Don't Believe the Hype

Absolutely the worst movie.

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I don't get it why this movie has such a low score in here and so does in Rotten Tomatoes also even Sly was disappointed with the final act of the movie but i think that it's an amazing film with really good performances but also it's not your typical Stallone flick i mean sure he does punch some dudes but that's it he's mostly doing arm wrestling with some giant beasts also the score for this film is truly amazing so many great songs they even put WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk in here what else do you really want? Also the movie has a powerful message about the love of a father for his son that really is handled very well done here. Guys in the end Over The Top is a classic 80's Flick that you don't wanna miss.

Wow not sure what I was expecting from a movie centering around arm wresting, but I guess I got it. This gem is from 1987 and about all it has going for it is the B-grade 80's campiness that now make it fun to watch. I mean who doesn't want to cut all the sleeves off your t-shirts, slap on a pair of suspenders, oil up your arms and drive your big rig off into the sunset while listening to Frank Stallone and Kenny Logins on the 8-track and yelling "over the top" at the screen. Awesome stuff.This is one of those so bad its good movies that just gets better with age because it gets cheesier. Its along the lines of Rocky V -which was pretty terrible too- and is more of a father/son drama than the sweaty, sinew straining, pulse pounding action you'd probably expect from a movie about arm wresting.Sylvester Stallone is the awesomely named 'Lincoln Hawk' a truck driver trying to reconcile and gain custody of his estranged son after his ex-wife becomes deathly ill. Grandpa (Robert Loggia), is not having it though and his son is angry and disrespectful which makes for a (not so) fun road trip after Hawk busts him out of military school and takes him out truckin' in an attempt to bond.Ultimately it comes down to Sly oiling up and arm wrestling for the custody of his son at the Las Vegas world arm wrestling championships.This is heavy on the family drama and emotion and dare I say, takes too long to get to the arm wresting part which (come on) is why we're watching this. That part of this film isn't so bad, Sly knows how to do these kinds of action scenes and (I guess) there are some genuine techniques used -It looked good. I'm not embarrassed to admit by the end I was totally invested in him winning the championship and the custom semi-truck so he could start his own trucking company and the more I think about this movie the more I love it. 3/7/16

I think its unfair most of the criticism here focuses on superficial aspects. At the same time this shows that the actual qualities of this movie lies within its message. I admit the story isn't quiet realistic and the acting is not special but this movie is not like movies are nowadays. Its not a hype-realistic documentary about a father's life and his relationship to his son. Its rather a modern fairytale with focuses on the message its trying to bring across (which is predominantly the same message as in Rocky but in a more metaphoric way) alongside with portraying the type of a sympathetic warm hearted and sensitive man that is also strong and has his principles .. yes, both at the same time. Its a movie that will appeal to people who like warm hearted and emotional stories about underdogs fighting their way to success by the help of those that believe in them. If u like fairy tales with happy ends and with sympathetic leading actors, i recommend watching this movie.

"Over the Top" qualifies as one of Menahem Golan's better movies. This Sylvester Stallone arm wrestling saga casts the lean, muscular "Rocky" hero as a humble but defiant trucker named Lincoln Hawk. Jason Cutler (Robert Loggia of "Scarface"), Hawk's villainous father-in-law, who drove him out of his daughter's life will stoop to anything to get his way. Now, Cutler's daughter Christina (Susan Blakely of "The Towering Inferno") is dying, but she wants her twelve-year old son, Michael (David Mendenhall), to get acquainted with her estranged husband. Naturally, the father-in-law doesn't take kindly to Hawk's intrusion. Cutler has been more of a father to Michael than Hawk could ever be over the last ten years. Meantime, when we aren't dealing with this contentious family custody battle, we find ourselves drawn into the world of arm wrestling. Hawk is hauling loads and working his way to the arm wrestling championship in Sin City. As a film, "Over the Top" doubles not only as a father and son reunion tearjerker, but also as a sports themed fantasy about arm wrestling. Noted scenarist Stirling Silliphant of "In the Heat of the Night," and Stallone penned this thinly plotted but engaging chronicle. Appropriately enough, Stallone plays a "Rocky" like underdog character, but it is Stallone at his most colorless. The road to reunion is pretty rocky for our protagonist and his long, lost son. Aside from Blakely's cameo from the hospital, "Over the Top" doesn't dwell on romance. This is strictly a father-in-law versus his son-in-law epic with predictable but heartfelt results. Of course, Hawk and Michael come together in the long run, but they seem to be constantly at odds until the youngster discovers that his grandfather has been manipulating him from the start about Lincoln Hawk. Basically, Stallone doesn't perform any spectacular feats, and "Over the Top" is believable. He steers an eighteen wheeler and arm wrestles. Stallone delivers a sincere performance and Loggia is believable as his antagonist every step of the way. When Hawk isn't tangling with Cutler, he competes with a number of colorful arm wrestler who look straight out of a heavy metal melodrama. The gorgeous scenery, "Delta Force" lenser David Gurfinkel's cinematography, and Golan's polished direction bolster this lethargic but meaningful fodder. Golan does everything that he can to make the arm wrestling scenes appear intense with Sergio Leone-like choker-close-ups of the participants clenching their teeth and gritting it out.