I’ve been ionized, but I’m okay now.
.-Dr. B. Banzai
Thirty years ago those words resonated with the nerds, cowboys, and those that loved odd movies everywhere. That movie was Buckaroo Banzai: Across The Eighth Dimension.
Part pulp hero adventure, borrowing heavily from Doc Savage and a little bit of the Shadow, as well as a unique look at post-Satr Wars sci-fi, this movie was awesome for its time.
Starring Peter Weller as Buckaroo Banzai, particle physicist, neurosurgeon, rockstar, and skilled combatant, Buckaroo was the pulp hero via MTV, that landed on the silver screen. With a team of sidekicks consisting of actors like Carl Lumbly, Lewis Smith, Jeff Goldblum, and Clancy Brown, Buckaroo Banzai and his Hong Kong Cavaliers, was a force to be reckoned with.
Some fans have fond memories of the movie and its crazy execution. Blane Mather of Houston, TX had this to say:
“I love the impossible combination of things Buckaroo Banzai tried to encapsulate in one movie. It was an action/fantasy/sci-fi/spoof.
As a long time fan of the old Doc Savage pulps, I was ready to eat this up when it debuted. And even the first time I saw it while seeing the flaws caused by budget constraints, writing foibles and studio meddling, I personally could also see the movie it was trying to be.
And even after all these years, none of the blush is off this rose for me.”
However, not everybody was as impressed with the Jet Cars, rock and roll, and John Lithgow as the bad guy of the piece, Lord John Whorfin. In fact, some folks weren’t fans at all the first time:
While I enjoy many sc-fi movies of the 80s I will say BB is not one that I hold in high regard. Maybe a bit too nonsensical to me. Although I love Big Trouble in Little China and it’s not like that made any sense. Maybe I need to give it another shot. It has been like 18 years since I have seen it.-Jason Griffin, Houston, TX.
For many fans this film was the ultimate cult classic, nutty, witty, filled with adventure a likable hero, a crazy villain stuck somewhere between lunacy and genius, the world threatened by sort of, good, aliens to push the good guys, Soviet tension, and hijinks galore, this is a film that will have a fond place in the hearts of Team Banzai and Blue Blaze Irregulars, Banzai’s special back up personnel, everywhere.
And remeber as Doctor Banzi said:
Hey, hey, hey — don’t be mean. We don’t have to be mean. ‘Cause, remember: no matter where you go… there you are.-Dr. B. Banzai