My review (Forgotten '80's gem)
Criminally under-rated 80's flick. Deserves to be held in the same esteem as "Back to the Future" and the like.
Can anybody tell me why almost everybody loves "Back to the Future" yet nobody ever deigns to mention this little beauty in the same breath? It more than deserves it.
Quaid is excellent as the cocky yet likeable "Tuck Pendleton". Here is a character who has personality to spare and a nice line in putdowns. You get the sense that he gets as exasperated with Jack as we the audience do. Quaid can really deliver when given the right material, something that Hollywood provides all too scarcely.
(POSSIBLE SPOILERS HEREON)
Short overacts but is still pretty funny, and anyway, I suppose exaggeration is forgivable given that he's playing a neurotic. Ryan is cute but in all honesty is not given that much to work with. It's credit to her talent that she manages to stand out at all.
Mr Igo is a cool villain, but one of many elements in the plot that aren't exploited to their full potential. The film is so bursting with invention that often things are touched upon and then dropped before they've really been explored. This all goes to show, however, that the film doesn't stand still for a minute, which can only be a good thing, especially when you have Quaid firing off the wisecracks.
It's fair to say that amidst all the general good fun the special effects aren't always something you notice, but they are superb, especially for '87. Never once do they undermine the story.
It really is Quaid's film though, personal favourite lines including "Dip, Dip, Dip all you like. Nothin's gonna fit ya" and "You better, you two-faced sonofab**ch"
An absolute blast from start to finish; this really is unfairly overlooked as being 'just another remake of 'Fantastic Voyage'", when in reality it compares well with acknowledged classics of the comedy adventure genre such as "Back to the Future".
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Any comments?
Howlin Wolf (TM)
I said "Always" because 'True love never dies'.