Frankly i'm surprised this isn't as highly regarded as Executive Target, in that the movie is about the same (though at least there is more to laugh at here.) and it features Gary Busey as the hero (named Plato!), Steven Bauer (Remember Scarface?) as Busey's sidekick and Jeff Speakman (Come on you know you loved The Perfect Weapon!) as the karate expert who saves Busey and Bauer when the going gets rough. Indeed given the look of who they cast one is almost sure they wanted Dolph Lundgren in Busey's role and Lorenzo Lamas in Bauer's role, this would've of course been a legendary bad movie. However we instead of the team up of the century we got Busey, Bauer and Speakman joining forces to bring down a cuban druglord played by Roy Scheider. (You just have to love the guy, especially when Scheider looks about as cuban as Gary Busey.) I want to first get off my chest that Roy Scheider gets the Ironside agenda because his character is so cheesy and hilarious, and it's because Scheider puts in so much hamminess that it becomes the best thing about the picture.

As for this movie, oh boy, where do I start? Gary Busey looks noticably overweight in this movie. I mean the man wears Hawaiian shirts and all kinds of baggy stuff to hide the fact that time has caught up with the man. There is still no doubt my mind that Busey in real life could kick lots of people's asses as he even stood his ground against Seagal, to which Seagal backed down, and of course the fact that Busey has biker connections which would indicate he's a tough mother but let's face it, as a hero with a hot teenage daughter no less (What did he become a father at 50?) he is out of his element. I would've figured they would've cast Speakman in such a role but that was until I saw the guy as well. Dear god, I know you're the perfect weapon and Expert, but it's obvious the only perfect weapon you've become the expert on is that of an all you can eat buffet. I mean the man looks puffy, bloated and rivals Busey in beer belly stakes.

Steven Bauer looks about the same as he did in Scarface, though his acting talent is wasted on a sidekick role, plus with no martial arts ability, he just basically shoots guns and makes wisecracks. He comes off the best of three only by the default that he is the most convincing because he doesn't sport such a belly. Also is it just me or wouldn't make more sense to cast Bauer as the cuban bad guy? I mean after all Speakman, Busey and Scheider could pass as soldiers of fortune (the former who just ate too many ham snadwiches) I mean who cast this thing?

The movie is basically about Busey's daughter being kidnapped and him, Bauer and Speakman going after the Cuban gangsters who did it, and that leads us to a sequence where Bauer and Busey have to walk through a mindfield as Scheider cackles the whole time. It's a movie full of camp, (You just have to see Busey and Speakman do fight scenes despite their guts) mis-casting and ridiculousness. In other words a great night for those who love something hilarious to laugh at.

Hamlin Grade: 5.5

Ryan
-Board certified professional safety dancer