The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

Surreal, confusing, non-sensical, great actors, plot holes.. Sci-fi? Parody? Pastiche? Comedy? Action? Drama? Romance? It's all and none of these; it's a cluster of the most indescribable nonsense which only occasionally attempts to make any sense, with a group of actors so talented that character development is meaningless, and who are so dedicated to the film's own lunacy that I can't help but revel in every moment of it's loosely structured plot and ambiguous storytelling. I don't know what I just watched, and I hate myself for loving such a complete waste of time! I'm currently unable to either confirm or deny whether this movie is worth watching. Honestly.. It defies explanation. That is all.

Remember, no matter where you go - there you are. No doubt about it, Banzai Buckaroo is a cool character and some of the members of his team work well for days. The problem is you have these interesting characters in a film that sort of, kind of su&ks. But that is all thanks to the villains of the film whom more than wear out their welcome which means the director is probably the one to blame but let me just confirm that via IMDB really quick. Yup, the director was to blame. I could tell it was the director because the source material seemed good enough and the cast used for the film is freaking phenomenal in terms of star power. Whatever, long story short this is a cult classic because fans of the source material are willing to over look all the film's shortcomings.

I heard this was a cool 80s movie, and I was curious because I like a lot of 80s movies and had never heard of this one. It was directed by the same guy that did Big Trouble in Little China, which was great, and I also like Peter Weller and John Lithgow, so I decided to give this one a shot. I also read some positive reviews of the film on this site, and after seeing the movie I had to leave my own review so people wouldn't be mislead by all the positive reviews.Man, was this terrible. The plot was goofy, the effects were bad, and the so many things in it made no sense. It's like they set out to make the silliest movie they could and didn't care if it would be good or not. I grew up in the 80s and have a fond memory of many of that decade's movies, but this is definitely not one of the good ones from that era.

BUCKAROO BANZAI has an inescapable charm that makes everything about it surprisingly enjoyable despite its absurd premise, a plot that asks a lot of its audience (and places them right in the middle of things with very little warning), and the balls to expect you to either be along for the ride or make room for someone else. I love this movie, and even I freely admit it's insane. Part of the movie's winning formula is the stellar cast, fronted by Peter Weller, who was a terrific choice for the eponymous hero. He's a natural leader and can rock the bow-tie like nobody's business. His rock band is populated with great character actors, and John Lithgow and Christopher Lloyd are hilarious as the bad guys. The script is peppered with some great one-liners, and there's frequently something off about the aliens (their faces always have the same expression: confused). The story involves everything from other dimensions to chases and shootouts, and even throws Orson Welles into the mix. It's daffy, but never slow. I wish this movie had fared better 30 years ago; I'm still waiting for the promised sequel. It's a comic book movie to its core, wholly unique and gloriously '80s. And it really leaves you with a smile on your face. 8/10