Eye of the Tiger (1986)

How sad is this?

Best movie ever!

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Gary Busey is fantastic as a just-out of jail Vietnam vet, wrongly imprisoned years before by his hometown Sheriff. He returns home to his wife and daughter, only find himself harassed by the local Sheriff (Seymour Cassel) that had him imprisoned years before. Buck Mathews (Busey) refuses to leave town, so the Sheriff hires the local biker gang to harass Mathews and and his family. Things go too far, and Mathews sets out on a mission of revenge against both the gang, headed by Blade (a maniacal Vernon Wells of Commando fame), and the Sheriff.Eye of the Tiger is a great B-movie. The cinematography and directing are great, and it has a wonderful cast. Yaphet Kotto is perfect as Mathews old buddy, who is now an about- to-retire deputy to the corrupt Sheriff. The two team up to wreak havoc on the biker gang and deal out damage from the ground and air. If you enjoy 80's action, and especially if you like Gary Busey, this is a B-movie worth seeking out. It's a good revenge story, full of good over the top 80's violence, and it has a great cast. Plus, it uses Survivors classic Eye of the Tiger song as it's theme! Whether you are relaxing on a lazy Sunday afternoon, or drinking beers with buddies on a Friday night, if you enjoy 80's action, this movie is for you...

***SPOILERS*** After being railroaded by the town Sheriff, Seymour Cassel, for a justifiable killing, in defending himself in a bar brawl, Buck Matthews, Gary Busey, is back to start his life all over again and on the right track.With the town Sheriff looking for every excuse to put the "Mad Dog Killer" Buck back behind bars he instead becomes the town hero by saving nurse Dawn, Kimberln Brown, from being raped or possibly even murdered by a gang of outlaw bikers. Buck's heroic action not only angers the bikers but the Sheriff as well in him being shown to be the ineffective lawman that he, as well as everyone in town, knows that he is.Finding out Buck's address from a TV news clip the bikers lead by the wild and crazy as well as a drugged up Ray, Michael S. Walter raid Buck's place running down his wife Christie, Denise Galik, and killing her as well as seriously traumatizing his 6 year old daughter Jenny, Judith Barsi. Getting in touch with his former prison cell-mate Jamie, Jorge Gil, back in Miami where he runs a major crime syndicate Buck receives all the firepower he needs, including a machine gun cannon and rocket launching pick-up truck, to take on the outlaw bikers. Buck's one man guerrilla war starts with the psycho biker Ray being ambushed and ending up losing his head!It's later when Buck together with his good friend and fellow Vietnam war buddy J.B Deveraux, Yaphet Kotto, start knocking off the bikers with guerrilla war tactics it becomes very evident,if it didn't already, that the bikers have a friend in the town's police department! That chicken sh*t lily liver-ed Sheriff who's been taking drug pay-offs from the bikers to look the other way!***SPOILERS*** With no one but J.B coming to his aid Buck and his pick-up truck take the fight to the biker's base-camp outside of town where they run their drug operation. with Buck doing the driving and shooting, machine gun rocket and cannon fire, and J.B, a licensed pilot, providing the air support the bikers are put to flight on foot with their bikes no longer operational. The Sheriff ends up getting a free ride on Buck's pick-up truck with him being handcuffed to the steering wheel as it gets a direct hit from a biker artillery shell. As for the the biker's head man Balde, William smith, the late Ray's brother he ends up getting all that's coming to him not only absorbing a dozen or so knuckle sandwiches, courtesy of Buck Matthews, but stuffing himself with all the coke his nose can handle and overdosing on it!

It was 1987 when I first heard of this movie. It was the very first time I'd heard of Gary Busey and a trailer for this movie was the first time I ever heard the famous Survivor theme song. I hadn't seen the whole thing until about 2003 though. But, being a fan of mindless 80s action movies, I'm glad to say I was not let down when I finally came to own a copy of this movie.It's sad that Busey never really made it as a leading man, because in this film he gives an absolutely fantastic performance as the wronged man Buck Matthews. Unfaily sent to prison by corrupt sheriff Seymour Cassel for killing a man in self-defence, Vietnam vet Buck is released and heads home. Things have gone decidedly bad since he was gone as the town is now in the grip of a sadistic, drug-running motorcycle gang headed by AIP veteran William Smith. Needless to say, the sheriff is on the gang's payroll and also happens to be Buck's parole officer, so things don't look good for our hero.The film is, of course, a revenge picture as Buck engages in single handed combat with the gang after they kill his wife and traumatise his daughter. He even has his own special vehicle for the task: a weapon-laden pick-up truck sent to him by a Latino drug lord whose life he saved while in the slammer. Yes, it's THAT kind of film.But it is actually pulled of rather well by writer Michael Montgomery and 'Vanishing Point' director Richard Sarafian. The action sequences, though sometimes grisly (a wire decapitation), are handled well, especially Buck's final assault on Smith's stronghold when good cop Yaphet Kotto finally decides to step in and help him. Kotto, Cassel and Smith all turn in excellent performances, with Cassel being particularly slimy as the crooked cop. It's very satisfying when he gets his comeuppance. The final fight between Busey and Smith is very well-handled.Although the famous Survivor song is a bit overused, it seems very appropriate for the movie's action. The original music score by Don Preston is very rousing as well. I can honestly say that while Busey is excellent at playing villains like Mr. Joshua from 'Lethal Weapon' and Commander Kril from 'Under Siege', he shows here that if you give him decent enough material, and overlook some of his personal problems, he can carry a film and make it enjoyable. I enjoy 'Eye Of The Tiger' thoroughly as a great 80s action 'missing gem', and I recommend it to my fellow IMDb users with confidence.

Gary Busey plays an ex-nam vet and recently released convict (he is innocent...he was framed) Buck Matthews. He returns home to his family only to find that the town has become over run by a deadly biker gang that sells drugs all over the world. The sheriff has been paid off, so there is no law and the biker's get away with murder (literally!). So when Buck decides to rescue a woman from getting raped by the bikers...the bikers wage a war against him, killing his wife and destroying his home. So Buck decides to take the law into his own hands and seek revenge for this wife and protect the town. It's a pretty simple plot that's fun to watch. The acting is excellent and it is interesting & cool to see Busey play the lead hero for once. The action is decent, with lots of chases and a hand to hand fight scene against the head baddie at the end. The film has good budget and the movie was put together well. The song "Eye of the tiger" is obviously used during the opening credits and at the end when he goes on his vengeance spree. Overall, it was a cool flick that was made cooler by the fact that Busey was the lead action hero. There's a nice decapitation scene in there too.