The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Reviews

1984

50
from 742 members

A wild, unpredictable and witty sci-fi comedy in which the survival of the entire human race hinges on the efforts of one man--Buckaroo Banzai. Buckaroo (Peter Weller) possesses an unusual number of professional skills--he's a neurosurgeon, race car driver, rock star, and comic book hero. While testing his jet-propelled Ford .. Read more

Starring	Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Clancy Brown
Director	W.D. Richter
Genres	Action/Adventure, Thriller

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Critics' reviews (5) of The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai
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Comic book hero and rock star Banzai (Peter Weller) crashes his Jet Car through the eighth dimension and unwittingly opens a hole in time. Unless he and his weirdo team of Hong Kong Cavaliers close it, evil aliens will overrun the Earth. Far too clever and quirky for its own good, this esoteric cult movie (the directing debut of WD Richter, writer of the 1979 Dracula) is a wacky spaced-out oddity. Watching it is like being on the outside of a gigantic in-joke trying desperately to understand what's so funny. An amazing cast, including Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd and John Lithgow (as mental patient Dr Lizardo), try their best to keep it all accessible but it wilfully degenerates into a huge impenetrable mess.
- Radio Times
- Posted 29 Jan 2006
"...It's a lunatic ball, an extremely genial, witty example of what is becoming a movie genre all its own....Hard to top for pure, nutty fun."
- New York Times
- Posted 11 Mar 2005
Banzai - comic-book superhero, neurosurgeon, pop star, mystic, nuclear physicist and teenage heartthrob - is testing a... read more on Time Out
- Time Out
- Posted 04 Nov 2008
Most helpful members' reviews (3) of The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

Love it or Hate it

Buckaroo Banzai is a 80's Sci-Fi/Comedy/Adventure movie which now commands 'cult status' among fans young and old, I myself not one for giving up on... more

Report this review
- - B from Scotland
  - Posted 07 Jul 2004 18:54
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

You really gotta come in expecting it!

I heard of this movie years ago, and never got around to seeing it, it's not exactly mainstream Blockbuster viewing! Anyway, in the spirit of such movies ... more

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- - A customer from Surrey, England
  - Posted 16 Aug 2004 09:50
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

Quite possibly the worst film I've ever seen

I've kinda sorta known about this film for a long time and read a bit about it in movie books and so on, but I never got round to seeing it until I rented ... more

Report this review
- - A customer from Manchester, UK.
  - Posted 18 Sep 2005 22:22
Most recent members' reviews (2) of The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai
View all
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

You really gotta come in expecting it!

I heard of this movie years ago, and never got around to seeing it, it's not exactly mainstream Blockbuster viewing! Anyway, in the spirit of such movies ... more

Report this review
- - A customer from Surrey, England
  - Posted 16 Aug 2004 09:50
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

Quite possibly the worst film I've ever seen

I've kinda sorta known about this film for a long time and read a bit about it in movie books and so on, but I never got round to seeing it until I rented ... more

Report this review
- - A customer from Manchester, UK.
  - Posted 18 Sep 2005 22:22

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

Love it or Hate it

Buckaroo Banzai is a 80's Sci-Fi/Comedy/Adventure movie which now commands 'cult status' among fans young and old, I myself not one for giving up on... more

Report this review
- - B from Scotland
  - Posted 07 Jul 2004 18:54
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

You really gotta come in expecting it!

I heard of this movie years ago, and never got around to seeing it, it's not exactly mainstream Blockbuster viewing! Anyway, in the spirit of such movies ... more

Report this review
- - A customer from Surrey, England
  - Posted 16 Aug 2004 09:50
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

Quite possibly the worst film I've ever seen

I've kinda sorta known about this film for a long time and read a bit about it in movie books and so on, but I never got round to seeing it until I rented ... more

Report this review
- - A customer from Manchester, UK.
  - Posted 18 Sep 2005 22:22
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

It's quirky, it's different...it's brilliant!

This is possibly my favourite film of all time. I absolutely love it, and I'm not ashamed. But it wasn't always that way, it took several tries before... more

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- - A customer from Lichfield, Staffordshire, England
  - Posted 06 Oct 2005 07:39
[Highly rated reviewer]

No idea what this was about

And it is no where near as fun and tacky as you expect.

Report this review
- - JamesMc from London
  - Posted 10 Jan 2005 21:58
No matter where you go, there you are.

A long time ago I heard that the folks behind Star Trek: The Next Generation used lots of references to this film when they were writing scripts or making sets... more

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- - Andy from Watford, England
  - Posted 16 Jun 2005 14:30
No Fun

Any description of this movie (no matter how derogatory) makes it sound so much better than it is. It's not even a fraction as much fun as the crazed ideas ... more

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- - Melon from East Sussex
  - Posted 23 Mar 2006 21:26
Hong Kong Cavaliers are GO!

Originally touted as a summer tent-pole in 1984 this film BOMBED and the franchise it was attempting to start and even bankrupted the studio. I don't even ... more

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- - captain willy from Levenshulme
  - Posted 13 Jun 2007 11:50
weird and funny

a funny weird movie, that sometimes has a little too much going on, and different story lines going all at once, but it will entertain you, and make you laugh... more

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- - bladerider from staffs uk
  - Posted 22 Jun 2007 13:17
* * * This review contains spoilers * * *ShowHide

[Highly rated reviewer]

Bonkers

This film is ridiculous, far fetched nonsense, everything about it is a mish-mash.Brain surgeon/rock star/half japanese ninja/time traveller sums up the ... more

Report this review
- - Micthetic
  - Posted 10 Aug 2009 21:02

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Critics' reviews (5)
Comic book hero and rock star Banzai (Peter Weller) crashes his Jet Car through the eighth dimension and unwittingly opens a hole in time. Unless he and his weirdo team of Hong Kong Cavaliers close it, evil aliens will overrun the Earth. Far too clever and quirky for its own good, this esoteric cult movie (the directing debut of WD Richter, writer of the 1979 Dracula) is a wacky spaced-out oddity. Watching it is like being on the outside of a gigantic in-joke trying desperately to understand what's so funny. An amazing cast, including Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd and John Lithgow (as mental patient Dr Lizardo), try their best to keep it all accessible but it wilfully degenerates into a huge impenetrable mess.
- Radio Times
- Posted 29 Jan 2006
"...It's a lunatic ball, an extremely genial, witty example of what is becoming a movie genre all its own....Hard to top for pure, nutty fun."
- New York Times
- Posted 11 Mar 2005
Banzai - comic-book superhero, neurosurgeon, pop star, mystic, nuclear physicist and teenage heartthrob - is testing a... read more on Time Out
- Time Out
- Posted 04 Nov 2008
"...Very funny....[Lithgow] gives one of the most controlled out-of-control performances on screen in recent years..."
- Variety
- Posted 11 Mar 2005
Genial spoof of science fiction and other movie genres.
- Halliwell's Film Guide
- Posted 02 Mar 2006

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