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FILM REVIEWS

The Ghost in the Darkness
By JANET MASLIN
The New York Times

The Ghost and the Darkness," a lion-hunting story set in 19th-century Africa, is the rare Hollywood action-adventure that becomes more surprising and exotic as it moves along.

While it begins on an unpromisingly starchy note, the film soon picks up speed, color and nicely nonchalant humor as it tells a true story about near-mythic beasts.

These two lions, from whom the film takes its name, relentlessly attack workers building a trans-Africa railway line. As directed by Stephen Hopkins ("Blown Away"), whose forte is vigorous action and whose weak spot is casting secondary roles, they create enough nail-biting tension to make the film sometimes resemble "Jaws" with paws.

What's more, the creatures soon devour enough minor players to solve the film's early cute-character problems.

The story can then narrow its focus to the manful camaraderie of Remington (Michael Douglas), a legendary hunter, and Lt. Col John Patterson (Val Kilmer), who leads the British team racing other nations to complete the first railroad across the continent.

One of the film's better ideas is casting its two stars precisely against type, with Douglas as the hip, irreverent longhair and Kilmer as the straitlaced hero.

"I'll sort this out," declares Patterson when the railway effort encounters predator trouble. "I will kill the lion, and I will build the bridge."

"Of course you will," agrees Abdullah, his foreman (Tom Puri), in the film's pleasantly mocking tone. "You're white, you can do anything."

As Kilmer's Patterson begins climbing off his high horse and begins bantering with Remington (who makes a nifty, well-timed entrance here), William Goldman's spirited screenplay for "The Ghost and the Darkness" begins offering welcome reminders of his "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

In the manner of that film, these two comrades show off boyish vitality mixed with autumnal wisdom, especially where questions of courage are concerned. Is bravery ever a problem, Patterson asks the famous hunter? "Well, you hope each time it won't be," Remington answers. "But you never really know."

Bravery becomes quite a natural problem during one suspenseful sequence, filmed through an eerie blue mist, that finds Patterson driven up a tree by a lion that unfortunately knows how to climb. Hopkins does well at finding nimble, unexpected ways out of dilemmas like that.

One series of scenes that stem from an ill-advised campfire celebration (complete with Champagne corks popping, a bad idea while lions stalk nearby), plays a particularly crafty game with the audience's expectations.

"The Ghost and the Darkness" is greatly helped by Vilmos Zsigmond's warmly beautiful African landscapes and by a strong sense of mystery about its setting.

The lions are allowed to remain refreshingly unexplained, and the link between their ferocity and the railway effort is open to consideration.

Solidly entertaining performances from Kilmer and Douglas also galvanize the film, as does John Kani as Samuel, their African companion, who knows better than to chase lions.

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