Whenever there’s a movie that features an array of top tier talent of the era – which in Euroka’s case is Gene Hackman, Rutger Hauer, Mickey Rourke and Joe Pesci – but you have never even heard about the title, it’s tends not to be good news. The very same goes here.

It’s not that Eureka is not a good movie or without merits; right off the start it’s made clear this isn’t your average movie. The dream-like sequences of gold rush are filled with crude poetism and scenes of wealth, sex and – often graphic – death. The same tone continues as the movie proceeds to the present time, to a tropical island where the now wealthy gold miner lives his luxurious life in the vast mansion he built, Eureka.

Every character involved is presented in an underlining fashion and with strong eccentric traits, often caught up in lengthy monologues filled with pompous melodramaticism usually seen only in costume dramas. But given the context, the setting and the plot of Eureka, here they regrettably give a strong impression of a soap opera instead.

Still, credit has to be given to Eureka for its unique approach and willingness to try out something off the beaten path. It’s this kind of boldness that sometimes makes those one of the kind landmark movies — but in this case the gamble does not pay off.

80s-o-meter: 38%

Total: 48%