Tank Girl (1995) Reviews

• Fantastic Cult Classic!

  trouvere_20002005-05-01

  A lot of people tend to dismiss this movie because of it's "comic book" feel and comic-book (really) transitions. I enjoyed this movie a LOT, as it has the same "feel" as the original comic books I remember reading, and the same style of humor. It's very well done for 1995, the dialogue is well-scripted for the intent of the movie, and the funny stuff is actually funny. Some of the action scenes are a bit "campy" - but then again, they're *supposed* to be that way in this kind of movie. In addition, I thought the acting was excellent, and that Lori Petty (who played "Kit" in "A League of Our Own) Malcolm McDowell (practically legendary) and Naomi Watts were excellent choices for their characters, as were the rest of the supporting cast. Lori Petty hasn't been in anything "huge" since this movie, which is truly a pity as she is an excellent and versatile actress. Look for some interesting supporting actors, including Ice-T, Iggy Pop, and James Hong. Listen to the comedic dialogue carefully - most of the punchlines are funny on several levels, which I found most refreshing, and you'll encounter a lot of funny double-entendre. Don't look for a bunch of CGI computer effects in this movie. However, well-designed and imaginative props and sets give a good feeling of "authenticity" to the scenes, and the visual and special effects are excellent. Don't bother critiquing little details and spurious claptrap like that with this movie - it sets out to be a comic-book-style fun action-adventure and accomplishes that goal magnificently. (The funniest thing is that the plot precept of a mega-corporation in control of the world's water supply is becoming more and more of a plausible idea and leads one to think of a possible metaphoric reference to the world oil situation) This movie might have been rated "R" at the time for adult situations & violence (and a little nudity), but I didn't notice a whole lot of "foul language", and I didn't really see much in the movie that wouldn't be put on broadcast TV today. This movie has everything - good acting, evil villains, cute heroines, mutants, cool vehicles, explosions, big sets, a huge supporting cast, hilarious humor, great stunts, and even a classic musical number with a full chorus line! ("Let's Do It" by Cole Porter) It even pokes fun at beat poetry. All-in-all, well worth seeing. If you like stuff like "The Wizard of Speed and Time", "Flash Gordon", "Johnny Mnemonic", "Space Truckers", "Ice Pirates", or "Yellowbeard" then you'll definitely love this movie. Even if you don't, see this movie anyway - it may change your mind about this genre. From personal experience: "Chicks dig this flick." Get the popcorn & enjoy.

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• seriously under rated

  binro-12004-12-28

  This movie seems to have gotten a bad rep on IMDb. Less than 5/10??? It ain't Shakespeare, but it's better than that. This movie was unpretentious and fun. You could clearly see that everyone involved in this project was having a good time. Tank Girl is a campy comic-book splashed up on your screen. The folks who take it too seriously should lighten up. It was well written (as camp) and I really enjoyed all of the characters. It's the ultimate "In your face" movie. The feminist subtext was interesting. I didn't notice it right off, I was too busy enjoying the ride. But if you look at all of the characters, it's the women who are strong, and all of the male characters are either villains or are defective in some way (1/2 human Rippers). It was (and is) one of my favourite flicks and I can be very critical of badly done movies.

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• Great fun and visually interesting, with some wonderful one-liners and buckets of attitude.

  Mephisto-242000-06-21

  One of the best films ever based on a comic, Tank Girl should not be taken seriously, but it's enormous fun, and a badly needed send-up of all those testosterone-pumped action movies. Instead of the usual male buddies, you have two sassy young woman, while a genetically modified and not very bright kangaroo plays the part of the Bond girl. All the leads perform well, particularly McDowell as the villain, and the script has some great one-liners, even if the plot is pretty dumb (it's a comic, ok? Get over it.)

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• Even comics characters need at least two dimensions

  roarshock2002-05-23

  The main problem I had with this otherwise appealing movie is that Lori Petty's Tank Girl has exactly the same attitude toward virtually every incident in the movie... good, bad, otherwise. And while it's a really sharp and cool attitude, the movie might have soared if instead of merely being an attitude it had been a personality. Then, arising from this Tank Girl personality, a whole range of interesting emotions could have been emerged, adding variety and a chance for excitement to build instead of plateauing in the first few minutes. Because even in a romp of a pic, you still need to care about the characters. And it's a whole bunch easier to care about a person than it is to care about an attitude. Still, I had good fun watching this movie. The "Feeling a little inadequate?" scene is a minor classic. And by chance I happened to watch this movie the same day I saw "Mulholland Dr." and I still have a very difficult time recognizing that Naomi Watts is the same person in both films. She's excellent in both, but so very different. Ice-T, Jeff Kober, and Reg E. Cathey do a surprisingly effective job of creating characters from underneath their Ripper make-up... they're so good that one of the best parts of Tank Girl is just watching and listening to them. This isn't a movie to go into with high expectations. Read all the negative comments, take them to heart, and then watch the movie anyway. It will make Tank Girl a pleasant surprise.

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• One of a kind and I mean that in a good way!

  preppy-32005-10-01

  Movie adaptation of a British comic book. It's 2033--Earth had been hit by a giant comet 11 years before. It wiped out most of civilization and (somehow) caused it never to rain again. Water is in very short supply and evil Kesslee (Malcolm McDowell) is hoarding it all and controlling it. He's attacked by the Rippers--a gang of mutant man-animals (don't ask). He also attacks Rebecca (Lori Petty) and destroys most of her friends. She vows revenge. That's (sort of) the plot. The original comic book was great. Tons of sex, nudity, violence, strong aggressive women and a stubborn refusal to take itself seriously. The movie tries to recreate that--and it succeeds! The nudity is gone and sex and the violence were toned down but the strong female characters remain. It all starts out with a great opening song and cartoon images from the comic book shoved in your face. Then Rebecca orders her boyfriend Richard (Brian Wimmer) to strip at gunpoint! Then it starts to get strange... There is a plot but the story keeps taking detours with STRANGE (but fun) dialogue, a loud aggressive alternative soundtrack, animated sequences and even a show stopping song and dance number! This all somehow fits together and the movie never stops moving. Set designs are incredible--filled to the brim with pop culture. Director Rachel Talalay deserves credit for keeping this all together. The acting is great--McDowell goes over the top (enjoyably), Naomi Watts is fun as Jet Girl and Petty is just beyond belief as Tank Girl. Loud, aggressive, snapping off one-liners left and right and a STRONG female character who never stops fighting. Just great all the way! United Artists had no idea how to market this picture (it IS difficult) so it bombed but it acquired a cult following. This isn't for everybody (a lot of critics hated it) but I loved it. A 10. Best exchange: Tank Girl asks the madam of a whorehouse to sing. The madam asks, "What song?" Tank Girl responds, "Let's Do It by Cole Porter, 1929." The madam: "I HATE that song".

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