Why so much hype?

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Purely Joyful Movie!

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It ran on one of the lesser movie channels tonight. I was struck by an action scene toward the end. Gary Busey is driving his pick-up in a killing raid against the drug manufacturers. Its rear end opens up to reveal heavy weaponry, used to wipe out the gang members. The flick includes threatened family members, various levels of corruption and biker gangs.Guessing Vince Gilligan saw this show at some point.Ever since "Who'll Stop the Rain?" I'm always good for a Gary Busey movie. (Speaking of that movie, whatever happened to Michael Moriarty?)

I don't fully get why I didn't adore this movie, because it has so many things that I enjoy. Firstly it has Gary Busey in one of his few lead roles, but he's so good at playing action villains ("Under Siege" would be his highlight) that you don't really buy him as the straight man. This is most obvious in the infamous bingo hall scene, where he gets to do a long monologue that just doesn't go over at all. This isn't what Busey is good at, and a more competent director would have used his talents more and hid his limitations better. Secondly you have my favorite villain cliché of the 80s: an oddball motorcycle gang that rules a small town. Sadly we only really get to know the leader and everyone else is just an extra standing around doing nothing, which seems like a missed opportunity to me. But the biggest letdown was probably just the lack of action. Logically you'd assume that Busey is going to kill every single biker thus saving the town, but if that's what you expect you're in for a real anticlimax. There are some explosions and gunfights here and there, but you just keep waiting for Busey to go postal which never happens. In fact, for a Vietnam veteran (which in action movies usually makes you Superman) he's really not that tough at all. If the motorcycle gang had any common sense, this movie would be twenty minutes long. "Eye Of The Tiger" isn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but damn I expected so much more.

Tough and resourceful Vietnam veteran and ex-con Buck Matthews (an excellent and engaging performance by Gary Busey) gets released from prison only to discover that his home town has been overrun by a vicious biker gang led by the ruthless Blade (the almighty William Smith in peak scurvy form). Buck enlists the assistance of his easygoing fellow 'Nam vet buddy J.B. Deveraux (a fine portrayal by Yaphet Kotto) to rectify the situation. Director Richard C. Sarafian, working from a tight script by Michael Thomas Montgomery, relates the engrossing story at a brisk pace, maintains a harsh gritty tone throughout, grounds the premise in a believable working class world, makes good use of the dusty desert locations, and stages the thrilling action scenes with rip-roaring gusto. The sound acting from the capable cast keeps the picture buzzing: Bert Remsen as concerned priest Father Healey, Seymour Cassel as the slimy corrupt sheriff, Denise Galik as Buck's loyal wife Christie, Kimberlin Brown as fetching nurse Dawn, and Judith Barsi as Buck's adorable daughter Jennifer. Moreover, this movie not only delivers a few neat bits of brutal violence (a decapitation by wire rates as the definite gory highlight), but also several inspired sick touches (Buck shoves a lit stick of dynamite up one biker's butt and the bikers dump Christie's coffin in front of Buck's house after they kill her!). Peter Lyons Collister's crisp cinematography gives the film a cool slick look. Don Preston's rousing score does the pulse-pounding trick. A nifty flick.

"Eye of the Tiger", as sung by Survivor, must be one of the most recognizable and overused 80's songs ever released. The song itself is pretty much an 80's phenomenon, as it's still a classic regularly to be played at dance parties and served as theme song for at least two authentically 80's action flicks. Originally the theme song for the third (and coolest) film in Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky" cycle in 1982, but a couple of years later it also became the title and theme song for this obscure but sweet and exhilarating mid-eighties revenge movie starring the underrated Gary Busey in a rare heroic role. "Eye of the Tiger" is clichéd and heavily derivative stuff, but it's just a simply irresistible action flick with stereotypical small townsfolk and over- the-top cheesy bits of violence. Around that particular 80's period, it was extremely popular in movies and TV-shows for the hero characters to move around in hi-tech vehicles chock-full of hidden armory and mechanical gimmicks. So, yes, Gary Busey also has one: a beautiful black bulletproof Dodge pick-up truck with enough artillery to armor a middle-sized ghetto! Buck Matthews is a former Vietnam veteran and ex-convict (why choose just one clichéd background if you can have two!) who returns to his beloved hometown, only to discover that a lot of things have changed. The little town is overrun by a gang of criminal bikers, who are running a drug lab in the nearby desert, and they cause amok and raise fear among the villagers. The local sheriff is as corrupt as the pest and even the rest of the police force is too afraid to make an arrest. When Buck prevents the bikers from gang-raping a nurse one night, he involuntarily declares war. The bikers respond by destroying his house, killing his wife and traumatizing his 6-year-old daughter. The only thing for Buck left to do is wipe them all out, with the help of his old friend J.B. and some useful four-wheel-driven donations from his rich and influential former prison buddy. Admittedly this is just another action/revenge movie like there are thirteen in a dozen, but it's nevertheless great fun to watch. "Eye of the Tiger" is full of raunchy sequences that you've seen numerous times before, but remain awesome, like biker-decapitation through wires across the road and dynamite sticks up someone's pooper. The film is very mundane, cheap and trashy- looking, but you're still likely to have a great time. Director Richard C. Sarafian also made "Vanishing Point", which is arguably the coolest and most brilliant 70's car chasing movie ever made, and could here rely on a pretty solid cast. There's Busey, obviously, but also stellar performances from Yaphet Kotto ("Alien", "Across 110th Street") and super-creep William Smith ("Nam's Angels", "The Swinging Barmaids"). My favorite role comes from Seymour Cassel as the Sheriff. He's a sleazy, arrogant and utterly corrupt racist bastard and Cassel depicts him wondrously.