The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai across the Eighth Dimension! (1984)
1984 science fiction adventure movie
Rating: 5/10
Plot: The title character is a rock star, a surgeon, a scientist, and a superhero. After successfully entering the 8th dimension in his fancy rocket car, he and the Hong Kong Cavaliers must battle aliens from Planet 10 who are trying to destroy earth.
This is one of those cases where you can use the word “unique” and not mean it in a very nice way. This movie is a mess. There are some dryly humorous moments, but the plot is so sprawling and the characters just seem to be there to add decoration and aren’t developed much at all.
The acting is hammy (Lithgow is really out of control) and the special effects are about as good as you can find in a Power Rangers episode. The acting and special effects are supposed to be like that, but there’s just this lack of fun and energy that flattens this movie. The bizarrity is over-the-top and distracting. I remember not remembering watching this as a kid. I doubt that I liked it then either. I actually expected to like this cult classic a lot more than I did.