Thunder Run

I've seen this film about 20 times, I used to love it as a kid I even wrote an essay on it, the truck was cool especially the gadgets.

I saw it a couple of months ago and It wasn't that good, oh well at least I have my memories.

This film is like a cross between wages of fear, mad max with some lasers thrown in for no reason, just because its the 80's and er...LASERS....The objective given to our main protagonist doesn't make sense in some ways BUT THAT DOES NOT MATTER IN ANY WAY as this is 90 mins of sheer enjoyment...Throw in some more 80's staples like the computer whizz kid and you have pure GOLD....

Probably hardly anyone has even heard of this movie, and that's all right, because the only people who would care about it are truckers and hot rodders. As far as the plot goes, let's just say there's a secret government operation here, subject to terrorists and internal corruption. Forrest Tucker was a man many people today are not familiar with, but he had a lot of roles and was a common name. And then we have John Shepherd, who is not a familiar name but is worth checking out. His character drag races a Chevy pickup, apparently one of the fastest in existence, and it seems the girls flock to him two at a time. There's also a scene with the "Cotton-eyed Joe." Anyway, Forrest and John are trucking plutonium in a high-tech customized semi with the Chevy on board, just in case they need it. The Kenworth conventional tractor has a 8V-92 Detroit, apparently the best powerplant for this mission. Now for the best part of this whole movie: Where White Line Fever gives you a truck tractor jumping through the air, Thunder Run gives you a whole semi!! Later they have to abandon the rig and use the Chevy to escape from a 12V-71 Detroit-equipped Kenworth cabover which gets wrecked. Anyway, they get like $250,000 for the run, and John asks Forrest what they're going to spend it on, and, like a real man, Forrest says "On anything we damn well please!"

This is very straightforward and rudimentary action-cheese from the 1980's, no more and no less. First, we have 45 minutes of obligatory character introductions, depiction of clichés and mood-setting tableaux. Then, we have a good 45 minutes of crowd-pleasing action sequences that include explosions, ramming, 18-wheel truck stunts and impressive accidents. That's how simple movies can be, and it's great! Charlie Morrison was a Korean War veteran and furthermore notorious heavy truck driver, but that was a long time ago. Now he, his beloved wife Maggie and daredevil grandson Chris unsuccessfully try to exploit a mine in Nevada. Charlie receives a visit from his former army buddy turned government agent George, who hires him to transport a chest of plutonium to Arizona in a specially armored truck named "Thunder" and earn $250.000. During his trip Charlie has to be wary of well-organized terrorists with special tricks and gimmicks up their sleeves (like Volkswagen Beetles with rocket launchers on the roof), but he gets help from his grandson and his nerd friends. At first, I assumed "Thunder Run" would be a delightful and joyous "hillbilly" movie! There are bar sequences where the band plays songs like "Cotton Eye Joe" and "Bullsh*t". The elderly townsfolk dance in the bar while the younger generation are out in the streets organizing illegal street races. Furthermore there's the weird romance between a blond babe (with a really fine bottom) and the world's biggest nerd and the Chevy pick-up with gas injection which predates the similar "The Fast and the Furious" with approximately fifteen years. Later, there's the typical pimping of the truck with explosive gadgets (immensely popularized by "The A-Team") and the introduction of ultra-evil villains. You can clearly tell these guys are pure evil because they either have icky scars in their faces or non-Americans! The finale contains some wondrous action highlights including 65ft long Thunder jumping over a moving train and an exhilarating showdown between trucks. "Thunder Run" is fantastic, monumental 80's guff!

I would describe this film as being a 'Road' film, because that is basically what it is. It has all the usual moments but is not overridden with action at all, in fact it has a bit of a story behind it aswell, which is suprising. This film is very Mad Max like in the truck scenes. I enjoyed this film, but it is the kind of thing that you could only watch a few times before you went mad!!!!!!!!