Amazon.com video review:
When undercover cop Jack Valentine (Mario Van Peebles) fails to
protect his mob witness, the witness's girlfriend, Alma (Zerha Leverman),
becomes his only chance to save his badge. But sleeping with her turns out
to be a bad idea, since luckless Jack once before slept with a witness and the
conflict of interest led to her demise. So you know this new one is a
goner, too. See, the title's ironic. Forget it, Jack... it's
Chinatown. Solid performances all around from Van Peebles, Rae Dawn
Chong, and Randy Quaid, in a too-obvious script. Yet the film tries for, and
to a large extent achieves, prime-time cop-show production values à la
Homicide, NYPD Blue, and Law & Order.
Relative newcomer Leverman turns in a standout performance as the seductive
witness and manages
to invest her character at once with signs of a disturbing past and a
hypnotic sensuality. Also known as Valentine's Day. --Jim Gay
