Buckaroo Banzai Declassified (2002 Video) User Reviews (3)

I love this Movie

[chriscoulter-1 · 8/10 · 24 April 2008]

I say Nee to you nay sayers who dislike this great movie Nee Nee Nee. You obviously have problems with anything that does not reach lofty literary standards. It seems you just don't get the idea. Perhaps you've only seen the movie once and missed things or slept through the plot. It's a complex plot and parody. Watch again and again if you need too but unless your thick as a lead brick you'll get it.

The movie has all the elements of a good parody. It makes fun of the government, the good space guys are not white, the girl that needs to be saved is not a Barbie doll yet she pulls of smart and sexy in a surprising way considering her ditsy name and first impression of a drunk loser she's shows her insight and gives the protagonist a someone to save. Females have been being saved since the dawn of time. In fiction, movies, cartoons, comics the list goes on someone has to save Polly Pureheart or in this case Penny Priddy first he saves her from herself then the bad guys. There is the mad scientist who's way over the top accent, ego and the whole enchilada, the unlikely 1950's era Japanese goog guy scientist tossed in to make us think. The beauty of the message is that things are not what they seem, there is a moral here that given thought is obvious to anyone capable of cognitive thought. It's entertaining and silly as possible. Almost every scene has parodies of society at the time this was made down to the ending with the Thrilleresq walk through the "LA River". Look again it's all there. To truly see ones mind must be as open as their eyes.

A thrill ride for renaissance geeks.

[ladiesbane · 9/10 · 25 September 2010]

This is a quintessential 80s film, but for unusual reasons. One is the nostalgia. The dramatic nostalgia of Blade Runner is taken to melodramatic extremes here. Some cues: the band's manager's zoot suit; the Renaissance diversity of the Irregulars; the emphasis on Science (as in, "She Blinded Me With -- ". These are the boy geniuses who fought the Kaiser and the Boy Allies who thwarted the Nazis. So the concept is charmingly nostalgic. But the quality of acting is undeniable, not only because there are so many non-diva working actors, but because you can tell each one is making an earnest effort. Sometimes, when you watch a crummy movie, you can tell the actors knew from Week One that this little dog would be best left off the resume. Not with this movie! Everyone made an earnest effort that was not too over-the-top. The purely 80s aspects -- skinny neckties, proto-geekiness, fascination with Japanese culture, retro-modernity -- are delicious to some of us who lived through it, but possibly baffling to others. But if you speak the language, it's pure poetry.

Sequel

[juliep · 10/10 · 22 March 2021]

The best ending/ credits ever in a movie I'm still waiting on the next one. Have been for 35+ years.