Tango and Cash

release year: 1989
genre: cop buddy action
viewing setting: home DVD, 3/1/09 and 11/6/03

synopsis: Two top cops become enough of a thorn in a crime lord's side that he has them framed and sent to prison, where they must use their wits and fists to survive and escape and clear their names and take the bad guys down.

impressions: This is a pretty good cop/buddy movie with a mix of action and humor. There are fist-fights, gunfights, chain fights, electrocutions, stunts, car chases/battles, and so on. It gets a little over-the-top at the end, but this is typical of the 1980s action movie era.

things to watch for: the big vehicular gunfight near the end

something this movie has that no other movie has: a heavily-armed/armored super-SUV

acting: Stallone plays the suit-wearing, stockbroking white-collar cop. Kurt Russell is the smart-ass, long-haired, blue-collar cop. Jack Palance is quietly menacing as the head bad guy, while Brion James is loudly menacing as the #1 evil henchman. Teri Hatcher with long hair plays Stallone's sister who also becomes Kurt Russell's love interest. Robert Z'Dar - he of the gigantic rounded jaw and many bad-guy roles - is a hulking goon.

final word: Fairly entertaining but often cheesy 1980s action.

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