.

underrated action film

Reviewed by Barbara Keranen, 2006-02-17

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde was a pleasant surprise. We thought it would be the usual kung foo action film, instead found it to be full of gentle humor, Chinese medicine, and interesting characters. Adam Baldwin(Dr. Jekyll) and Chang Tseng(Dr. Chau) relate extremely well to each other and have a unique student-teacher relationship. Do yourself a favor and watch this movie.

Adam Baldwin

Reviewed by Mom in Maryland, 2005-11-24

He makes me swoon... and I was surprised to see him in something not half bad. The lack of resolution makes me wish it had been fleshed out into a series, but still overall enjoyable.