Streets of Fire


Reva: "When are you ever gonna grow up?"
Tom Cody: "Why should I? This is more fun."



release year: 1984
genre: rock-and-roll fable.
viewing setting: home Bluray 9/15/21 and 9/30/18 and home DVD, 3/9/16 and 12/23/09 and 9/1/02

synopsis: A gang of tough guys is running rampant in a city, but when they kidnap a singer, her ex-boyfriend comes back to town to rescue her and clean house.

impressions: This is a unique movie as far as its direction, pacing, and style. It's never to be taken seriously, but instead, it's almost cartoonish...but always fun. I really don't know how else to explain it. Here's maybe one example: the hero walks into a bar, and within a minute or two, the tough chick has knocked out the bartender, poured drinks for her and the hero, and is following him around, no explanation for this behavior given or necessary. You just get a sense of "this is just what bad-asses do in this town." There are elements of the 1950s here - cars, architecture - but yet the movie feels more modern.

acting: This is Michael Pare's best simple pure tough-guy role. Willem Dafoe has a similar, though bad-guy, character. Amy Madigan proves that chicks can kick ass too, while Rick Moranis is around for comic effect. Diane Lane is the rocking damsel in distress.

final word: Unusual but very entertaining.

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