Harley Davidson et l'homme aux santiags

Two biking buddies team up to help a friend save his L.A. nightclub from an evil banker who wants to replace the beloved bar with an impersonal high-rise. The ensuing plot has the two bikers repeatedly confronting the banker's cold blooded, robotic henchmen, who make quite a fashion statement with their slicked-back hair, their blank faces, and their irritatingly hip, long black coats. The numerous confrontations between the two bikers and the thugs culminate in explosions, fights, and gunfire.

The story is standard Hollywood fluff, aimed at kids, young boys in particular. Except for the unique "airplane graveyard" setting, the plot is mostly a dud. Fortunately, the characterizations of the two leads rescue the film from banality.

Harley (Mickey Rourke) and Marlboro (Don Johnson), swagger, posture, and strut their macho stuff, as you would expect, for two bikers. They swear. They fight. And, of course, they follow the babes. Underneath the public toughness, however, are two nonconformists, and each has his own brand of insecurity. And, they have a conscience. They want to do the right thing. It is this textured characterization of Harley and Marlboro that makes the film worth watching, especially in the first twenty-five minutes, before the action plot interferes.

The is a working man's movie ... with all the gritty realism of urban street life. The film's first half features some good cinematography, sultry music and atmosphere, great production design, and costumes suitable for the most hip biker bar. The best approach to this film is to ignore the silly action plot, and focus instead on Harley and Marlboro, and their unorthodox outlook on life.

Harley and The Marlboro man are your typical western heroes in this. Kind of like Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Is this one of the last great B Movies to made and they say that this didn't do anything good for Mickey Rourke's career. That is true but that doesn't make it a bad film. It's as straight as it is going to get as far as storytelling goes. Harley goes back to his hometown after two years to see his best friend The Marlboro Man played by Don Johnson and to see the place where he grew up is under the threat of closure and has to come up with $2 million to save it. He rustles up all his old pals including the Marlboro Man to rob the bank and of course it goes al horribly wrong and realise the people they stole from are actually the people they need to pay the $2 million dollars to, so it doesn't get much simpler than that really.

You have your thrills and chills during the movie but the characters that are brought to life through Rourke and Johnson make this film all the worth while as there are some incredible exciting action sequences. There is also some nice tender moments between the two main characters were they share each thoughts on the philosophy of life which also makes this intruding to watch.

Do not expect a masterpiece or the best action comedy ever. I think it is worthy of that title but others won't and never will but this is a good story of friendship and is a lot better than most B-movies which come your way these days.

Good buddy movies don't have to have to seem real. The more far-fetched the better, And not many movies stretch as far as this one. The combined charisma of Rourke and Johnson make up for the questionable story. Tom Sizemore is a great villain, and Daniel Baldwin is not half bad as his cold blooded henchman. The other thing that stands out about this film is the futuristic feel to the movie. It was made in 1986 and the movie was supposed to take place in 1996, so it guesses as to what changes would be. It's another corny, but fun touch. Top that off with a gorgeous cameo from Tia Carrere and you have all the trappings of a great, cheeseball buddy-movie.

This is my ultimate guilty pleasure. All my critical faculties tell me it's a trashy action flick with no particular value. But critical faculties don't mean a thing when chemistry is as kinetic as that between Rourke and Johnson, who for my money have Newman and Redford beat by a mile in one of the best "buddy" teamings ever. Moreover, the movie is beautifully cast down the line and the pace is always great. Everything from the costuming of the lead characters to the atmosphere in the bar to the performances by Tom Sizemore and Daniel Baldwin are right on target. But mainly it's Johnson and Rourke's connection that makes the movie. They're terrific. I've seen this movie several times and it never loses me for an instant. Yeah!

The Wrestler's jacket. Sonny Crockett's hat. A crystal dream. Pool hustling. A barroom brawl. Blowing off some steam. Wise advice from your old man. Learning how to shoot by reading a book. A swan dive into a pool. A cool mute bartender. Gus before Los Pollos Hermanos. Big John Studd is a stud. A former Miss America sings. A badass helicopter. Goons with bulletproof turtleneck jackets. A shootout with a Baldwin brother. Tom Sizemore before the crack. An opening featuring boobs, Mickey on a Harley and Wanted Dead or Alive playing in the background. A fun ride best enjoyed with a smoke.