Really disappointed by Amazon Prime here. I have vivid memories of watching Turk 182 on television at my grandmother's house on a lazy Sunday sometime in the late 80s... so I was really looking forward to watching it.
This is a great movie about a man (Timothy Hutton) who goes on a graffiti crusade against a corrupt mayor and city hall, on behalf of his injured brother. I have very fond memories of it. It was also one of the first movies to receive a PG-13 rating.
Unfortunately, the print here was ripped directly from a terrible quality VHS - and it's the wrong aspect ratio, to boot. Fie on Amazon! I'll have to revisit this another time. So, on to the next one...
Zero for two. Something wrong with this print too - frames are skipped, and it's pan-and-scan at a low resolution. C'mon, Amazon! Another one for another time.
This movie was SUPPOSED to be about Eric Roberts as a Coca Cola executive sent to Sydney Australia to find out why fictional Anderson Valley has zero Coke products. It turns out the valley is owned by an eccentric man who makes his own sodas.
At first Roberts goes to war with him, but then reconsiders his 80s yuppie values and has a change of heart. Unfortunately, we'll never know for sure, because the quality is unwatchably bad.
Ahhhh.... yes. Finally. This print is crisp, in the correct aspect ratio, and running at the proper framerate. Plus it has a great soundtrack. So what do we have here?
A solid Chuck Norris vehicle, is what. Much less martial arts, much more cop thriller. With the notable inclusion of A POLICE ROBOT!!! Named "Prowler," it is so surreal to see Chuck Norris partnered with a robot... but hey, it was the 80s. In truth, the robot is barely in the movie, only when Norris needs to make a giant assault on a hideout. Also, the exec who introduces the Prowler is John Mahoney!
Also, the first film of Molly Hagan, who I loved so much in Some Kind of Wonderful. She's good in this, as the daughter of a mob boss who has been targeted for elimination.
It's easy to forget just how muscular Norris was (is?) ... in the sparring scene early in the film, he just goes to town and it's very impressive. He had a pretty big profile, but I think it should have been even bigger, up there with Stallone and Willis and Arnie. I'm not sure what kept him back - his stony reserve? He rarely smiles or laughs, but when he does it lights up the screen. Maybe he held back a little too much.
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