Neon City

Neon City (1991) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a not too distant future where the sun has scorched the Earth leaving small pockets of inhabitable land. A group of survivors try to make their way across a Baron waste land to a metropolis known as Neon City where they hope to start a new life. This movie is directed by Monte Markham (We Are Still Here) and stars Michael Ironside (Total Recall), Vanity (The Last Dragon), Lyle Alzado (Destroyer) and Valerie Wildman (Salvador). The storyline, look, feel, props and weapons all have a super strong Mad Max feel to it. The vehicles scenes as well as the shootouts were awesome...the hand-to-hand combat scenes, not so much. Ironside is awesome as the main character and I love his demeanor and constant sternness. The final action scene and shootout across the snow wasteland is awesome and has a classic 80s/90s action feel to it. Overall this is far from perfect but entertaining if you enjoyed Mad Max. I'd score this a solid 7/10.

The first 20 minutes were unimpressive and I thought about bailing on it, but the reviews here were positive so I decided to hang in there and I'm happy that I did.

This turned out to be a really well done post-apocalyptic action flick with well-realized characters, strong performances from an ensemble that has believable chemistry, a tight script, and good special effects. The ending is a bit meh, primarily because the script chose not to keep a certain character's proclivities a secret--ambiguity would have been a better choice, I think.

You could compare this movie to MANY others--MAD MAX chief among them--but few do it this well. If you're in the mood for serious action/western set after the world ends, check out NEON CITY.

Okay, I for one liked this movie. Now granted, it doesn't compare to the special effects that are around today, but overall, I enjoyed it! It had an interesting plot, lots of action, nice character development, and an excellent performance by Michael Ironside. This movie held my interest all the way through until the last scene. It is categorized as science-fiction; however, there was very little scientific lingo, so it is easy enough for anyone to follow. I especially enjoyed how the characters began as strangers in the movie, and slowly melded together into a sort a renegade troupe, determined to stay alive. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who can get there hands on it!

When I hear, or think of actor Michael Ironside. I'm so use to him in a genre film of this ilk playing the hissable bad guy/henchman, in one shape or another, so it was a nice change of pace to see him at the opposite end of the spectrum. His gruff, tough as nails anti-hero performance, ex-ranger turned bounty hunter, makes it worthwhile, as the straight-to-video "NEON CITY" is virtually unspectacular, yet a durable and smoky post apocalyptic low-budget action fare.

The story had its running themes, but for most part it keeps it simple and traditional in structure, like a western (that sees a small group of people travelling by vehicle through the harsh wasteland of erratic weather extremes and ravaging ozone affected nomads to reach their destination; "Neon City"), and something of a "MAD MAX" imitation.

Maybe it plods a bit after the hour mark; the humor can be dopey (a comic relief character that's virtually a standup comedian who does illegal business on the side) and the journey a little too low-scale at times, especially on the action front. But what we do get provides the rough and tumble, when it counts, even moments of slow-mo (showering), solar/sandstorms, cue in that synth, gushing blood and a little laser activity. All of this leading to a random, but amusingly over-the-top standoff, where Ironside doesn't want to disappoint. Also alongside him is Vanity as his feisty prisoner.

While I won't pick out the articulate details of the movie, or take an active defense as to why I thought this movie is good, I will say I really liked this movie. This has to be one of the better sci-fi movies I've seen.

Imagine it, you traveling across the continent to a safe-haven - the ONLY one left on Earth. Your transportation; a shoddy-looking bus with others, crammed like sardines. Your obstacles; everything. From crazed bandits to violent solar storms, this leaves you imagining yourself in place of one of the characters on that bus. Quite a thrill, isn't it?

Food is heavily rationed, medical aid is meager, and death is engulfing. Great, great setup for a storyline (which could have been better in several ways, although I'm fine with it as-is).