City Limits

It's really hard to know how to rate this film because there's two ways to watch it. One ways is horribly wrong, and the other way is wonderful. If I'm rating the movie on its own merits, it's a horrible piece of garbage which should never have been made (what was James Earl Jones thinking accepting this part...). If, however, I'm rating this as an MST3K fan, it is comedy gold. So, to recap, DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE JUST FOR THE MOVIE ITSELF! You will regret that decision forever. Do, however, pull up the MST3K version of this on Netflix and enjoy it.

A bunch of teens on bikes living in a post-apocalyptic city? That sounds like the premise for a pretty fun movie to me but sadly it just wasn't to be.

The costumes are nothing short of ridiculous even allowing for the fact that this was the 80's and although that sounds petty it constantly reminds you that this film has just been flung together much like the actors costumes. There's no plot, no characters, absolutely nothing to cling on to so the film just rolls along with not much happening. At one point I thought the film had given up and started again but it was just a bit of footage reused. Or maybe it just looked the same because honestly ten minutes after this film ends you won't be able to remember a single significant scene.

It's a shame because every once in a while you catch sight of something in the distance that looks a bit like a plot and the film perks up slightly. I can't recommend this film but I like the setting so it gets an extra point for that and it does have curiosity value because of the unusual cast.

It's a dud though, even for fans of bad movies.

Well, once again, I'm the only person in the world that liked this movie. From reading all of the terrible reviews, I almost changed my mind about that. City Limits is about rival biker gangs feuding in a post plague-ridden America (you know, poor man's Road Warrior). It's a good B-movie written by Don Keith Opper from The Critters movies. The only thing that no one could deny was the great cast. John Stockwell, James Earl Jones, Kim Cattrall, Rae Dawn Chong, John Diehl, Robby Benson, Don Keith Opper, and even Kane Hodder are all running around in this movie. The best part is that the gangs use comic books to make major decisions. That's classic. City Limits is absolutely nothing special, but that's why I love it. I suppose B-movies are somewhat of an acquired taste nowadays. So, if you enjoyed the Road Warrior...you probably won't enjoy City Limits. But if you like post-apocalyptic films that are B-movie treasures (garbage to most) along the lines of Def-Con 4, Cyborg, and Fist of the North Star, you should like City Limits.

Gee, are we done with the high points already? This is for the people who watched Mad Max and said, "this is nice, but why can't the gangs wear dumb plastic masks, have even less personality, find their savior in John Stockwell, and be weak enough to be ruled by Robby Benson? Add in a script by Don Keith Opper(Critters) and you start to realize why many people consider the eighties to be a horrible decade for cinema. James Earl Jones(Conan the Barbarian, The Star Wars Trilogy), Rae Dawn Chong(The Color Purple, The Principal), John Diehl(A Time to Kill, Stripes) deserve better; not that anyone deserves this movie. This is like Battlefield Earth lite without aliens. That is the kindest thing I can muster. Tony Plana(Three Amigos!) and Jennifer Balgobin(Repo Man) appear in small roles. In my opinion Jennifer could probably destroy John Stockwell in a fight. Less discriminating video heads may be pleased, but I find this movie dull and more than a little pointless. Put this together with Porky's and you have a full frontal shot of Kim Cattral(rejoice or recoil as needed.)

It's the future for the year it was released. Society has crumbled, and a bunch of handsome young people are living in a broken down part of the city, dressing in cast-off clothes, riding around on their perfectly maintained motorcycles, reading comic books and holding competitions where they try to kill each other. For some reason, adults wish to interfere with this utopian existence, offering them things like food and medicine. The nerve of some people!

It's a chaotically organized movie, filled with performers available on the cheap, -- James Earl Jones does intro and extro in voice-over, and there's Rae Dawn Chong, Kim Cattrell, and for that Star Turn, Robbie Benson in a brief bit. There are motorcycles aplenty, and plenty of signs of a functioning society, including a scene where some of the principals break into a schoolroom to shoot each other. In sum, none of it makes any sense.