Bird on a Wire (1990)

Marianne Graves (Goldie Hawn) is a successful New York lawyer on a business trip to Detroit.  While there, she stops at a gas station/garage and recognizes the gas attendant.  It's Rick Jarmin (Mel Gibson), her fiancé who went missing in Mexico fifteen years ago!  He denies it, claiming to be from Tennessee.  No sooner does she leave - not entirely convinced - than he called the FBI and demanded to be relocated.  Yes, he is in witness protection.  His regular contact unavailable, he is routed to Joe Weyburn (Stephen Tobolowsky), who agrees to move him in a couple of days.  That night, Marianne returned to the garage to take another look.  To her surprise, armed men attack the garage.  She recklessly drives at them and manages to get Rick in the car and race away.

The men were Eugene Sorenson (David Carradine) and Albert Diggs (Bill Duke), former DEA agents.  Sorenson is fresh out of prison, put there by Jarmin's testimony, and is eager for revenge.  Diggs has been on the lam for the last 15 years and would like to kill the only man who could put him in jail.

Rick knew that someone at the FBI had revealed his location.  Worse, the police were now looking to arrest him and Marianne for the shootout at the garage.  They were on the run!  Lou Baird (Jeff Corey) was the only man Rick trusted to sort things out.

The movie is one long chase with romantic comedy between the leads along the way.  The chase takes many forms.  There are car chases, motorcycle chases, a helicopter chase, and finally a showdown at a zoo.  During their cross-country escape, Rick visits several of his previous protection locations, which shows that he has had an interesting career path: carpenter, hairdresser, car mechanic, veterinary clinic pilot, and zoo employee.  Each came with a different name and even a change in personality.

Goldie Hawn was in amazing shape for her age.  There are multiple semi-nude shots or lose skirts that got caught in a breeze to demonstrate that.  The script was not great in explaining her continued presence on this adventure.  Does she view Rick as the one that got away?  Yeah, but she does seem rather annoyed with him for much of the movie.  Does running make sense because the police are after her?  Not really.  It's like the script forgot she was a successful lawyer; I suppose criminal law wasn't her thing.

Mel Gibson is Mel Gibson.  There is a little bit of variety with the change in accent based on what former life he is visiting, but otherwise it is a standard Mel Gibson character.

The villains are introduced grandly and then become cardboard cutouts who prove mostly incompetent.  Sure, it's a comedy - sort of - but the villains can't hit an easy target with superior weaponry and even fully automatic fire.  The finale was a comedy of errors by Rick and Marianne.  They both lost weapons before they could even use them, each either beaten or shot, and yet they survived.  Yeah, these are some really pathetic villains.

Just okay.

Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)

In the deserts of Texas near El Paso, a band of thieves drive a herd of horses into a corral.  Nearby, several state police officers prepare to arrest the rustlers.  It goes badly when the rustlers outmaneuver the police and quickly surround them.  Before the lead rustler can kill the police, Ranger J.J. McQuade (Chuck Norris) entered the fray.  In short order, he dispatched the rustlers and rescued the police officers.  One officer, Arcadio Ramos (Robert Beltran), is particularly grateful.  Upon returning to the office in El Paso, his captain (R.G. Armstrong) upbraided him for his slovenly appearance and Lone Wolf antics.  He was assigned a partner, none other than Arcadio "Kayo" Ramos.

Happenstance at a horse racetrack led to a meeting with Lola Richardson (Barbara Carrera) and her business partner, Rawley Wilkes (David Carradine).  Wilkes was a former Karate champion and McQuade was widely known for his hand-to-hand prowess.  Though tempers flared and both displayed their martial arts skills, Lola prevented them from fighting one another; that must wait for the finale.  It was now clear that Wilkes is the bad guy and Lola the love interest.

The movie plays like a Spaghetti Western and has a soundtrack that feels like it came from a Sergio Leone film.  There are several characters who follow standard tropes.  Dakota (LQ Jones) is the old veteran who is a reliable ally and doomed to die.  Kayo is the greenhorn youth who follows the hero and matures into a hero himself.  Snow (William Sanderson) is the sniveling snitch who reveals the plans of the villain and provides for some initial action in the investigation.  Sally is McQuade's daughter who is repeatedly entangled in the story and needs rescuing.  Of course, there are training montages and travel montages, accompanied by a powerful musical score.

The same year this appeared in theaters, Barbara Carrera was also opposite Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again.  In that, she was an over-the-top femme fatale.  In both movies, she dies.  Tough year for her characters but a high point in her career.

As David Carradine was best remembered for his role as Kwai Chang Caine in Kung Fu, there was much excitement over his match with Karate World Champion Norris.  Norris commented that Carradine's martial arts was about as good as Norris's acting.  Nice.

Great popcorn fun and recommended.

The Long Riders (1980)

While robbing a bank, Ed Miller (Dennis Quaid) becomes anxious and shoots the bank teller.  In the gunfire that follows, Jesse James (James Keach) is wounded.  After the gang makes good their escape, Jesse ejects Ed from the gang.  Ed's brother, Clell (Randy Quaid), agrees with Jesse and rides away with the rest of the gang.  The James-Younger gang consists of Frank (Stacy Keach) & Jesse James, Cole (David Carradine), Jim (Keith Carradine), & Bob Younger (Robert Carradine), and Clell Miller.  After returning to their Missouri home, the Ford brothers, Charlie (Christopher Guest) and Robert (Nicholas Guest) try unsuccessfully to join the gang.  Despite their rough profession, the gang pursues a fairly ordinary life when not robbing banks, trains, and stagecoaches.  While Jesse woos Zee (Savannah Smith Boucher), Cole has a long-standing arrangement with Belle Starr (Pamela Reed), whom he gladly calls a whore, which is why he likes her.  The Pinkertons' pursuit of the gang figures heavily and the fact that many Missourians preferred the James-Younger gang to the law explains how they often lived normal lives.

The movie pieces together some of the tales of the gang in an entertaining fashion.  The climactic battle in Northfield, Minnesota, is well done.  The famous gang met its match in a bunch of armed civilians.  Though the Northfield Robbery was in 1876, the story jumps to 1882 when Jesse has the Ford brothers over to discuss 'business.'  Of course, Bob Ford was more interested in the price on Jesse's head.

The big selling point of this version is that four sets of siblings were cast to portray these criminal families.  Though that is cool, it is beside the point.  In fact, it may have detracted from the film.  This is a good story and mostly well-acted.  The weakest parts are James Keach, who is surprisingly wooden, and David Carradine, who lacks range.  This is a problem because these are the two leading characters.

Good popcorn fun and recommended.