Point Break Review (Revisited again) "I am an F...B...I AGENT!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK guys, so figured I would try and get one last post in this month before August comes round and this one is a revisit of a film I've looked at quite a few times and watched it last night, so figured I would update the post for it again. So, the film in question is Point Break, the 1991 action classic starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. 

So, after 35 years, let's take a look at this one and see how it fairs...

And the usual warning is coming up...

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!! 

STORY   

So, the film begins with rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) who is assigned along with his veteran partner, Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey) to investigate a series of bank robberies.  The robbers themselves are dressed up wearing masks of four former presidents, Ronald Regan, Richard Nixon, Lindon B. Johnson and Jimmy Carter and they nickname themselves the "ex-presidents".

Pappas has a theory that the ex-presidents are in fact surfers (due to video footage of one of them dropping their trousers to moon revealing a "tan line" across their ass, which would be associated with surfers!) and Utah decides to go with his theory and infiltrates a small surfing community.  Utah however has no idea how to surf and nearly drowns out at sea on his first day but he is rescued by a female surfer, Tyler (Lori Petty). Johnny then runs her plates and finds her arrest sheet and history and uses her parents deaths in a plane accident as angle to get to her. Johnny then tells Tyler that he wants to learn to surf although Tyler initially refuses, Johnny lies and tells her his parents died in a car crash, which makes her reluctantly accept.

Johnny eventually manages to get the hang of surfing through Tyler's help and he soon meets the leader of a local surfing gang, Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) and when he reveals he was a former quarterback in football, Bodhi's crew accept Johnny, who begins to get drawn into their world.  Utah also follows the lead of a clue which might lead them to the robbers as he and Pappas set up a raid on another gang of surfers, who turn out not to be the ex-presidents and it turns out instead they have accidentally ruined a DEA undercover operation in the process, which incurs the wrath of Utah and Pappa's superior, FBI Agent Harp (John C. McGinley).

The next day however Johnny, who by now has become romantically involved with Tyler receives an early wake-up visit from Bodhi and they go out for surf, however as Utah walks along the beach he sees Bodhi and his crew out surfing, one of whom moons (i.e. drops his shorts!) in the same style as the bank robber did in one of the video tapes taken from the bank robbery at the start of the film.  It then dawns on Utah that Bodhi's gang are the ex-presidents and he tells Pappas of his suspicions as he tailed Bodhi to find that he was scoping a bank.

The next day Utah and Pappas steak out outside the bank and right enough they see the ex-presidents leave the bank, with Utah and Pappas giving chase, Utah eventually chases the robber wearing the Reagan mask on foot through a neighbourhood.  As Utah chases after the robber he accidentally slips down an aquaduct and injures his knee in the process, as the robber gains distance, Utah takes out his gun and aims at the robber but can't bring himself to pull the trigger and fires his gun into the air instead, yelling in frustration.

Later that night Bodhi and his gang reveal that they are indeed the ex-presidents, but Bodhi's motivation was to rebel against the system and not to gain profit.  With Bodhi's gang scared and wanting out, Bodhi refuses to back down and he insists that he knows what to do with Johnny.  Meanwhile Tyler discovers that Johnny is in fact an FBI agent as she finds his badge and gun in his apartment, furious with Johnny for lying, Tyler runs out on him. 

The next morning Bodhi turns up at Johnny's front door and insists he goes skydiving with his gang, which Johnny reluctantly obliges, but in doing so, he get's a real kick out of it and bonds with the group during the dive.  After they land Bodhi takes Johnny into a van and plays a tape showing Tyler tied up to a chair with one of Bodhi's gang, Rosie (Lee Tergesen) holding a knife to her throat.  Bodhi reveals that he knows that Utah is an FBI agent, and tells him that Tyler will be fine as long as he gets a certain place in time first, and he forces Utah to go along on their last robbery with them, which brings the film toward its hectic climax....

THOUGHTS

Even at 35 years onward, Point Break is still a very enjoyable action thriller and while it is at times somewhat cheesy in its depiction of the surfer community and of the robbers it nonetheless has plenty of high octane action that keeps an audience gripped.  The relationship between Utah and Bodhi also helps drive the film's story pretty well as Utah is sucked into the world of surfing and he is drawn to Bodhi's charisma, and in the end even as Utah pursues Bodhi so relentlessly, he at the end of the film still has a lot of respect for him.  And the film certainly says a lot for adrenaline junkies and the rush and the need for it, and even shows how fanatical Bodhi's crew are as they even willing to die to find that ultimate rush (or killer rush being more like it!).  

And at the time of the production, neither Reeves, Swayze or Petty hadn't any real surfing experience and they ended being taught by a surfing instructor over a two month period with Swayze and Reeves both being drawn towards surfing, and Reeves who continued to keep it up as a hobby afterwards. Most of the surfing was done by professionals however and the cast mostly did basic surfs. It was also later revealed that Swayze did his own aerial stunts during the skydiving scenes, as well as during the fight scenes and of course surfing, and Swayze himself felt that he had a strong kinship with Bodhi's character as the wild guy.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains strong language and spoilers!!) 

Moving onto the film's performances things are mainly pretty good here.

And to start off with Keanu Reeves, who while he is not the best actor in the world, does give a good account of himself here as the ambitious young FBI rookie, Johnny Utah, who gets drawn into the world of surfing and makes a connection with the surfing gang leader, Bodhi.

Reeves also has his share of good scenes also get's some good dialogue as he delivers plenty of glib one liners.

And Keanu's notable scenes include the one where Johnny has it out with Pappas to find out what his theory on the ex-presidents are but Pappas is reluctant to tell him. So, Johnny says "Right, if you can't solve it with your years of experience, its impossible to conceive I might have something to offer, right? Well, maybe I can do better than some over the hill burnout!" which angers Pappas who says "Watch your mouth!". Johnny then teases Pappas more "Maybe you should retire and get some renta-kill job, tell Nam stories!" which infuriates Pappas who grabs Johnny by the jacket and he shouts "Listen you little shit, I was taking shrapnel in Khe Sahn, when you were crapping in your hands and rubbing it IN YOUR FACE!!". 

Johnny then asks him "You mad?!" and Pappas yells "YEAH!!" and Johnny shouts back "Good and mad??!" and Pappas yells "YEAH!!". Johnny then yells back "Its feels good like your still alive, doesn't it?!" and Pappas yells again "YEAH!!" and Johnny yells "Well since you're still alive and not in the box just yet, why don't you tell me your theory and we can go and GET THESE GUYS!!!". Pappas then sighs and says "OK hotshot! You wanna nail robbers and be a big hero?" and Johnny grins and says "Definitely!" and Pappas "OK, so here it is...the ex-presidents are surfers!". Johnny looks at him sceptically and asks "Surfers?" and Pappas confirms "Surfers!".  

Then there is the scene that even takes the piss out of his character Ted, from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, when he scopes out surfers on a beach and tries to get a hair sample from one of them and pulls off a piece of hair by saying to the guy "Watch out, you've got a big sucker going right for your ear!" and tears off a piece of the guy's hair and says "Saved your life, bro, close one!".

Also after he get's chewed out by his superior, FBI Agent Harp who says "Now has any one of you got anything even remotely interesting to tell me???!" and Reeves sarcastically replies "I got my first tube this morning... sir!" (a tube being surfers term that refers to a tunnel like shaped wave, which surfers can ride in the middle of).

Then there is the scene where Utah discovers that Bodhi has had Tyler kidnapped and he is forced to go along with Bodhi and his crew as they carry out their last robbery and he angrily says to Bodhi who wants Utah to go into the bank with them "Bodhi this is your fucking wake up call, man!  I'm am an  F....B....I agent!!!".

Another good scene is when Utah turns up at near the end at the airfield to negotiate with Bodhi to try and find out where Tyler is being held.  And as Bodhi is not prepared to really listen to him, Utah says regarding the botched robbery where Bodhi (SPOILER) is forced to kill an off-duty cop, "The guy you killed was an off-duty cop!  They'll nail your wherever you land!  There's a new thing called radar! Maybe you've heard of it!".  

And Utah continues saying to Bodhi "I know you, man, when shit goes down, you won't back down!  They'll have to burn your ass to the ground!" and Bodhi says "Yeah? And shit happens!" and Utah says "Look, you've got a deathwish a want to ride to glory?! Fine, but don't take Tyler with you!  I'm begging you! Tell me where she is and I'll walk away!".  And Bodhi looks almost convinced and says "You'll walk away?" and Utah says "I walk away!" and Bodhi says "That is beautiful, Johnny!" but they are interrupted by Roach opening fire on Pappas from afar and a quick gunfight ensues.

And lastly there is the scene where Johnny finally catches up with Bodhi in Australia at Bells beach, where he is waiting to ride out the 50 year storm. And Johnny walks up to Bodhi and throws his Ronald Regan mask down infront of him on the beach and asks him "Lose something, bruh?!" and without looking, Bodhi says "Special agent Utah. I knew I could count on you!".   

And Utah tells Bodhi "You've gotta go down!  People trusted you and they died" and Bodhi says "Yeah, it went bad, real bad!  Life sure has a sick sense of humour, doesn't it?".  And Utah says to him "Look, Bodhi, you're gonna have to come back with me" but Bodhi just laughs and says "Sorry, my friend!" and Utah starts fighting Bodhi and as the two of them struggle, Utah manages to latch a handcuff on Bodhi's wrist.  

And Utah smiles and says "I told them!  You'd go quietly!" and Bodhi enraged shouts "NO!!!  There's no way I can handle a cage, man!" and Utah says "I don't care!  You gotta go down!  Its gotta be that way!".

But in the end (SPOILER!!!) Utah decides to let Bodhi go and surf the lethal waves, knowing he most likely will not survive them and Bodhi pleads with Utah "Come on, compadre.  This is what my whole life has been about, Johnny.  Come on!" and Utah looks at the ferociously huge waves and Bodhi angrily shouts "COME ON!!" and Utah finally relents and uncuffs Bodhi and tells him "Vaya con dios" (Spanish for "Go with God") and let's him go.  

And just as the Aussie police arrive and one cop (with a ridiculously bad Australian accent no less!) shouts at Utah "What the fuck, Utah! You let him go!!" and Utah says "No, I didn't" and he looks out at Bodhi surfing the huge waves and he is soon consumed by them.  And the cop says "We'll get him when he comes back in!" and Utah walks away saying "He's not coming back". And in his final moment, Johnny looks at his FBI badge, now disillusioned with his job, he throws it into the ocean.   

Patrick Swazye is excellent as Bodhi, the charismatic gang leader who is more into the spiritual side of surfing and life in general!  Swayze plays Bodhi pretty much as an almost spaced out guru, who get's his thrills out of adrenaline rushes such as robbing a bank, skydiving or surfing, but also develops special connection with Utah as the film progresses.

Swayze as Bodhi has some good scenes such as when he is about to a bank at the start of the film, wearing his Ronald Reagen mask he says "The little hand says its time to rock and roll!".  Also in the first bank robbery scene he has some good lines such as "Hello helllo hello ladies and gentlemen we are the ex-presidents!  We need just a few minutes of your time, and we've been screwing you for years for a few more minutes shouldn't matter, should it???!".  And as they are about to leave the bank he turns to the customers and says "Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen and please don't forget to vote!!".

Another good scene is where the rival surfing gang beat up Johnny and Bodhi stops them and shouts "Back off he's with me!" and one of the gang says "Kiss my ass, Bodhi!" and Bodhi warns him "Back off, Warchild, seriously!" and they let him go. And after Bodhi and Johnny kick the gang's asses they make to leave and Bodhi tells them "This is stimulating but we're out of here!" and he tells Johnny quietly "Go on, keep walking" as they move. 

And this is followed with Bodhi and Johnny walking together and Johnny asks him "Who are those guys?" and Bodhi says "Nazi assholes! The big one you dropped is Bunker Weiss, and the other one is Warchild aka Lupton Pitman! And the other two I dunno". Johnny asks "What's their program?" and Bodhi says "Their heads are wired wrong and they are into some bad shit" and Johnny asks "Ilegal shit?" and Bodhi says "I dunno, that's not what I mean, they only live to get radical. They have any understanding of the sea, so they'll never get the spiritual side of it". Johnny then asks "You aren't gonna start chanting are you?" and Bodhi laughs and says "I might!". Bodhi then asks Johnny "You never figured out the waves have you? Its that place where you find yourself and lose yourself. I say you with those guys, you're a pitbull! You didn't hesitate and they didn't back you down an inch and that is very rare in this world!".

And then there is the scene where Bohdi reveals his willingness to sacrifice his life to do what he loves the most in doing his surfing and he wishes to surf at Bells Beach in Australia, where an alleged 50 year storm is set to come around. And Bodhi tells his gang and Johnny "And it when it comes it will turn itself into the biggest surf this planet has ever seen and I will be there!". But then he says "If you want the ultimate, you've gotta pay the ultimate price.  Its not tragic to die doing the thing you love."

Another good scene is when the gang discuss what to do with Johnny after they discover he is an FBI agent when Johnny chased them at the scene of a robbery. So, Bodhi tells his gang "This was never about the money, this was about us against the system. That system that kills the human spirit. We stand for something. We are here to show those guys that are inching their way on the freeways in their metal coffins that the human sprit is still alive!". And as his gang look at him, Bodhi asks them "So you trust me?" and they all nod and Bodhi smiles and says "Then don't worry about this guy, I know exactly what to do with him".

Then there is the scene where Bodhi plays Utah the tape of Tyler tied up screaming "Fuck you!" at the camera while she is being held captive by Rosie (Lee Tergesen) and Bodhi turns off the tape and says "She is a wild one, isn't she, special agent Utah?".  And all of a sudden Utah grabs hold of Bodhi and slams him against the inside of the truck and shouts "You're a fuckin dead man!!" but Bodhi pleads with Utah to hear him out, which he does.  And Bodhi warns Utah "But if I don't make it to Rosie by 3pm, he will get her like a pig and try not to get any on shoes.  So I guess that makes us partners, as we both need to get me where I need to go" and Utah then says "We're wasting time!" and Bodhi just smiles and says "Oohh, that's what I love you about you, Johnny!  You are just as sharp as a razor!".  

Then we have the following scene where Bodhi and his gang get dressed up as the ex-presidents as they drive to rob their last bank.  And Bodhi says to Utah re Tyler's kidnapping "All I'm asking for is 90 seconds of your life, Johnny. That's a small price to pay for someone who loves you.  She does you know.  Its not her style to fall so hard, I don't think she did with me".  Bodhi then throws the president masks to his crew and he says to Utah "Well, Johnny....looks like you don't get to be president!" and he puts on his Ronald Regan mask.   

Another good scene worth mentioning comes when Bodhi forces Utah to join him on the plane as Bodhi prepares to do his skydive to reunited with Rosie.  And just as Bodhi is about to do his jump he says to Utah "I know its hard for you, Johnny. I know you want me so bad it's like acid in your mouth. But, not this time!" and Bodhi chucks his gun aside and says to Utah "Adios amigo!" and he jumps out the plane, leaving Utah furious, who simply decides to go after Bodhi and he grabs the gun and shouts "FUCK IT!!" and dives out the plane. 

Then in the next scene, Utah dives through the sky and catches up with Bodhi and holds him at gunpoint and tries to force him to pull the chord on the parachute but Bodhi defiantly says "Nah, you pull it!".  And after they finally land, they writhe around painfully as Bodhi attempts to get up he says to Utah "Goddamn!  You are one radical son of a bitch!".  And as Bodhi moves away from Utah, who has injured his knee again he says to him "That knee again, huh?  Too bad.  Looks like this time you won't be getting your man.  This game we both lose!".  And as Bodhi reunites with Rosie, who let's Tyler go, just before Bodhi drives off he shouts to Johnny "Yo, Johnny!  I'll see you in the next life!".

WARNING: BIG SPOILER COMING UP RE: THE END OF THE FILM!

And last of all is the scene where Johnny finally tracks Bodhi down to Bells Beach in Australia where await his final surf and date with destiny. So, in the scene the two men fight each other and even though Bodhi gains the upper hand, Johnny manages to cuff him.

So, in the scene, Bodhi yells "NO!!! There's no way I can handle a cage, man!" and Johnny tells him "I don't care! You gotta go down! Its gotta be that way!". So, Bodhi after a long pause smiles and says "OK, man! OK, I'm screwed! I'll go to jail and I'll pay and Johnny Utah gets his guy! You're gonna be a big hero now. Good for you". However, Bodhi then pleads with Johnny "But look at it, Johnny. LOOK AT IT!!! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, man! Let me have just one wave before you take me in! One wave! Where am I gonna go man?! Cliffs on both sides, I'm not gonna paddle to New Zealand! My whole life has been about this moment, Johnny. Come on, compadre! Come on". Johnny however just stares at Bodhi as he thinks it over and Bodhi yells "COME ON!!" and Johnny relents and uncuffs Bodhi and tells him "Vaya con dias!" and Bodhi smiles and walks off to surf one last time. 

Gary Busey is also really good as Utah's veteran FBI partner, Pappas, who comes up with the surfer theory for the ex-presidents.  Busey who is no stranger to being manic (and let's face it in real life he does have more than one screw loose!) plays Pappas with a hyperactive quality (or at least a bloated agent who has had one coffee too many and a few doughnuts!) and he quickly develops a good rapport with Utah.

Busey also get's plenty of good moments, such as when he argues with Utah who goads him by saying he is an "over the hill burnout" and he Pappas replies "Listen you snot nosed little shit!  I was taking hits in Khe Sang, while you were still crapping in your hands and rubbing it in your face!".  And Utah shouts back "Well since you're not quite in the box yet, why don't you tell me this great theory of yours and we'll go get the guys!!".  And Pappas sighs and says "OK, hotshot!  You wanna nail the robbers and be a big hero?" and Utah says "Definitely!" and Pappas says "Definitely!  Then here it is....the ex-presidents are surfers!" and Utah looks at him incredulously and says "Surfers???" and Pappas says "Surfers!". 

And also in the scene where Utah tells Pappas about his theory of trying to get a hair sample from surfers to try and locate the beach where the ex-presidents might surf. So, Johnny says to Pappas "If we can get a hair sample from one of these surfers, we can find out which break the ex-presidents surf" and he leans toward Pappas and asks "So, are you buying this?" and Pappas says "No.  But let's do it anyway!  It will bug the shit out of Harp!".  

And also in the scene when he confronts Utah over not shooting Bodhi and he says to him "Johnny, I wanna see you in my office right now!". So, they go into Pappas's office and Pappas tells Johnny "I want you to know something. When you shoot, you don't miss" and Johnny says "I missed" and Pappas irritated tells Johnny "No, I believe you're either scared or your getting too goddamn close to this surfing guru buddy of yours!" And Pappas leans into Johnny's face and says to him "I don't believe your scared!" and then tells Johnny "I want you to go home and get some rest you look like hammered shit! And if I see something resembling your boy, I'll beep you. Now go home!".

And also later when he says to Harp "Let me tell you something, Harp.  I've been in this bureau while you were still popping zits on your funny face and jacking off to the lingerie section of the Sears catalogue!".  And in the scene Pappas continues "And in all these years I've learned something you still haven't got!" and Harp scornfully says "Yeah?  Why don't you astonish me, shitface?!" and Pappas then punches Harp, knocking him to the floor saying "Respect for my elders!  Plain and simple!".   

Lori Petty also makes a good impression as Utah's love interest, Tyler Endicott, and she is quite defensive and obnoxious at first as she grudgingly saves Utah from drowning and she insults him and his crap surfboard. So, Tyler drags Johnny to shore, she shouts at him "Crazy son of a bitch! You wanna kill yourself, go do it someplace else!" and she looks at his surfboard and says "Look at this pigboard piece of shit!  You've got no business out here whatsoever!". Tyle then heads back out to surf and Johnny calls after her saying "Hey my name's Johnny Utah!" and she says "Who cares???!" as she paddles into the water. 

Then there is the scene where Johnny meets Tyler again where she works at a diner and she looks irritably at him and asks "What do you want?" and Johnny says "Shrimp and fries" and Tyler says "No, I mean what are you doing here?!". Johnny then asks her "I need you to teach me how to surf. I'm serious!" and Tyler says "I can see that you're serious. Forget it! Stick to tennis!". Johnny however manages to persuade as he tells a fake story about how his life goals were wrong as he did what his parents wanted him to do but they died in a car wreck. So, Tyler sighs and says "Alright. Tomorrow, here, 6 am. If you are one minute, I am gone! Listen, stud, I didn't take you on to raise, so I'll teach you a few things and after you're gonna be on your own, okay?".

Then there is the scene at Bodhi's party where Bodhi admits to willing to die for his thrill ride lifestyle as does the rest of his gang and Tyer get's up and says "There's too much testosterone here!" and walks off and Johnny follows her. So, as Johnny finds her inside Bodhi's house she says to him "I hope you aren't buying into all this bonzai bullshit like the rest of Bodhi's moonies".  And Johnny asks her "What are you talking about?" and Tyler says to him "You've got the kamikaze look, Johnny, I've seen it.  And Bodhi can smell it a mile away.  He'll take you to the edge and past it."

And lastly there is the scene (SPOILER!!) where she finds out he is an FBI agent and he tells her he lied about his parents. And in the scene, Tyler fires a shot at a bed pillow where Johnny, prompting him to leap up and Tyler yells "A lawyer??!! You lied to me!" and she throws his FBI ID down at him. Tyler then points the gun at Johnny and shouts "I bet you lied about everything! I bet you lied about your parents! Just tell me if you're parents died in a car accident, Johnny? DID THEY??!!". Johnny finally admits "My parents are alive and live in Colubmus, Ohio. I work bank robbery and I need you for the guys but after that..." and Lori cuts him off and shouts "FUCK YOU!! Don't you have a soul?!" and she drops the gun in disgust and says quietly "Goddamn you to hell" and runs out. 

John C. McGinley is also great in his role as the arrogant FBI agent, Harp, who takes a real dislike to Utah throughout the film. 

And his first scene is really good one where Johnny and Harp walk together as Harp fills him in on what his department. And Harp tells Johnny "I know you might be the hotshot back in training room but out here you have absolutely no experience in the field. You know nothing! In fact you know less than nothing! If you knew the fact that you don't know nothing that would be something but you don't!". 

So, as he finishes his spiel, Harp asks Johnny "Special agent Utah, are you receiving my signal?!" and Johnny, having taken a doughnut says cockily "Zero distortion, sir! I love these things". So, Harp laughs and tells Johnny "I see you're a real blue flame special, son.  Young dumb and full of cum, I know!  But what I don't know is how you got assigned out here with us.  I mean hell, I guess we must just have ourselves an asshole shortage, huh?" and he winks at Utah and walks away with Utah saying to himself quietly "Not so far".

Also McGinley's best line in the film comes when he berates Utah and Pappas for their lack of progress in the case with Utah in undercover surfer gear and a big surfboard in Harp's office. And Harp says "Special agent Utah. This is not some job flipping burgers at the local drive in.  Yes the surfboard bothers me, yes you're whole goddamn approach to this case bothers me, and yes YOU BOTHER ME!!  And over the last two weeks you have produced exactly SQUAT! SQUAT!!".  Harp then continues shouting "And in the meantime, the ex-presidents have robbed three more banks!! Now for Christ sakes, has either one of you got anything even remotely interesting to tell me!!" and Utah says "I got my first tube this morning, sir!" (a surfing term of course!).  

And last of all is the scene where Harp has Johnny arrested at the scene of the ex-president's final robbery and Pappas turns up to see him. So, as Pappas turns up and says about Johnny, who has been cuffed "Can we take those cuffs off him?!" Harp yells "Leave em on! You're partner's an accesory to murder, Pappas. Three people are dead. One's a police officer!" and he grabs Johnny and shows him the dead police officer "There! How does that sit in your stomach?!" and Johnny angrily says to Harp "Take your hands off me right now!".

Pappas then grabs Harp aside and says "Harp, look at me! Look at me! Don't ride him in with a blank and white like some punk, let ME ride him in!". Harp takes a moment and then scornfully says to Pappas "Yeah, sure Angelo, why not?! That's why I put you two screw-ups together in the first place, you deserve each other! You're just as bad as he is...only you're a little slower, little fatter and more pathetic! Christ, its like the blind leading the blind with you!". Pappas then angrily puts Harp in his place and says "And after all these years I still have something you haven't got!" and Harp asks "Oh yeah? Why don't you astonish me, shit face?!". So, Pappas turns and punches Harp right in the face and he goes down on the floor and Pappas tells him "Respect for my elders! Plain and simple!". 

Tom Sizemore also gives a brief but good account of himself as an agent working for the DEA who's cover is blown when Utah and Pappas raid the wrong surfers.  

And Sizemore who is always good with explosive dialogue delives another bit of stern dialogue to Utah when he says to them regarding his hair "You think I like this hair, man?!  You think I like these clothes?!  My wife wants me to move out to Ramada!".  And he continues angrily "I've been working on these fuckers for THREE MONTHS!!  THREE MONTHS!!  Now I've got them playing the wheel of fortune, so I can find out who their suppliers are and you fucking cowboys show up!".  And he asks Johnny "All I wanna know smart guy, how could these guys have robbed the 3rd National bank on August 2nd, when they were Fort fuckin Lauderdale on August 2nd, how did you figure that one out?!". The agent then shoves the packet of coke right at Johnny and says "You fuckin jerks!" and storms off leaving Johnny frustrated. 

Last of all its worth mentioning the performance of the Red Hot Chili Pepper's lead singer, Anthony Keidis who appears in the film as one of the Nazi surfer gang members, Tone.  And Keidis's two most notable scenes in the film are when the Nazi surfers confront Utah on the beach after he accidentally knocks into one of them while surfing.  And as the gang surround Utah and he says to them "I know.  This is where you tell me that locals rule and the yuppie insects like me shouldn't be breaking your waves, right?" and Tone says to him "That would be a waste of time!".

And later on there is of course the scene where Utah and Pappas raid the Nazi gang's hideout. So, in the scene, Tone tries to calm Bunker down as they see the FBI outside and Tone says "Chill the fuck out man, its nothing!" and Bunker angrily shouts "Will you shut the fuck up??!". So, as they spot more out back Tone suddenly panics and says "Oh shit! Shit! We're fucked!!". Then shortly after, as the gang are taken down one by one, Tone tries to run through the house one of the agent, Alvarez, opens the door behind him, causing Tone to shoot himself in the foot and he screams in agony!    

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

Getting onto the director Kathryn Bigelow (who also directed Strange Days, Near Dark and The Hurt Locker) who does an excellent job here, proving to be one of few female directors known for directing Hollywood action films. Bigelow herself had to overcome a lot of hurdles to get the film made and also fought hard for Keanu Reeve's casting. Bigelow also co-wrote the film with her then husband, and writer/director, James Cameron, which went under many re-writes.  

Bigelow also skillfully paces out the action and the bank robberies, car chases, sky diving and surfing scenes are all done really well and you do get a sense of the adrenaline rush the characters are getting.  Bigelow also brilliantly directs the big foot chase scene with Utah chasing Bodhi on foot through a neighbourhood as a hand held camera follows them, which is often lauded as one of the best chase sequences in cinema history. 

As for the music it features a pretty good score by Mark Isham which is a mixture of synthesizers and orchestral compositions and it is pretty well suited to the tone of the film.  It also features a notable and memorable track during the scene where Utah goes sky diving with Bodhi and his crew, which is quite an atmospheric track that really captures the scene itself pretty well.

In addition to Isham's score the film also features tracks from various different artists such as Jimi Hendrix who's track "If 6 was 9" is used, Public image Ltd "Criminal", Ice-T's "Original gangster", Wire Train's "I will not fall" and Sheryl Crow's "Hundreds of tears" and the last song of the film "Nobody rides for free" by the metal band Ratt. So overall the film has a pretty good soundtrack.    

FLAWS (Warning may feature spoilers!) 

So getting onto the flaws, does Point Break have some worth mentioning???  Well yeah it does.

And to kick off while it is very entertaining it is also quite cheesy at times and one scene that sticks in my mind that is really silly is when Bodhi and his gang playball American football with Utah, as it just seems a bit macho and naff.  And what is even more daft about that scene is that Utah isn't even formerly introduced to Bodhi and his crew until Bodhi twigs who he is himself, realising that Utah was once a quarterback football player! I mean they meet the guy and play football with him and don't even ask him his name??!! Perhaps Johnny told them his first name but it seems bizarre that it took until Johnny tackled Bodhi in the water before they got to that bit. 

It also has to be said that Bodhi as a character is also up his own ass and while he has the charisma to engage his gang and Utah, he is also somewhat delusional and lives in his own dreamworld.  And Swayze's corniest line in the film comes when Bodhi says to his gang "What's the matter with you guys? This was never about the money, this was about us against the system. That system that kills the human spirit. We stand for something. We are here to show those guys that are inching their way on the freeways in their metal coffins that the human sprit is still alive!". Shut up, Bodhi!     

It also seems strange that such an inexperienced FBI agent as Utah would be put on a high profile case in the first place, as he is just signed up with his older partner in Pappas and off they go!  But then again perhaps that's how it works down there! ;-).  I also think its a bit silly how Utah and Pappas suss out that the ex-presidents are surfers purely from videotape footage of one of the robber's mooning their ass!  So the case was in a way eventually unravelled thanks to an ass! Literally! Well that and a ponytail hair from one of the other robbers, so an ass hair and a ponytail was the ex-president's undoing!  

So if it wasn't for that robber (who was Roach) mooning his ass and for the surfers having ponytails they would have gotten away with it scot free!! Plus Roach decided to moon his ass again while surfing later in the film, which get's them rumbled AGAIN! In fact, Roach basically sunk the whole crew by doing this and Bodhi really should have told him to cut it out.  

And another issue I have is the whole sub-plot of Utah and Pappas doing a raid on the wrong surfing gang only to find an undercover DEA agent was already on the gang's case.  Now surely to God if this man was an undercover FBI agent they would have checked with the other departments of the FBI that someone was already working on the case of this gang in the first place!!  But instead Utah and Pappas are allowed to go ahead with the raid and screw things up but realistically this is something that should have been checked by their superior, Harp, before it even went ahead! 

I also found the whole concept of Utah still bonding with Bodhi and his crew and going for a sky dive AFTER finding out they are in fact the ex-presidents was a bit daft to say the least!  I mean its almost like after they share the amazing experience of skydiving and bonding together as they do it, is enough for Utah to let things slide! 

But of course in the end Bodhi brings it all crashing down to earth when he shows Utah the tape of Lori tied up and being held at knifepoint.  Now that I can almost buy that bit but the whole bonding experience before it just makes it all that more stupid!  It would have made more sense for Bodhi just to try and summon Utah to drive along with him to the van to show him the video rather than go through a whole elaborate skydirve in the first place!  But I guess Bodhi did the sky dive to gain Utah's trust before landing him in it.       

There is also some inconsistency in continuity where Johnny is supposed to have injured his leg and we see him limp in some scenes but in others he doesn't limp at all. As an example, we see Johnny limp when Bodhi drops by to take him skydiving and then also after he exits the van when Bodhi shows him the blackmail video of Tyler. However during the bank robbery, we never see Johnny limp nor do we see him limp when he confronts Bodhi at the airfield as he even runs over to Angelo with ease after he is shot. So, there is definitely some continuity issues with Johnny's injury to be found here. 

I also found it a bit silly how during their last robbery that Bodhi suddenly wants his guys to rob the vault of the bank when they should know full well that it burns more time and increases the risks of them being caught. Even Bodhi's man, Roach says that its a bad idea and they never go to the vault, so why start now and we see how it all turns out as a result! I guess greed got the better of Bodhi in that moment but it was still a pretty dumb decision. 

Then we have the ridiculous moment where Utah jumps out of the plane after Bodhi, who already dived out wearing his parachute, only for Utah to catch up with him and hold a gun to his head and threaten him to pull the rip chord but Bodhi refuses to and insists that Utah do it and Utah pulls it out just at the last second before they impact and land on the ground!  Now there is no way in hell they would have survived the impact with Utah having opened the parachute maybe just merely maybe a few hundred feet from the ground!  And in this case in reality they would have been what Bodhi said just before they landed "meat waffles!" instead!  

Its also very unrealistic that Johnny could have even been able to skydive out the plane after Bodhi WIHOUT wearing a parachute pack on his back! However, there is a known form of skydiving known as banzai diving, where a diver will jump out of their plane without their chute and it is thrown out to them and there has been some incidents of skydivers surviving without a parachute but these are very rare I'd imagine.

And last of all I find it bizarre how the FBI would allow Utah to stay on the case to find Bodhi when he had in fact been framed earlier by Bodhi and his gang for robbery and arrested by Harp.  I guess Utah either has amazing powers of persuasion that let him stay on the case or maybe he cut a deal with them to capture Bodhi and then after that his career would be over, which might have been possible given that we see Johnny throw his badge away at the end.

Anyway so that's it for the flaws. 

SUM UP

So to sum up, Point Break is still a very entertaining action film that is packed with some exciting action sequences and some good performances from the lead cast, particularly Swayze and Busey and even if Reeves struggles with the film's more dramatic moments at times (his ridiculous "No!!" line delivery  and "I am an F...B...I agent!!" being a case in point).  

The film however of course is pretty ridiculous and cheesy aswell as over the top at times and its whole plot is far from solid and is simply more fantasy than anything else and is hardly realistic.  But if you can forgive all this then there is still much to enjoy with Point Break and after 35 years its still worth checking out.

And I will give Point Break:

8.9 out of 10 

So, that's it for this one guys and I will be back soon with another post next month. 

Until then its bye for now!  

 

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, since we are into July now, its time for another post and this one is a NEW one (I know!) and will be on a video game I recently played, which is the acclaimed Nintendo Switch action adventure, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. 

So, this game received multiple acclaim on its release for its open world design and general gameplay and given its the kind of game up my street and having never tried a Zelda game before, I figured I would start with this one. 

So, does the game live up to the hype? Well, let's find out!

I will say about the plot below, so the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!

STORY

So, I won't say too much about the story but I will start with the beginning where the main playable character and protagonist, Link, a young warrior from the Kingdom of Hyrule, awakes from a 100 year slumber to find himself in the Great Plateau. On exploring the area, Link soon finds a mysterious cloaked old man, who helps him out and gives him a few pointers on survival but also requests he find items called shrine orbs, which in return he will award Link his paraglider. 

And on completing the task to find four shrine orbs, the old man soon reveals his true identity as Rhoam, the Kind of Hyrule's spirit. Rhoam tells Link that his memory has been lost due to his 100 year sleep and that Hyrule has been taken over by an evil malignant lifeform known as the Ganon, which has also corrupted four guardians of Hyrule once known as the Divine Beasts. Rhoam then tasks Link with locating and freeing the beasts from Ganon's control in order to weaken and destroy him as well as in an effort to also help Princess Zelda (who Link was the sworn protector to a 100 years ago) restore peace to Hyrule itself.

THOUGHTS 

Well, this game often appears on the greatest video games of all times lists and even some say its the greatest game of all time and for the most its easy to see why it get's the love it received as BOTW is a highly enjoyable and engrossing adventure game, which has a truly open world and feels really expansive and fun 

to explore. The game also has that typical Nintendo cartoonish charm as the characters all have a cute, cosy, charming look and feel to them, which is a welcome to change from the more gritty RPGs we are accustomed to these days. However, the exploration really is the big bonus here as the world is so big and it feels genuinely like you can really explore every inch of it. There are some drawbacks to be found here and there but I will get to them a bit later but overall this is definitely an excellent solid action adventure game.

GAMEPLAY

Moving onto the gameplay, this is is of course where I will split this section into sub-sections as below.

MOVEMENT

Starting with movement, your playable character Link is seen in a third person perspective and he has a mix of standard moves to be expected in these games. So, Link can run, jump, crouch and is also a very adept climber as he can traverse mountains, buildings and other structures to get to another area. Link can also use a paraglider to glide off high points to travel greater distances to reach his objectives or points of interest. The only issue here is to watch out for Link's stamina, which will drain as he runs or jumps and this is also notable when he swims, as Link will drown if his stamina wheel depletes. 

COMBAT

As for the combat, Link can carry a variety of weapons such as swords, great swords, short swords, curved swords, hammers and spears as well as bows. Link doesn't have any stat requirement for the weapons, so he can pick up and use any weapon he finds without issue. The big issue however with weapons in the game is durability, as every weapon Link finds will break after so many attacks and if you want the same one, you need to find it elsewhere. There are a handful of weapons that can be repaired however, which are connected to the four main bosses in the game and another special weapon, the Master sword, which doesn't break but does require a lot of HP for Link to use.

WORLD MAP AND TOWERS

As for the world map of the game, BOTW's map similar to Elden Ring is split into sections but these sections can only be accessed by climbing tall towers found in different regions of the game. Link can use an item called the Sheikah slate to access points in these towers that opens up the sections of the map. The game map will also show names of places such as villages, stables, lakes, ruins or domains that Link can travel to. You can also make use of pins to mark places or points of interest while exploring as well as stamps that use different icons to differentiate between items you want. 

HORSEBACK 

Link can also travel the world (or parts of it) by riding horses but this does require finding wild horses out in the open fields and sneaking up on them to mount them before taming them to ride them. After this, Link will be able to ride the horse as his own and he can also pat it to calm it down should it get a bit agitated.  

ENEMIES

As for enemies, Link will find plenty of them in the game and they can vary in levels of challenge with some being quite weak to very powerful ones that can literally one-shot Link. Some of the enemies Link will encounter include the Bokoblins, who are the standard field enemies who vary in strength. Then there are the Mobilins, who are a stronger more powerful enemy that can deal a lot of damage. Then there are the Chuchu, which are round blobs that come in different sizes, Keese, who are bat-like creatures that often fly in swarms. As for more powerful enemies there are the Lynel, who are minotaur like creatures that deal alot of damage with their bows and perhaps the most dangerous are the Guardians, who can deal devastating damage as they can track Link with their eye lasers. 

NPCs

As for the NPCs in the game, there are plenty to be found in the game as Link will bump into many characters on his travels, most of which will look for favours, which result in a side mission for Link to complete. Some of these missions can also form as part of the main quest of the game but most of them will be side quests but they are worth doing as Link can stand gain some useful items and weapons.

SHRINES

Moving onto the shrines, as Link explores the world, he will find some shrines where on entering them, he will undergo trials in order to gain a key item, called a shrine orb and if you get four of these at a time, Link can either upgrade his health or his stamina. There are 120 shrines in total in the game, some of which features actual trials but others just require getting to them, which in itself can be a challenge. 

SHEIKAH SLATE

Another key item in the game is the already mentioned Sheikah slate, which has multiple uses that Link can stand to benefit from. For starters, the slate can perform magic abilities such as remote bombs, which Link can throw and detonate at enemies or to blow up blocked passageways, Magensis, which can works as a magnet that can move objects as well as Stasis, which allows Link to freeze objects or enemies in time (temporarily) so he can attack or move them. The slate can also be used to capture photographs of items or points of interest, so they can be targetted for future use e.g., the sensor can be used to detect shrines and it will beep as Link get's nearer one but he can also use it to target other items such as ore deposits or mushrooms.

COOKING ITEMS & CONSUMABLES 

Another key item in the game are consumables that can be cooked using various cooking pots that are found throughout the game. Link can use these pots to mix up items for food that will restore his health but can also have other properties as well that can boost his stamina, strength and his stealth abilities as well build up his physical defence and attack power. So, as an example Link can mix mushrooms together to create skewers that will boost his HP and in some cases beyond his actual health as he will have additional hearts. Link can also make elixirs that also provide resistances and enhancements to Link similar to the mushrooms but with longer lasting effects.  

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

One thing that is also quite important in the game are the changing weather conditions depending on the time of day but also the areas that Link will visit. In some regions such as Mount Hylia the weather is very cold and Link will need to either find armour that gives him cold resistance or mix some mushrooms or an elixir that increases his resistance. In others such as Goron city, the weather is incredibly hot and Link will need to find armour that can boost his heat resistance or again take consumables that will increase his resistance. There are also areas where there is heavy rain and thunder and lightning, which can prove lethal as Link can be struck by lightning if he wears any metallic armour and has any metal weapons equipped.

LINK'S MEMORIES (PLOT SPOILER WARNING!!)

Another key aspect of the game is to do with Link's memories, as he underwent a 100 year slumber, on reawakening he lost his memory, so there is a side mission where Link needs to rediscover key areas, which will trigger his memory of events from his past. So, if you want to complete this, there are 18 memories in total, which require a LOT of travel in order to reach them all.

GRAPHICS

Moving onto the graphics, BOTW like all the other Zelda games follows the same visual style with a painterly art quality that also mixes in aspects of Japanese anime and provides a very subdue colour palette compared to most other games. I actually admit to finding this a bit of an eye strain at first as I was not used to the Zelda series, however on upgrading to the Switch 2 version of the game, I was immediately more impressed by the game's graphics. The game's visual style is very pleasing to the eye in the upgrade with some nice fine details added in and the improved presentations allows for slightly more vivid colours than the Switch 1 version. The characters are also nicely rendered retaining their art style but with a higher resolution from the base 900p on Switch 1 to the 1440p on Switch 2. 

Overall, the graphics are not world beating and won't best the best of today's AAA games but they're distinctive style works very well and look impressive. 

MUSIC

Moving on the music, the score was composed by Manaka Katoaka and Yasuaki Iwata, which is excellent and heavily piano driven but also features moments of orchestration as well. The score features some standout moments such as the theme for Link travelling to Hyrule Castle, Link travelling to the stables, Link meeting the great fairy and of course the theme for Link travelling in the Lost Woods as well as the Goron city theme, which sounds like it belongs in a Crash Bandicoot game! So, its a very impressive and memorable score that is both charming and catchy in equal measure.

FLAWS

As for flaws...yes well BOTW isn't quite perfect and does have some.

For starters one of my biggest complaints is simply to do with weapon durability (or lack thereof!) as virtually every weapon Link picks up will break at some point, which can really suck. This is especially annoying if you get a later game weapon you really like and is effective damage wise and it suddenly breaks on you, there is no way to replace it unless you return to the same place you got it later on. There are a few special weapons that can be remade if they break however but that's about it, everything else permanently breaks, which is a real pain.

Another issue is to do with the fact that Link has a LOT of running and traversal to do on foot in the game as he travels between areas to get to his objectives. These however to an extent can be mitigated by finding a horse in the wild and taming it but even this can be a pain, as the horses can easily knock you off (unlike in Red Dead games!) and there are still areas where horseback riding is not recommended or practical. 

I also discovered that there are some pretty complex and gruelling puzzles in the game, which can be really difficult to work on your own. In fact its safe to say I would not have got through this game without the help of Youtube videos because there are definitely puzzles that had me completely stumped as what to do. This is especially true of when Link has to navigate inside the divine beasts and need to rotate their bodies in different directions to access areas. So, yeah this game is definitely not easy to complete without a guide. 

Another problem is to do with the nature of the fast travel as you can only use the shrines to travel between areas but it would have been nice if they added in further travel points in addition to the shrines. This is especially true to the final area of the game, where there is a brutal runback to the final boss if you did not grab the shrine within that area. So, for me this is where the game is bit backward and definitely not that forgiving. 

Last of all is an issue I had with the menu system for items, weapons and armour as it can involve a lot of tedious scrolling to find an item or consumable you might want to use. Now, to be fair there is a quick access menu for weapons, shields and the slate magic abilities but everything requires a lot of scrolling to find what you need, which really breaks the flow of the game and can become annoying.

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, The Legend of Zelda: BOTW is undoubtedly an excellent game in my opinion and I can easily see why it get's the acclaim it does due to its fun and expansive open world exploration, not to mention its cute and likeable character designs. The game's art style is also very unique and works very well and the Switch 2 edition is a big upgrade over the original and the soundtrack is also excellent and very memorable. 

There are some issues with the game of course such as the poor durability of weapons and lack of being able to repair nearly all of them, despite a few exceptions. The game also has quite a few complex puzzles, which really require a guide to get through them and the exploration on foot can get tedious at times when you don't have a fast travel point (or a horse!). 

But that all aside, this is still a highly entertaining game with a great deal to enjoy and explore and its right up there with the very best adventure games of its kind. 

So, with that I will rate BOTW:

9 out of 10

So, that's it for now and I will be back soon with another post and until then its bye for now! 

 

The Blues Brothers "Me and the lord, we have an understanding!"

 

 

 

 

 

So, just for a change, I thought I would yet another review revisit (shock surprise lol!) and this one will be on a film I reviewed a good few years back and watched again recently, which is the musical comedy, The Blues Brothers. 

So, let's see how this film fairs some 46 years later after its original release. 

So before I begin, there is the usual warning coming up...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

So the film begins with "Joliet" Jakes Blues (John Belushi) being released from prison having served a three year sentence for armed robbery.  Jake is picked up outside the prison by his brother, Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) in a battered police car, which is their Blues mobile.  Shortly after they stop off and visit their former childhood home, an orphanage where they meet with Sister Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman) who tells them that the orphanage is due to close down unless they pay a property tax of $5,000.  Jake says they can get they money quickly, however the Sister refuses to accept any money they would rip off from anyone, and she chastises them when they start cursing and tells them to get out and not come back until they redeem themselves.

Jake and Elwood then meet with Curtis (Cab Calloway) who also helps out at the home and has known the brothers since their childhood, and he tells them to go to church.  And they both reluctantly go to an evangelical church where they listen to a music sermon lead by Rev Cleophus James (James Brown).  During the sermon, Jake has a revelation that they can get the money they need by getting their band back together.

Elwood afterward that night is pulled over by the police for failing to stop at a red signal, and the two police troopers check his licence and see that it is currently suspended and when they officers ask him to step out the car, he speeds off.  Elwood then in an effort to escape the police crashes through a shopping mall and eventually shakes them off and arrives at his temporary abode, which is a broken down motel, when all of a sudden a mysterious woman (Carrie Fisher) fires a rocket launcher at them both and drives off, they both survive unscathed and enter the hotel.  The next morning the woman comes back and sets off explosives which destroy the building but again the brothers are left not injured they simply leave to locate their band members.

And en route they stop off at different places to recruit the band, which includes Trombonist, Tom "Bones" Malone, the drummer Willie "Too Big" Hall, rythyhm guitarist Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, bass player Donald "Duck" Dunn, trumpeter Alan Rubin, "Blue Lou" Marina the saxophonist, and lastly Matt "Murph" Murphy the lead guitarist.

However as they progress they begin to make more enemies, not just the police, but also a group of Illinois Nazis.  The Brothers and the band then play in a country bar, posing as the country and western group "The Good Ole Boys" only to be later confronted by the real band when they leave, lead by Tucker McElroy (Charles Napier).  Jake and Elwood hightail it and drive off leaving the owner, Bob (Jeff Morris) without paying the beer tab, who with Tucker go after Jake and Elwood only to collide with the two police officers that pulled over Elwood earlier on.   

Next up Jake and Elwood meet up with Maurie Sline (Steve Lawrence) their old booking agent and they manage to persuade him to book a gig for them at the Palace Hotel ballroom, near Chicago.  However as the brothers go around the city advertising the gig, they run out of gas and they eventually get there late and perform their set, after a slow start they win over the audience.

However the venue is also filled with police officers waiting to arrest Jake and Elwood and during their set the two of them dance off the stage, where a record producer waits for them and offers them a recording contract deal and $10,000 upfront, which they accept as it will be more than enough to pay the debt for the orphanage, and they both leave quietly, leaving the band to play on.

And from here Jake and Elwood have a massive challenge ahead of them in trying to get to the Cook county assessor's office to hand in the money as they chased by the Illinois Nazis, the Good Ole Boys, and dozens of police cars in an effort to apprehend them.....

THOUGHTS 

The Blues Brothers still to this day is a highly entertaining comedy and for me is one of the very few musical comedies that works really well and the tracks don't annoy or interfere with the pacing of the film, but its also helped by the fact the choice of blues song are excellent (basically I'm not a fan of musicals!).  The characters themselves originally appeared in the Saturday night live show as a musical sketch.  The film itself was a moderate commercial success on its release although it was critically well received and later gained a cult following, especially when it was released on VHS video.

It was also up to that point in time one of the most expensive films ever made as well as the budget was in excess of 30 million dollars, which is certainly shown in the film's hectic car chase scenes where Elwood wrecks a shopping mall and where an army of police and military hunt down the brothers toward the end of the film.  However part of this cost was also attributed to Belushi's partying and drug abuse, which caused significant delays in filming when the actor would spend hours partying and on cocaine, resulting in many hours and days wasted in the schedule.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers and strong language!)

Performance wise The Blues Brothers is very good overall with a strong cast all in fine form.

Starting with the late John Belushi providing his career defining role as "Joliet" Jake Blues, the charismatic conman, who get's his band back together to help raise the money to save the orphanage. Belushi would later die in 1982, aged only 33 from a drug overdose of cocaine and heroin.

Belushi has plenty of good scenes in the film, such as the first scene where Elwood picks up Jake from prison and the two of them drive off in Elwood's Dodge Sedan police car. So, in the scene, Jake irritably asks Elwood "What the hell is this?!" and Elwood asks "What?" and Jake angrily says "This car!  This stupid car!".  So, Jake then asks "Where's the Cadillac?!  The Caddy?  Where's the Caddy?!" and Elwood says "I traded it" and Jake asks "You traded the Blues mobile for this?!" and Elwood says "No, for a microphone" and Jake takes a moment and sarcastically says "OK. I can see that!".  Jake then asks re: the car "What the hell is this?" and Elwood says "This was a bargain. I picked it up at the Mount Prospect city police auction last spring. It's an old Mount Prospect police car. They were practically giving 'em away!".  Jake then angrily says "Well, thank you, pal! The day I get out of prison, my own brother picks me up in a POLICE car!". 

Then there is the scene where Jake and Elwood arrive at the orphanage and Jake asks "What are we doing here??" Elwood says to him "You told the Penguin you'd visit her, the day you got out" and Jake says "Yeah, so I lied to her" and Elwood says "You can't lie to a nun.  We gotta go in there and visit the Penguin." and Jake defiantly says "No fucking way!".  However, Elwood decisively gets out of the car to go in, leaving Jake little choice but to follow him.

Another good scene is when Jake is at the gospel church and Rev Cleophus asks him "Do you see the light?!" as a holy light bathes the church and covers Jake and he remembers the band and he says to himself "The band!".  And as the Rev repeats the question "Do you see the light?!" Jake yells "YES! YES! JESUS H. TAPDANCING CHRIST I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT!!!" and he proceeds to somersault his way to the front of the church and dances with the choir members and somersaults back to Elwood shouts "The band, Elwood!  The band!!!".  And Elwood looks at Jake for a moment and he too has the same revelation and he shouts "The band!" and the Rev shouts "Praise the Lord!" and Elwood shouts out "And God bless the United States of America!".  

And then we have the scene where Jake and Elwood track down the rythym section of their band, who have now formed their own band, Murph and Magic Tones, which J and E find in a club playing some cheesy Spanish music. So, afterward, they meet with Jake and Elwood and Jake tells them "You were the backbone of a great rythym and blues band.  You can make that band live, breathe and jump again!".  Jake then mockingly says "Murph and the Magic Tones?!  Look at you in those candy-ass uniforms!".  And as the drummer, Willie "Too Big" Hall says to Jake and Elwood that they will never get a hold of Matt "Guitar" Murphy and Mr Big, the trumpeter, Jake says "Oh yeah?  Well, me and the Lord, we have an understanding!". 

Then we have the scene where Jake and Elwood turn up at a fancy restaurant where Mr Big, their former band trumpeter, is now the maitre'd who they try and get back.  And Jake turns to the table next to theirs as he spies a wealthy family and he teases the snobbish father by saying "How much for the little girl? How much for your children! Sell me you're daughters!". Mr Big then comes in pushes Jake away from them and Jake tries to persuade Mr Big to join the band again but he refuses. So, Jake says to him "If you say no, Elwood and I will come here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the week!". Elwood then takes a large piece of doughy bread and thrusts it into his mouth and Mr Big finally gives in and says "OK!  OK!  I'll play!  You got me!" so Jake and Elwood, satisfied, then leave. 

And then we ge to the scene where Jake finally faces Carrie Fisher's character, the un-named Mystery Woman, who was a bride he jilted at the altar in the muddy tunnel after they leave the Palace Hotel ballroom gig.  So, as the woman has Jake in her sights with her M16, Jake get's down on his knees and begs "OH PLEASE DON'T KILL US!!!  PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T KILL US!! It wasn't my fault! I had a flat tyre, my car ran out of gas, there was an earthquake!  A terrible flood!  Locusts! Look it wasn't my fault I swear to GOD!!!".  And he takes off his shades for the first time in the film and woos the woman into kissing him but after they kiss, Jake casually drops her into the mud and says to Elwood "Let's go!" and they scarper! 

Dan Aykroyd is also excellent as Elwood Blues, Jake's cool headed brother who get's Jake into a heap load of trouble by getting the entire Chicago police force on their asses, after failing to stop at a red light and also for trashing a shopping mall.

Aykroyd shares the limelight with Belushi and he too has his share of highlights such as the scene where Elwood picks up Jake from prison and Jake clealy doesn't like the new car. So, Elwood asks "You don't like it?" and Jake looks at him and says "No, I don't like it".  So, Elwood then revs the car and drives it over an open drawbridge and it lands safely on the other side. Jake then changes his mind and says "Car's got a lot of pick up".  Elwood then tells Jake "It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas. What do you say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?". Jake then lights a cigarette with his lighter and says "Fix the cigarette lighter" (which Jake had thrown away) and they both smile. 

Then there is of course that scene where Elwood goes through a red light (or rather a yellow light going red) and is spotted by two police troopers, who tail them.  And as Elwood notices the troopers in his rear view, he and Jake share a brief but classic exchange:

Elwood: Shit!
Jake: What?
Elwood: Rollers!
Jake: No!
Elwood: Yeah!
Jake: Shit!

This is then followed by the moment where the cops, pull over Elwood and he asks one of them, Trooper Daniel who comes over "What did I do?" and Daniel says "You failed to stop at a red signal" and Elwood says "The light was yellow, sir".  So, the trooper takes Elwood's licence and registration away to run a check on it, and afterward, Jake exclaims "Goddamn it!!" and Elwood tells him "Man, I haven't been pulled over for six months".  Elwood then says "I bet those cops have got SCMODS" and Jake, puzzled, asks "SCMODS?" and Elwood explains the abbreviation "State County Municipal Offender Data System".  And as the troopers sees that Elwood has a whole load of traffic tickets and parking violations on him, the trooper goes back to his car and says "Elwood, we see you license is your currently on suspension. Step out of the car please" but Elwood instead drives away, which begins their chase with the cops.

And as Jake says to Elwood "First, you trade the Cadillac for a microphone, the you lie to me about the band...now you're gonna put me right back in the joint!". However, Elwood then says his often repeated line in the film "They're not gonna catch us!  We're on a mission from God!" but Jake looks angrily at him and says "Elwood!".   

Another good scene is when Jake and Elwood evade the cops and make it back to the motel where Elwood stays and they narrowly avoid being blown up by the mystery woman outside the front entrance! So, they go upstairs to Elwood's room and Jake sits on Elwood's bed and he asks Elwood "How are you gonna get the band back together, Mr Hotrodder?!  Those cops have got your name, your address...".  Elwood however corrects him and says "No, they haven't got my address.  I falsified my renewal!  I put 1060, West Addison" and Jake asks "1060, West Addison? That's Wrigley Field!" and Elwood smiles and nods.  Elwood then says "I gotta hit the sack..." however he sees that Jake has already fallen asleep on his bed and Elwood shouts at him "Hey, you sleaze!  That's my bed!" but he relents and covers over Jake and he sleeps in his chair instead.

Also during the sequence where they advertised the Palace Hotel ballroom gig whilst driving out in their car and he says over a megaphone, which is strapped to the hood of their car "You on the motorcycle!  You two girls!  Tell your friends!".  And of course Elwood drives the car down by the beach and they are surrounded by girls in skimpy bikinis and Elwood speaking through the megaphone announces "And of course its ladies night tonight at the Palace Hotel ballroom!".  

Then there is of course the scene where Jake and Elwood finally take to the stage at the ballroom infront of a large crowd, they leap onto the stage but the crowd look unimpressed and silent, so Jake nervously tells the band to start anyway.

So, as the band begin to play Wilson Picket's version of "Everybody needs somebody to love" Elwood addresses the crowd on the mic "We're so glad to see so many of you lovely people here tonight. And we would especially like to welcome all the representatives of Illinois's law enforcement community that have chosen to join us here in the Palace Hotel Ballroom at this time. We certainly hope you all enjoy the show. And remember, people, that no matter who you are and what you do to live, thrive and survive, there still some things that makes us all the same. You. Me. Them. Everybody. Everybody!".  

Dan also has a funny line after so many attempts on their life by the mystery woman, where she confronts them in the muddy tunnel he finally asks Jake "Who IS that girl???".  And after Jake manages to prevent the mystery woman from killing himself and Elwood, Jake kisses her and then drops her in the mud and says to Elwood "Let's go!" and Elwood walks past and says "Take it easy!" and he runs after Jake.   

And last of all is the scene where Jake and Elwood sneak out of the gig back to their car as they prepare for their trip to Chicago with the money for the orphanage.  So, Elwood says to Jake "Its 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, its dark and we're wearing sun glasses" and Jake says "Hit it!" and Elwood drives off out of a tunnel, which knocks off the loud megaphone that was attached to the car. 

And in addition to the various musicians in the film, which I will get to I will also mention a few of the supporting performers such as John Candy, who is as good as ever in his role as Elwood's parole officer, Burton Mercer.

And John has a couple of good scenes I will mention such as the one where Mercer takes the two cops, Officer Mount and Trooper Daniel (who chased the brothers the night befre) to the motel where Elwood is actually staying with Jake.  So, Mercer tells them "This gentleman is the elegant abode of one Elwood Blues" and Office Mount says "Thank you for your help" and Mercer says to him "You know, I kinda like the Wrigley field bit!" and Mount angrily says "Yeah, real cute!". 

Then there is the scene where Mercer, who rides along with Mount and Daniel, who pursue Jake and Elwood on the road but they end up crashing the car into a passing truck.  So, we see that Mount has his police hat torn and Daniel is lying on the car floor.  So, Mercer asks for the mic, which Daniel passes him and Mercer speaks into the mic and says "This is um...what number are we?" and a deadpan Mount says "55!".  So Mercer smiles and says into the mic "This is car 55! Um...we're in a truck!!".

Carrie Fisher also puts in an amusing performance as Jake's crazed bride to be whom he left at the altar, and her repeated attempts to kill the brothers are hilarious, which include her using a flamethrower which sets fire to and ignites a fuel tank next to the call booth Jake and Elwood are in, which sends the booth sky high!

And in her last scene with Jake she explains the situation and says to Jake "I remained celibate for you. I stood at the back of a cathedral, waiting, in celibacy, for you, with three hundred friends and relatives in attendance! My uncle hired the best Romanian caterers in the state! To obtain the seven limousines for the wedding party, my father used up his last favor with Mad Pete Trullo! So for me, for my mother, my grandmother, my father, my uncle, and for the common good, I must now kill you, and your brother!".  But then as Jake makes his impassioned plea to save his life, he takes off his glasses in a list ditch attempt to woo her and it works as the woman smiles and says "Oh, Jake!  Jake, honey!".  So, Jake then takes her in his arms and kisses her only to drop her in the mud in a moment later and she angrily get's up after them and once they drive off, the woman opens fire with her M16 but misses the car completely.  

Henry Gibson is also great in his part as the leader of the Neo-Nazi party and he has two scenes worth mentioning. Starting with the one where the Nazi leader addresses a large, angry crowd as they do their demonstration.  And the leader addresses the crowd using a megaphone "White men! White women! The swastika is calling you. The sacred and ancient symbol of your race, since the beginning of time. The Jew is using The Black as muscle against you. And you are left there helpless. Well, what are you going to do about it, Whitey? Just sit there? Of course not! You are going to join with us. The members of the American Socialist White Peoples' Party. An organization of decent, law abiding white folk. Just like you!".

However, as Jake and Elwood as a policeman what is going on, the cop tells them "Those bums won their court case today, so they're marching" and Jake asks "Who are marching?" and the cop says "The fucking Nazi party!". Elwood shakes his head and says "Illinois Nazis!" and Jake says "I hate Illinois Nazis!" and Elwood starts up the car and drives over the bridge where the Nazis are, forcing them to jump over the bridge into the water.  So, after that, the soaked leader shouts to his subordinate "Gruppenfuhrer!  Get that car's license plate number!  We're gonna kill that son of a bitch!".

And then there is the scene where the Nazis turn up outside Wrigley field (which is a baseball stadium and also the address Elwood gave on his renewal). So, the Nazi leader addresses his men "Anybody with that kind of record is gonna make a mistake. I want all party members in the tri-state district to monitor the city, county and state police on their CBs. Mr. Blues is gonna fuck up, and when he does... he better pray the police get to him before we do!".

Charles Napier is also funny in his brief role as the leader of the Good Ole Boys, Tucker McElroy and I will quickly mention two of his scenes, starting with the one where Jake pretends to be music rep to distract Tucker and the band.

So, Jake says to Tucker "My name is Jacob Stein. I'm from the American Federation of Music. I've been sent to see if you gentlemen are carrying your permits" and Tucker asks "Our what?" and Jake says "Your union cards. May I see your cards pleases?".  So, Tucker smiles in disbelief and says "Well, suppose we ain't got no union cards and go in there and start playin' anyway? Whatcha gonna do about that? You gonna stop us, Stein? Ha. You're gonna look pretty funny tryin' to eat corn on the cob with no fuckin' teeth!".

And lastly there is the scene where after Jake and Elwood flee the concert at the Palace hotel ballroom, they are pursued by the cops, the Nazis and also of course, Tucker and the country club owner, Bob.  However, Tucker ends up accidentally driving his truck into a lake and the men are all soaking wet and Bob looks at a furious Tucker, who warns him "Don't you say a fuckin' word!".

And lastly Twiggy, the model and singer who rose to fame in the 1980s also provides a brief but noteworthy role as a girl who stops off at the garage where Elwood and Jake are waiting for fuel to be delivered, and he chats her up, and even offers her to meet up at a nearby motel, when she considers and later on waits for Elwood at the motel, as he sighs impatiently.

So, in the scene Elwood fills up Twiggy's car with gas (or petrol in the UK!) and he tells her "OK, you're all set, that will be $94" so Twiggy gives her the cash and says "OK, here's 95, thank you, Elwood" and Elwood hands her a dollar and says "And here's your change" and Twiggy says "No, keep it" and Elwood says "Oh thanks". Elwood then leans in and says to her "So, if there's any chance your date doesn't work out tonight, there's a small motel out on the interstate, say we could meet at around midnight?" and Twiggy smiles and says "I'll think about it, Elwood. OK?" and she drives off. Only later on for us to see Twiggy wait impatiently outside the motel just around the same time Elwood and Jake are fleeing the cops. 

Jeff Morris is also pretty good in his role as Bob, the country club owner, who has some good moments in the film.

And I will mention two of his scenes where after the gig, Bob impressed with the band says "Shit, I wanna tell you, that's some of the best goddam music we've had... at the Country Bunker in a long time!".  So, after Jake asks about the money for the gig "That's right. Two hundred dollars... and you boys drank $300 worth of beer". Elwood then says "Well, we just figured that beer was complimentary" but Bob shakes his head and says "No, uh-uh!".  So, Jake after a pause "Well, I'll take up a collection from the boys" and Bob says "Yeah, well I sure would appreciate it".

And then there is the scene just after where Jake and Elwood hightail it from Bob's bar and distract the real "Good ole boys" band. So, after they drive off, Tucker runs up to Bob and asks "Where they guys from?  The union?!" and Bob angrily says "What the hell, ''union''? Those boys skipped out of here owing me a lot of money for beer!".  Bob then looks at Tucker and his band in their country outfits "What the hell are you guys all dressed up for?!" and Tucker tells him "We're the Good ole boys!" and Bob looks at them in disbelief asks "YOU'RE the Good Ole Boys???!". 

Kathleen Freeman next is also good in her role as Sister Mary Stigmata, aka the Penguin, who tasks Jake and Elwood to get the money to save the orphanage where they were raised.

And Kathleen has some good moments in her main scene where she tells Jake and Elwood about her plight and she needs $5000 for the orphanage. And Jake tells her "Five grand? No problem! We'll get it for you by the morning! Let's go, Elwood!" however the Sister angrily stops him from going and shouts "No, no!! I will not take your filthy stolen money!". So, Jake says "Well then, I guess you're really up shit creek" and the Sister hits Jake with her stick and he cries out in pain.  The Sister than calmly asks Jake "I beg your pardon, what did you say?".  So, Jake says "I offered to help you..." and the Sister politely says "Mmm hmm" and Jake continues "...you refused to take our money..." and she says "Mmm hmm" again and Jake says "...and I said "I guess you're really up shit creek".

So, the Sister hits Jake again, who cries out and Elwood pitches in and says "Christ, Jake, take it easy!" but the Penguin then hits Elwood and he shouts "Oww shit!" and as she hits the two men as they keep swearing at her until Elwood suddenly shouts "Oww, you fat penguin!" and she breaks her stick on Elwood's head, who runs out.  The Sister, however keeps on hitting Jake with another stick as he tries to shuffle out the room, still in his seat, but he soon falls down the stairs and the seat breaks on impact and Jake and Elwood look up at the Sister, who looks disapprovingly at them from the top of the stairs.

And the Sister tells them both "You are such a disappointing pair. I prayed so hard for you. It saddens and hurts me that the two young men whom I raised to believe in the Ten Commandments have returned to me as two thieves, with filthy mouths and bad attitudes. Get out, and don't come back until you've redeemed yourselves!". The Sister then glides back into her office and the door magically slams shut behind her! 

And last of all on the "actor" cast front is Steve Lawrence as Maury Sline, a booking agent who arranges for Jake and Elwood to play their gig at the Palace Hotel ballroom to raise the money they need for the orphanage. 

So, in the scene, Jake and Elwood are in a sauna, chatting with Maury and Jake tells "Come on, Maury. We need 5000 bucks fast!" and Maury laughs and asks "5000?! Who do you think you are the Beatles?!".  And as Jake has a thought, he asks Maury "Say...how is Mrs Sline? I have some information she might like to know..." and Maury smiles and asks "Are you blackmailing me, Jake?" and Jake says "If you wanna put it that way..." and he says urgently "Maury, we NEED this gig! You get us this gig and we'll pack it for miles around, what do you say?".  So, Maury after a beat says to him "Okay. I'll get you the Palace Hotel. I'll print up show bills. I'll make the place look real pretty, okay? I don't think you guys are gonna gross dollar one. But if you do, I want a taste of the gate, okay?". Jake then says "Thanks, Maury" and then he says "Let's go, boys!" and we see the whole band are in the sauna room aswell, all wearing towels around their waists!

As for the film's soundtrack and star musicians they provide a key part of the film's success and appeal starting with James Brown who provides a charismatic turn as the Rev. Cleophus James and a catchy number in the gospel church scene.  And he shouts to Jake, when he is bathed in holy light from the skies that goes through into the church "Do you see the light?!" and Jake has his revelation and says "The band!" and James shouts "Have you seen the light?!" and Jake yells "YES!  YES!  JESUS TAP DANCING, CHRIST!  I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT!".

Ray Charles also provides a good cameo as himself, as well as the owner of a music exchange store and he has a funny moment where he fires a gun near a young boy (played interestingly by De'voreaux White who later appeared as Argyle the limo driver in Die Hard!) trying to sneakily grab a Fender Stratocaster off the wall, and he says "Breaks my heart, a boy that young goin bad!".  And later after he plays the music number "Shake a tail feather" Jake says to Ray "OK, man. We'll take these axes" and Ray says "Naturally. And as usual, I gotta take an IOU!".

Aretha Franklin also puts in a really good performance as the wife of Matt Murphy who owns a diner, as she has Matt under her thumb and she warns Matt to "Think" about the consequences of his actions if he leaves to play with the band again.  In fact I think its safe to say that Aretha gives perhaps the best performance out of the guest artists in the film. 

So, in the scene, Mrs Murphy says to Matt after she has taken Jake and Elwood's order "We got two honkies out there dressed like Hasidic diamond merchants!" and Matt says "Say what?!" and she tells him "They look like they from the CIA or somethin!". Matt, curious, asks "What do they want to eat?" and Mrs Murphy tells him "The tall one wants white bread, toasted, dry, with nothing on it" and Matt suddenly looks excited and says to himself "Elwood".  Mrs Murphy then says "And the other one wants four whole fried chickens and a coke!" and Matt suddenly twigs who it is and he exclaims "That's Jake!  Shit!  The Blues Brothers!" and he goes out to see them.

However, Mrs Murphy is now willing to let Matt go as she tells Jake and Elwood "You ain't goin' back on the road no more, and you ain't playin' them ol' two-bit sleazy dives! You're livin' with me now, and you not gonna go slidin' around witcho ol' white hoodlum friends!".  Matt however tries to reason with her "But babies, this is Jake and Elwood, the Blues Brothers!" and Mrs Murphy looks at them in disbelief and exclaims "The BLUES BROTHERS??!! Shit! They still owe you money, fool!".

Mrs Murphy then berates Jake and Elwood when Elwood mentions they are on a mission from God and she shouts at them "Don't you blasphemy in here!  Don't you blasphemy in here!  This is my man, this is my restaurant, and you two are just gonna walk right out that door without your dry white toast, without your four fried chickens, and WITHOUT Matt 'Guitar' Murphy!".  Matt however says to her "Listen, I love you, but I am the woman and you are the woman and I will make the decisions regarding my life!".  Mrs Murphy then warns him "You better think about what you're doing! You better think about the consequences of your actions!" but Matt tells her "Oh, shut up, woman!" and she then breaks into the song "Think".

However at the end of the song, Matt decides to leave with Jake and Elwood and he says to them "Let's boogie!" and they walk out and Blue Lou (the saxophonist) who also works at the diner, looks to Mrs Murphy, who gives in and says to him "Well, go on, damn it!".  So, Blue Lou runs out after the others, leaving a very frustrated Mrs Murphy, who says to herself "Shit!".   

John Lee Hooker provides a catchy number as he puts in a brief cameo and plays his own track "Boom boom" however despite this he has no other lines of dialogue in the actual film.   

And last but not least is Cab Calloway who provides an excellent performance as Curtis and he has some good scenes, particularly his first scene where he tells Jake and Elwood after the Penguin tells them to get out.  So, Curtis says to Jake and Elwood "Boys, you're gonna have to learn not to talk to nuns that way!" and they both get up and shake his hand warmly. 

And in the next scene, Curtis tells him about how things are bad with the orphanage and says "Boys, things are bad. They gonna sell this place to the Board of Education... and I'll be out on the street. That money's got to be in the Cook County Assessor's Offiice within 11 days".  Jake asks Curtis "They wouldn't turn you out would they??" and Curtis says "Shit!  What's one more old nigger to the board of education!".  And then Curtis tells them "You know the sister is right. You boys sure could use a little churching" but Jake refuses and says "Curits, I don't wanna hear no jive-ass preacher talking to me about heaven and hell!" but Curtis insists "Jake, you get wise!  You go to church!".  

Then there is of course the scene where at the Palace hotel ballroom gig, the audience grow impatient as the Blues Brothers are yet to show up.  So, Curtis has an idea "Hey, you guys know "Minnie the Moocher?" and Murph says "I once knew a hooker named Minnie Mazola!" however Curits then says "No!  The SONG "Minnie the Moocher"!".  Steve Cropper, the guitarist then asks "Yeah, so what?" and Curtis shouts "Hit it!" and it cuts to the band playing the song all in fancy suits as Curits wears a white suit and he wins over the audience with his performance and scat singing. 

And lastly I will quickly mention the Blues Brothers band as they also get some good moments in the film such as Wille Hall, the band's drummer first meets with the brothers he says to Jake "So you're, you're free, you're rehabilitated?  So what's happenning?  What are you gonna do?  You got the money you owe us, motherfucker?!".

Murphy Dunne also does pretty well in his role as the band's keyboardist and his most notable scene is his first where the band are playing some cheesy Spanish lounge music. So, Murphy addresses the virtually non-existant crowd "Thank you. You're marvellous. Thank you. I'm Murph, and these are the Magic Tones. Steve ''The Colonel'' Cropper, Donald ''Duck'' Dunn... Willie ''Too Big'' Hall and Tom ''Bones'' Malone.We'll be back with the Magic Tones for the Armada Room's... two-hour disco swing party after this short break. Till then, don't you go changing!".

Alan Rubin as Mr Big also has some good moments such as when he speaks to Jake and Elwood at the restaurant and says to them "Come on guys, seriously the food is really expensive.  The soup is fucking ten dollars!" and later when they arrive at the Palace Hotel ballroom he says "its a fucking barn, we'll never fill it!".

Donald Dunn, the bass player also provides some funny and bizzare lines such as "Jake ain't lying, though. We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline!".  And later on after the band play the country bar gig, Willie says to the others "I say we give the Blues Brothers just one more chance" and Donald says "Why not?  If the shit fits, wear it!". 

Steve Cropper, the band's rythym guitar player, probably gives the smallest performance in the film out of the band members, so he has very little to say or do other than play guitar!  Well actually that award might go to Tom "Bones" Malone as the band's trombonist, as I'm not even sure if he has any lines of dialogue in the film!

And last of all is "Blue Lou" Marini as the band's saxophonist, who does actually a couple of noteworthy lines, such as the one where the band arrive at the country bar and they see a chicken wire fence up over the stage and Lou asks "Chicken wire???!".  And later as the band start their soul set, the country audience throw their beer bottles at the stage and boo at the band and Bob, turns off the lights.  So, as Matt suggests "Maybe they blew a fuse!" Lou tells him "I don't think so, man. Those lights are off on purpose!".    

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

Moving onto the direction, John Landis does a fine job with the film, although it was a rather turbulent production due to the problems with John Belushi's drug abuse and heavy partying, which partly contributed toward the film going way over budget from $17.5 million up to £30 million, as the production schedule suffered as a result.  But Landis nonetheless handles the film's comedy and musical sequences very well and it remains one of the best films of his career around a very fruitful period in his directing Hollywood films.    

The film's soundtrack is also terrific as you would expect for a blues musical, and there many tracks from different artists such as Aretha Franklin's "Think", Sam and Dave's "Hold on, I'm coming", "Shake your tailfather" featuring Ray Charles, "Peter Gunn Theme" performed by the Blues Brother's band.  As well as tracks performed by the band and sung by the brothers themselves such as "Everbody needs somebody to love", "Jailhouse rock" and "Sweet home Chicago" and their great rendition of the cowboy TV show theme "Rawhide". 

FLAWS (Warning: some plot spoilers might be in here!)

As for The Blues Brother's flaws does it have any at all???? Yeah it does, although because the film is such a fantasy based musical comedy you can almost forgive them.

But yes it has to be said the film is ridiculously preposterous and one thing that struck me right away is how the police never pulled up Elwood for driving a police car in the first place!  Surely the authorities would have spotted that before he even did any speeding!  Or perhaps people can just drive police cars for their own personal use in the US (well wouldn't surprise me!).

Update: however an interesting update on this I found is that you absolutely can buy police cars that are no longer in service although people are required to remove any emergency equipment and markings before they can be driven on the road. 

And let's not forget about how daft and how much Elwood's driving skills are as he can defy the laws of gravity by making his car do a backflip and fly over a bridge as well as jump a big gap in a drawbridge.  Its fun but it really is pretty daft and the physics of it all is pretty well impossible I'm sure!  But hey, it is just a comedy film.  

I also wondered what happened with the band at the end of the film as they perform the "Jailhouse rock" number, are they prisoners aswell?  Or did they just dress up in prison clothes for the number???  Perhaps the band are held as accomplices to what the brothers are doing, but that's hardly right as they were kept largely in the dark about what they were brought back together for in the first place.  But again it is a comedy so logic and common sense go out the window I guess.

Another update: well according to a google AI search, the reason why the band are in prison with Jake and Elwood is because they were arrested as accomplices and therefore accountable in aiding and abetting the brothers to carry out their mayhem and chaos. So, in the end they were thrown in jail as well for somewhat very legitimate reasons after all. 

Its also beyond preposterous how Jake and Elwood are able to survive the attempts on their lives by the mystery woman, as they attacked outside Elwood's motel and later the motel is destroyed by explosives, set by the woman.  This is of course the most ridiculous one of them all as Jake and Elwood somehow manage to emerge, completely unharmed from the rubble (as you do!) but the actual chances of surviving that are non-existent! 

However, again interestingly enough, there is a theory why they survived, which is purely to do with they're being on a mission with God, so the divine powers that be helped them escape death numerous times at the hands of Jake's would-be bride. I guess in the end, despite all the chaos they caused, they did a good thing in the end by saving the orphanage.  

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, The Blues Brothers after 46 years (can't believe its that long!) is still a highly entertaining comedy that features some really funny moments and spectacular car chases, not to mention some ridiculously over the top stunts. It also of course features two excellent performances from John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, who are both great in their respective roles as the Blues brothers.

And for me, it remains one of those rare musicals that actually works very well (as I really don't care for them myself) which is in part thanks to it having a really good soundtrack that doesn't feature so much soppy love songs etc.  So, its definitely ones of the best musical comedies and certainly one of John Landis's best films of his career aswell as Aykroyd's and Belushi's, which is still well worth a look.

So, I will rate the Blues Brothers:

9 out of 10

So, that's it for now and I'll be back hopefully before the end of the month.

Until then, its bye again for now!