Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man

A critical and financial failure when it was released in August, '91, but later a hit on video, "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man" was directed by the Aussie Simon Wincer, 1 year after his venture into westerns with "Quigley Down Under", written by Don Michael Paul (from the B-movies, "Dangerously Close" and "Cyborg") and starred by two of the macho icons from the 80's Era, Mickey Rourke & Don Johnson.

Set in the future of '96, with a large Bank corporation ruling Burbank, California at a same time that a new deadly drug hits the streets, it tells the story of a loner biker which calls himself Harley Davidson (Rourke), who travels to reconnect with his childhood friends, The Marlboro Man (Johnson); Jack Daniels (Big John Studd) & his now wife, Lulu (Vanessa Williams); José Cuervo (Eloy Casados); Jimmy Jiles (Giancarlo Esposito) & "The Old Man" Jiles (Julius Harris), owner of a Diner established 40 yrs ago, where all the boys met, and now in danger of being foreclosure by The Great Trust Bank. Harley convinces the rest of the gang to rob the same Bank to save the Diner, in which Marlboro, reluctantly, agrees, but things will not go as they thought...

Even if the plot sounds simplistic and formulaic, like dozens of buddy action movies seen before, the writing is very good for this kind of 'genre' film, especially the dialogue exchanges between Rourke & Johnson (some cleary improvised by the actors), that reminds a bit of an earlier Rourke's character, The Motorcycle Boy in Coppola's cult film, "Rumble Fish" ('83).

The well cast duo and their genuine chemistry on-screen it's one of the highlights in the movie, this two were made to ride along together. Rumours said that Rourke only accepted this role because he was payed like 1 million, but even if he acts here with his "i don't give a..." attitude, he was cleary having a blast with this tailormade role for his on-screen persona and, with the exception of "White Sands", it was the last time the classic, charming and cool Mickey from his hair to his extravagant clothes hit the screens... after that all went downhill. Don Johnson, makes the perfect transition from the stylished Miami Cop, Sonny Crockett, to a modern day cowboy and his taglines were the best in the movie.

The supporting cast is full of colorful characters from Harley's gang to the bad guys, played by a fresh faced Tom Sizemore and his first in command, Daniel Baldwin, plus appearances from the forever henchmen, Branscombe Richmond & Sven-Ole Thorsen, plus cameos from Robert Ginty ("The Exterminator") and the beautiful Tia Carrere ("True Lies"). Chelsea Field (in the same year she played Bruce Willis' wife in "The Last Boy Scout") plays here Johnson's mistress, Virginia Slim, a female cop fan of bikes...and bikers !!

The movie itself is loaded with good staged action scenes; tons of humour in the interaction between the two protagonists; nice photographed widescreen visuals, including aerial shots, and a great soundtrack, provided by the maestro Basil Poledouris, and featuring the Bon Jovi hit, "Wanted Dead or Alive", also such bands as Copperhead, AC/DC, Roadhouse, The Screaming Jets, Waylon Jennings, The Kentucky Headhunters & L.A. Guns to name a few.

In short, "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man" is a truly watchable 'buddy flick', a modernization of the classic "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and a joy to watch with a pack of Marlboros and a sixpack.

Don't listen to the critics, i give it a 7.5 !!

In the lawless near future, rebel biker Harley Davidson (Mickey Rourke) and surly cowboy Marlboro (Don Johnson) plot to rob a crooked bank in order to save the bar of a mutual friend, but end up stealing an experimental street drug called "Crystal Dream" instead of the money. Four characters in this action packed biker film are named after different brands and manufacturers; Rourke's character is named after the motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson, Chelsea Field plays a character named after the cigarette brand Virginia Slims, Wrestling legend Big John Studd is Jack Daniel's and Eloy Casados is Jose Cuervo, named after the tequila brand. Johnson's character is based on the Marlboro Man, who appeared in commercials advertising Marlboro cigarettes from 1954 to 1999. Tom Sizemore plays the crooked CEO of the bank, and Daniel Baldwin is his head of security who leads a seemingly indestructible team of trained assassins who wear bulletproof black trench coats. Despite the movie being a critical and financial failure, it has become a cult classic following its release to video and is a fun and cheesy movie to watch.

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.

This was a typical late 80's early 90's action flick....but its memorable for the title alone...just like all of these action movies THE PLOT IS EXTRA! the dialogue is head and shoulders above anything Stalone or Segal ever said...and the bickering between Johnson and Rourke is genuinely funny.... Above Average Action; Very Good Dialogue (for an action movie)

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.