The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension ( * * * )
This is one of those movies where you either get it or you don't. As I used to say, there are two types of people in this world: those who believe that all people worldwide can be split into two discrete (even if random) categories, and those that do not believe that such a division is possible. But that had a faulty premise, so my other saying was there are those who like Buckaroo Banzai, and those who don't. But then I saw a couple of potheads on the Daily Show who said that the real distinction was between those who had experienced Story of Ricky and those who hadn't, and after seeing said movie I have to agree that the latter is more truthful. But I still love Buckaroo. Give me the formula!
The Acting: Let me just list the fucking bullum heads to be found in this movie. Try--seriously, just try--picturing their fucking bullum heads as you read this list: Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Goldblum and Clancy Brown. Has there ever been a fuglier cast? Maybe, if not for Ellen Barkin, who was "Priddy" hot back then (Ugh, I make myself sick with my pathetic puns. I'm leavin' it in though.).
The Story: Orson Welles--and to a lesser extent, maybe even H.G. Wells--was right about the alien invaders coming to earth, but mistaken about their pedigree. Instead of Martians invading Grover's Mill, New Jersey it was Lectroids from Planet Ten. Red Lectroids. The Black Lectroids are laid back Jamaican good guys, except that they'll ignite the cold war if the war criminal Lord John Whorfin isn't stopped from returning. So it's up to famous neurosurgeon/musician/comic book star/fan club recipient/dimensional explorer Buckaroo Banzai and The Hong Kong Cavaliers to stop him. And there's a watermelon hooked up to a machine, for some damn reason.
The Direction: You wouldn't exactly say that the suspense builds to an unbearable crescendo, but it's a fairly passable action-comedy and an exceptionally good riff on B movies and cold war movies. I love it when the president asks for the declaration of war..."the short form."
Overall: I refuse to pass into the afterlife until I have seen what was promised to me: Buckaroo Banzai vs. The World Crime League. Come on, you rich nerds out there! Get the G.D. ball rolling already! Jesus fucking Christ, there's a fucking Battlestar Galactica TV series again--surely they've scraped all but the very bottom of the 70's/80's barrell! What are you waiting for, the TranZor Z movie? Shit...
[Here's some trivia from IMDB I found interesting: "In the original script, Buckaroo was supposed to have an arch enemy named Hanoi Xan, who was never seen but referenced to by Buckaroo and the other characters. All scenes containing dialogue regarding Xan were deleted from the film's theatrical release but are now available on DVD. Xan was supposed to be the mysterious head of a crime syndicate called the World Crime League and also the man who murdered Buckaroo's parents and wife Peggy."]
Tredekka Rules:
The Acting: Let me just list the fucking bullum heads to be found in this movie. Try--seriously, just try--picturing their fucking bullum heads as you read this list: Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Goldblum and Clancy Brown. Has there ever been a fuglier cast? Maybe, if not for Ellen Barkin, who was "Priddy" hot back then (Ugh, I make myself sick with my pathetic puns. I'm leavin' it in though.).
The Story: Orson Welles--and to a lesser extent, maybe even H.G. Wells--was right about the alien invaders coming to earth, but mistaken about their pedigree. Instead of Martians invading Grover's Mill, New Jersey it was Lectroids from Planet Ten. Red Lectroids. The Black Lectroids are laid back Jamaican good guys, except that they'll ignite the cold war if the war criminal Lord John Whorfin isn't stopped from returning. So it's up to famous neurosurgeon/musician/comic book star/fan club recipient/dimensional explorer Buckaroo Banzai and The Hong Kong Cavaliers to stop him. And there's a watermelon hooked up to a machine, for some damn reason.
The Direction: You wouldn't exactly say that the suspense builds to an unbearable crescendo, but it's a fairly passable action-comedy and an exceptionally good riff on B movies and cold war movies. I love it when the president asks for the declaration of war..."the short form."
Overall: I refuse to pass into the afterlife until I have seen what was promised to me: Buckaroo Banzai vs. The World Crime League. Come on, you rich nerds out there! Get the G.D. ball rolling already! Jesus fucking Christ, there's a fucking Battlestar Galactica TV series again--surely they've scraped all but the very bottom of the 70's/80's barrell! What are you waiting for, the TranZor Z movie? Shit...
[Here's some trivia from IMDB I found interesting: "In the original script, Buckaroo was supposed to have an arch enemy named Hanoi Xan, who was never seen but referenced to by Buckaroo and the other characters. All scenes containing dialogue regarding Xan were deleted from the film's theatrical release but are now available on DVD. Xan was supposed to be the mysterious head of a crime syndicate called the World Crime League and also the man who murdered Buckaroo's parents and wife Peggy."]
Tredekka Rules:
- Rule 3: Suck Actor Penalty--John Lithgow, -1 star
- Rule 4: Sweet Actor Bonus--Clancy Brown, +1 star
- Rule 6: Over The Top Acting Award--generally he sucks, but for this role he was willing to hook electrodes up to his tongue and talk all crazy and shit. John Lithgow, +3 stars "More power to him!!"
- Rule 22: The Great Entrance Award--"John Valuk is dead. He fell on his head." +1 star.
- Rule 23: Master And Command Your Title, Stupid, -1 star. Surely "Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" would have gotten the gist across. When you add the "the" it's just excessive.
Tredekka Score: ( * * * )
posted by Tredekka at 8:37 AM
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