Neon City

Okay, I for one liked this movie. Now granted, it doesn't compare to the special effects that are around today, but overall, I enjoyed it! It had an interesting plot, lots of action, nice character development, and an excellent performance by Michael Ironside. This movie held my interest all the way through until the last scene. It is categorized as science-fiction; however, there was very little scientific lingo, so it is easy enough for anyone to follow. I especially enjoyed how the characters began as strangers in the movie, and slowly melded together into a sort a renegade troupe, determined to stay alive. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who can get there hands on it!

When I hear, or think of actor Michael Ironside. I'm so use to him in a genre film of this ilk playing the hissable bad guy/henchman, in one shape or another, so it was a nice change of pace to see him at the opposite end of the spectrum. His gruff, tough as nails anti-hero performance, ex-ranger turned bounty hunter, makes it worthwhile, as the straight-to-video "NEON CITY" is virtually unspectacular, yet a durable and smoky post apocalyptic low-budget action fare.

The story had its running themes, but for most part it keeps it simple and traditional in structure, like a western (that sees a small group of people travelling by vehicle through the harsh wasteland of erratic weather extremes and ravaging ozone affected nomads to reach their destination; "Neon City"), and something of a "MAD MAX" imitation.

Maybe it plods a bit after the hour mark; the humor can be dopey (a comic relief character that's virtually a standup comedian who does illegal business on the side) and the journey a little too low-scale at times, especially on the action front. But what we do get provides the rough and tumble, when it counts, even moments of slow-mo (showering), solar/sandstorms, cue in that synth, gushing blood and a little laser activity. All of this leading to a random, but amusingly over-the-top standoff, where Ironside doesn't want to disappoint. Also alongside him is Vanity as his feisty prisoner.

Michael Ironside plays the post-apocalyptic version of John Wayne in this low-budget, cheesy yet likable futuristic take on John Ford's classic STAGECOACH. Ironside leads a group of passengers aboard a transport vehicle through dangerous wasteland territory, having to contend with mutants, road warriors, and even each other, on their way to safety at Neon City. Most MAD MAX warriors-of-the-wasteland stories are basically westerns, so why not rip off from the best? THE ROAD WARRIOR was basically a remake of SHANE. Joining Ironside aboard his transport are a prisoner (Vanity, remember her?), a fish-out-of-water rich girl (Juliet Landau in her first film), a would-be comedian (Richard Sanders, AKA Les Nesmann from WKRP), and football player turned actor Lyle Alzado in his final film appearance before dying of complications from steroid use. The film was directed by character actor Monte Markham, who also appears in the film, and he handles the action quite well. That and Ironside do a good job of carrying a what's only a passable script, and make it worth watching for fans of these sorts of films. Also, shooting the film in a wintry, snowy setting rather than a sweltering desert was rather novel compared to most films from this genre. Overall, if you dig cheesy post-apocalyptic movies of the 80s and early 90s, you'll likely enjoy this one, even if it's far from a classic.

AI CAPSULE REVIEW: Neon City is a snowy, post-apocalyptic Stagecoach riff that coasts on Michael Ironside's gruff charisma and a fun B-movie ensemble. It's cheesy and derivative, but fans of early '90s wasteland flicks will find enough charm to make the ride worthwhile.

While I won't pick out the articulate details of the movie, or take an active defense as to why I thought this movie is good, I will say I really liked this movie. This has to be one of the better sci-fi movies I've seen.

Imagine it, you traveling across the continent to a safe-haven - the ONLY one left on Earth. Your transportation; a shoddy-looking bus with others, crammed like sardines. Your obstacles; everything. From crazed bandits to violent solar storms, this leaves you imagining yourself in place of one of the characters on that bus. Quite a thrill, isn't it?

Food is heavily rationed, medical aid is meager, and death is engulfing. Great, great setup for a storyline (which could have been better in several ways, although I'm fine with it as-is).

There was a time, after seeing Cronenberg's SCANNERS, that I wanted to see every possible movie starring Michael Ironside. I pretty soon stopped this silly quest when I realized the man had already starred in way too many boring below-average B-features of the police/thriller-type. NEON CITY, however, is one of his better B-movies, and it's actually one of the better MAD MAX-clones out there.

In the year 2053 the ozone-layer is destroyed and earth's population is divided in diseased mutants and healthy people. The wastelands are ruled by the merciless Skins and earth's ecosystem is completely out of balance. Outbursts of 'brights' can incinerate a person and poisonous Xander-clouds can suffocate you within seconds. There are safe-havens throughout the wastelands, Neon City being one of them. A group of 8 persons begins a journey in an armored vehicle towards Neon city.

Fans of Michael Ironside should see this flick, 'cause he plays the type of character that we love to see him play: A ruthless bounty-hunter with a soft spot inside. His prisoner, Reno, is played by Vanity, and knowing this lady you might expect her to show some skin, but she pretty much doesn't. The acting is pretty average, but it was fun seeing Juliet Landau before her BUFFY-period. The good thing is that all the characters have a bit of background and some of them turn out not exactly what they appear to be. The bad thing is that this movie could have used a bigger budget, especially in the special effects-department. The 'bright'-outbursts are just some silly colorization-effects and I expected to see an impressive futuristic Neon City in the end, but we see almost nothing of it. The action-scenes of Skins on motorcycles attacking the armored transport are average and certainly not as impressive as in MAD MAX 2.

But still, this movie manages to hum along nicely and you do wonder about who'll make it in the end and who won't. It's not an excellent movie, but it's not bad either. Worth a watch, especially for Ironside-fans.