Harley Davidson et l'homme aux santiags

Here it is 2011 and I'm STILL lovin' this movie! As a matter of fact up until I looked over my IMDb history, I thought I had already reviewed it but much to my surprise I haven't. I guess that will make this review that much more better as it will be one of the more current ones.

This is one of those "you-either-get-it-or-you-don't" movies made to appeal to the egos and fantasies of the rugged alpha male. You get that sense at the opening credits as Mickey Rourke's intro scene during the opening credits makes you want to go out and ride a chopped up steel horse. It's the ultimate escape, at least for men! It's laced w/ moral fiber in that it's all about being down-and-out and still managing to drum up the where-with-all to help your fellow man. IMHO I think this movie's setbacks are through no fault of any of its creators or participants. Looking at many of the cynical reviews of movie-goers and critics of its time, it was clearly ahead of its own genre. And although many might find the title as well as some of the names of the characters to be cheesy (Virginia Slim, Jack Daniels, etc), I admire that they took the risk to acknowledge the outlaw, anti-hero biker image through images of Americana. I also read somewhere (probably on this site) that Rourke did this movie out of desperation which doesn't help a new viewer go in w/ a favorable attitude. Hopefully Mickey can look back and appreciate this piece of work like much of us do. I've still yet to see Butch & Sundance but now I'm inspired to check out Redford and Newman's piece even if it's just for the similarities that many reviewers have suggested.

I guess it comes down to the fact that this is much like anything else in that it isn't for everybody. Perhaps the audience it was intended for has dwindled substantially (if it's ever really been out there). But if that's so, we can always take comfort in knowing that we have something we can truly appreciate w/o having to be fashionable.

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.

If it werent for these 2 cool actors this movie would at best be a B-movie, but Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson are COOL and they save this movie.

The good: lots of gangsters, lots of machos, lots of shootouts and chases, lots of chicks and motorcycles and barfights.

The bad: this story is quite silly, the shootouts are silly and so are the bad guys. Still I didnt mind it because I just wanted to see shootout after shootout by some cool dudes. And COOL THEY ARE! Yes sir indeed.

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.

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)