Movie Review: Tank Girl (1995)

The movie stars Lori Petty, Malcolm McDowell, Ice-T and Naomi Watts.

It had been pretty much forever since I had seen this movie. So, when I discovered it on Netflix a few days ago, I decided to take the time to watch it again over a couple of my lunch hours. And, as it turns out, this movie was as good as I remembered it being.

The thing I like about this movie is it manages to be funny while, at the same time, is actually a pretty decent action movie. Lori Petty's character is facing off against a well-armed army and has everything working against her from almost the very beginning. The huge odds and the unlikely anti-heroes that end up helping her out along the way keep things from becoming too predictable and, at very least, keep the viewer entertained.

Another thing I found I appreciated about this film is the writers didn't assume everyone watching it had actually read the comic strip it was based off of. This is actually a pet peeve of mine when it comes to other comic strip-inspired movies because, more often than not, I spend most of my time trying to figure out what exactly is happening. While I'm sure there were still some things left out, this movie does a good job of at least summarizing the basics, including who the major characters are and what happened up until the point the film started.

Probably my only real complaint about this movie were the numerous crude sexual references throughout. This, in itself, isn't something I normally care all that much about. However, after a while, they did seem to get a bit repetitive and just weren't as entertaining as they probably were meant to be. In other words, the writers could have cut quite a few of them out without having any real impact on the plot or overall entertainment value of the movie

This isn't a movie that is going to be mistaken for an Oscar winner. However, it does manage to be very entertaining, which is pretty much the only thing I ask for when I watch movies. Even if you haven't read the comic strip it is based off of, it is worth taking the time to watch it.

My Grade: B