Themes: Out For Revenge, Police Corruption, Lone Wolves
Main Cast: Gary Busey, Yaphet Kotto, Seymour Cassel, Bert Remsen, William Smith
Release Year: 1986
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The budget may be loftier, but Eye of the Tiger is essentially an up-to-date AIP motorcycle flick. Ex-convict Buck Mathews (Gary Busey) lives as quietly as possible in his old home town. The corrupt local sheriff (Seymour Cassel) would give anything to drive Buck out of town: thus, the sheriff looks the other way when a motorcycle gang headed by Blade (William Smith, who else?) invades the community and targets Buck for extermination. With no one else on his side, Buck turns to honest cop J.B. Deveraux (Yaphet Kotto), but he's a few days away from retirement and doesn't want to get involved. It turns out that the only "good guy" Buck can depend upon is a "bad guy": A well-connected Latino drug lord who owes Buck a favor. When the chips are down and Buck's daughter is kidnapped, Deveraux joins in the climactic offensive against the bikers--which, of course, boils down to a mano-y-mano struggle between Buck and Blade. You've seen it all before, but in this case familiarity does not breed contempt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Eye Of The Tiger takes its title -- and part of its soundtrack -- from the song of the same name by Survivor but the music is incidental to the action here. Michael Montgomery's script takes a basic revenge-film scenario and gives it a lean, straight-faced treatment that keeps the slender storyline moving at just the right pace, with the right amount of color to keep things interesting. Richard Sarafian gives the tale a stylish veneer, making effective use of Peter Lyons Collister's slick cinematography and some atmospheric locations to give the film the feel of a modernized Western. He also handles the action, peppering the film with a handful of setpieces and standoffs that get the blood pumping. Best of all, the film has a fantastic cast: Gary Busey makes for a charismatic and sympathetic hero while William Smith creates a mysterious, frightfully intense bad guy. Elsewhere, Seymour Cassel chews the scenery in an endearing manner as the town's sleazy sheriff and Yaphet Kotto lends solid support as the one lawman willing to come to Busey's aid. The end result is modest but effective -- it won't be confused for a classic but it gets the job done with style and economy. In short, anyone who likes action fare -- particularly that of the 1980's variety -- will find Eye Of The Tiger to be a tidy little surprise. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Kimberlin Ann Brown - Dawn; Denise Galik - Christie; Judith Barsi - Jennifer Matthews; Eric Boles - Doctor; Joe Brooks - Jake; Jorge Gil - Jamie; Cooper Huckabee - Roger; Ted Markland - Floyd; Thomas Rosales, Jr. - Jamie's Relative; Timothy Scott - Deputy; Douglas Dirkson - Jimmy; Jimmy Dirkson Douglas; Kathryn Fuller - Bingo Lady; Amelia Haas - Melody; Ray Habercorn - Police Officer; Brigette Muller - Kidnapped Girl; Jim Staskel - Raider-Napper; Nicolas Testa - Rolls Royce Driver; Mike Walter - Ray
Credit
Wayne Springfield - Art Director, Barbara Inglehart - Costume Designer, Lori McClellan - Costume Designer, Richard Sarafian - Director, Gregory Prange - Editor, Rick Shaine - Editor, Herb Nanas - Executive Producer, Don Preston - Composer (Music Score), Dan Hartman - Songwriter, Charlie Midnight - Songwriter, Jim Peterick - Songwriter, Freddie Sullivan - Songwriter, Kathryn Miles Logan - Makeup, Peter Lyons Collister - Cinematographer, Tony Scotti - Producer, Kurt Gauger - Set Designer, Michael Barrett, Jr. - Special Effects, Jon G. Belyeu - Special Effects, John David Coles - Special Effects, Richard Helmer - Special Effects, Gunther Jennings - Special Effects, David Peterson - Special Effects, James Schwalm - Special Effects, Louis Siegfried - Special Effects, Tom Thelen - Special Effects, Michael Montgomery - Screenwriter
After a long stint in prison Buck Matthews (Gary Busey), a Vietnam veteran, returns to his old hometown to start his life over with his wife Christie (Denise Galik)and their daughter Jennifer (Judith Barsi). On his first night back to his old job at a construction yard Buck hears a woman screaming in the distance. He follows the screams to discover a local gang of bikers attacking and attempting to rape a local nurse. Buck manages to chase the gang off using his truck thus saving the nurse's life. The leader of the biker gang takes Buck's actions personal and begins to terrorize him and his family. The gang attacks the Matthews' home, beating Buck and killing his wife. This leaves Jennifer, his young daughter, in shock as she witnessed the entire event. The local sheriff (Seymour Cassel) refuses to help Buck leaving him with no other option but to take justice into his own hands. After calling in a favor from an old friend Buck receives a high tech truck, equipped with machine guns and mortars. Buck's friend, J.B. Deveraux (Yaphet Kotto), a local deputy who is also a veteran, fills Buck in as to the history of the gang. Together they begin to retalliate against the bikers by various means. Eventually the bikers kidnap Jennifer, forcing Buck to go to their camp in the desert outside of town. Buck, with the help of J.B., successfully defeats the gang and rescues his daughter.
A cameo by Randall "Tex" Cobb as the gang leader's brother, is cut short by Matthews, who uses steel wire to cut off his head. He would play a similar role as Leonard Smalls in Raising Arizona.
The film ends with a final fight scene in which the song "Eye of the Tiger" is played, taking place in a cocaine filled shack at the gang's hideout.
Buck Matthews' (Gary Busey) personal on-screen kill count is 65, but this is an approximation based on a 5 kills per bombed shelter estimation. There are 45 on screen Matthews-inflicted deaths.
