Wisdom

Only 13 years before this movie was made, in 1973, the father of Emilio Estevez (Martin Sheen) starred in the brilliant classic "Badlands", which has a similar storyline. This 1986 movie "Wisdom" is nowhere near as impressive as that seventies classic though, but "Wisdom" is definitely still worth a watch. Especially the acting is great. So if you like(d) Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore in the past, this movie is definitely worth a watch. Back to the eighties!

The story is simple. Emilio Estevez and his girlfriend Demi Moore, steal from the rich (the corrupt banks) and give to the poor (the American farmers). Will they get away with this Robin Hood kind of crime?

The good: the acting is really good. It's a lighthearted story, with a few subtle jokes and a few puppy love romantic scenes, but it's most of all a thrilling and suspenseful bank robbers movie, with lots of hold ups and chases.

Any bad? It's a bit silly now and then, credibility wise. It has got that eighties sound, with the silly synthesizer music. But overall these faults are minor. This is one heck of a charming action movie. Definitely a forgotten movie, that is worth more attention. Still quite enjoyable after 30 years.

"Wisdom" is one of those strange films that is never sure what it wants to be. Young Emilio Estevez comes to the realization that he will never be a success so he decides to become a criminal, a criminal for the people. He aids farmers by destroying records in small-town banks, becoming a sort of Robin Hood figure. His girlfriend Demi Moore is also along for the ride. Obsessed detective William Allen Young will stop at nothing to bring the youths to justice, while the general public is indifferent until Moore has to shoot a police officer. Now the stakes get higher and everything will soon come to a head. Estevez shows his lack of writing and directing experience here. He has some good ideas, but never does execute them in effective ways. The fact that he is not much of an actor does not help either. Everyone else struggles with the direction and screenplay as well. All in all "Wisdom" is not terrible, but its ending basically takes away from the few good things about the film's first 105-minutes. 2 stars out of 5.

why is this movie not on DVD?

and why when i ask if they've seen it do people look at me like i've got three heads?

and why have most of the IMDb comments ripped into it? its great!!OK its no empire strikes back or shawshank redemption but it does the job.good story,good soundtrack,demi moore,what else do you want? i have no doubt that some pretentious English lit grad budding movie reviewer is gonna shoot me down but it ticks all my boxes,if you've not seen it check it out, good old 80's semi post brat pack action pack fun!! that is of course my opinion, you are entitled to yours also.

"Wisdom" is actually nowhere near as bad as its rep would suggest if you take it for what it is: a trashy B-movie which you should watch when you feel like laughing instead of thinking. In its cool pretty boy chic fashions, the movie is just so totally 80s and the various scenes where Estevez beats the cops on his trail, such as the dummy scene, are downright side splitting. I actually liked the "cop out" ending because I thought it was original for a movie of this sort and did not see it coming. Furthermore, this movie, for its low ambitions, has some surprisingly good camera work . My main reason, though, for liking this movie is the beautiful catchy soundtrack by Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo. Now, the bad ? Well, let´s just say that "Wisdom" never quite rises above the level of a lesser "Sledge Hammer" episode.

Wisdom (1986) was a film that was written, directed, produced and starred Emilio Estevez. This movie was produced during the height of Emilio's career. He was also one of the youngest actors tin Hollywood to ever take on such as task. The end results are that of a novice film makers. In the end he bitten off more than he could chew.

The film is about a young wash out who can't do anything right. So he decides to become a sort of a modern day Robin Hood with his girlfriend/co-conspirator Demi Moore by his side. The young lovers hit the road and decide to make history.

Overall, it's an uneven production. The actors seemed to be unmotivated and the written is pretty run-of-the-mill. A good concept that's executed by mediocre hands. Estevez should have started out small before taking on such a big project. One the other hand I have to give him a big hand for pulling this one off.

Recommended for Emilio Estevez fans.

Factoids: Part of the movie was filmed in my hometown of Sacramento. I remembered all of the hub bub it created ten years ago. Charlie Sheen has a cameo as his "former" supervisor.