Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
After a Tibetan boy, the mystical Golden Child, is kidnapped by the evil Sardo Numspa, humankind's fate hangs in the balance. On the other side of the world in Los Angeles, the priestess Kee Nang seeks the Chosen One, who will save the boy from death. When Nang sees social worker Chandler Jarrell on television discussing his ability to find missing children, she solicits his expertise, despite his skepticism over being "chosen."
The Golden Child is a mid-80s Eddie Murphy vehicle that blends supernatural dark fantasy with his trademark wisecracking comedy — an unusual mix that gives it some distinctiveness. Murphy's charisma and comic timing elevate the acting category above the material, as he remains watchable throughout. However, the plot is formulaic and underwritten, a thin chosen-one quest with underdeveloped mythology and tonal inconsistency. Cinematography is serviceable but unremarkable, typical of mid-budget 80s Hollywood fantasy-action. The ending is anticlimactic and rushed, failing to deliver a satisfying payoff to the supernatural setup. Its novelty comes from the specific genre mashup and Murphy's persona against an esoteric Tibetan mysticism backdrop, which was genuinely unusual for its era, even if it doesn't fully capitalize on that premise.