Tank Girl

Okay, okay, I'll admit it---the ONLY reason I rented this movie at all was because my favorite band sung on the soundtrack (which, by the way, is awesome). I had no idea what the movie was about, although I did know that Lori Petty and Malcolm McDowell were in it. i also knew that it wasn't exactly a masterpiece of a film, either, so I went home, started watching, and just tried to have a little fun and enjoy myself.

And, for a while, I did. The introduction was cool, the characters were funny, and it was actually interesting to watch. Lori Petty totally rocked as Tank Girl---although I heard that Tank Girl's character in the comic book was a lot more intense. Her sidekick, Jet Girl, was just as awesome. They should have had a lot more scenes with Malcolm McDowell, though, especially between him and Tank Girl. Those were some of the best parts. You can't help but love all the campy humor.

But sometime after Tank and Jet hook up with the Rippers, or whatever theyr'e called, the movie just seems to go downhill. Take out the Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark-style truck sequence with Tank, and the entire middle is pretty boring. The Rippers--I mean, okay, they're half men, half kangaroos. Why not at least get mutated into something useful, like, half man, half shark or bear or cheetah or something? Ice-T was just plain annoying, as was Tank Girl's kangaroo man boyfriend, Booga. The beatnik poetry thing was cool, but the dancing thing and everything else were so stupid they weren't even funny.

The ending makes up for it a bit. Even the Rippers had some funny moments ("Count Chocula--he's the guy on the laundry detergent box, right?"). Tank Girl eventually saves the world in the end, Jet Girl gets revenge on her "boyfriend" from Water and Power, and the world has water again. Yay! Like I said, though, they should have had more scenes of McDowell and the bad guys. It's great to watch him ham it up as the evil villain (as always).

So, if you're looking for senseless fun and recklessness with no point or reason, watch Tank Girl. It may not be Lawrence of Arabia or Gone With the Wind, but it's a lot better than SOME of the movies I've seen. Oh, yeah, and don't pay over $1.50 to rent it.