Over the Top

An underrated film that is actually a family drama with an interesting story and good characters.

We follow Lincoln Hawk's efforts to bond with his son, a bond opposed by his grandfather who sees Lincoln as a failure.

Throughout the film, we see that not everything is so simple, Lincoln tries to be the best father possible and show his son that life brings successes and failures. Preparing for the arm wrestling competition, they travel in his truck to their destination.

Today, there are no more films like this, unfortunately. There are no films like this that are both entertaining and emotional. This kind of story captivates us with its simple charm, which shows us that there are people who care for their family exactly the way they should.

The film is actually a touching family drama full of emotions packed in the fun style of movies we used to see in the eighties.

A simple film full of emotions that shows what a father is ready to do for his son.

The cast is good, the film is well directed, and the soundtrack is great.

A film that celebrates family, sacrifice and love.

I recently remembered seeing this film when I was much younger and liking it. When I checked it out on IMDb, I was quite disturbed. Why in the world would I like this weird, arm wrestling movie with Sylvester Stallone? So I rented it again to see why I had liked it as a kid or to see if I had been delirious when I first saw it. The strange thing is, even though it is not at all my type of movie, I still really enjoyed it. I've heard that the kid is a bad actor and all, but I really don't think he is. Maybe I'm still delirious, but I thought the movie was pretty darn heart warming.

Nice is the word. Over the Top is a good example of Sylvester Stallone stepping away from the trappings of Rocky Balboa and John Rambo, and trying to create a movie the whole family can enjoy. Sure, the whole family may have enjoyed the Rocky movies but the violence of those films at best is toned down to mute here. Unlike the Rocky series with Boxing, Over The Top doesn't square its attention solely on this movies sport, Arm wrestling. So, there is plenty of room for deep rooted character developement. Unfortunately, Over The Top doesn't present us with this, and what we have is a Cannon Pictures knock off version of The Champ (1979), with Stallone and Sterling Silliphant's screenplay spreading on the sentimentality very thickly. We are presented with a screenplay remeniscent of the sentimental moments from the bulk of Slys career. And for the majority of the time it works remarkably well. Sly proves that he can act, making Lincoln Hawk (a typically mach named Stallone character), a likeable, funny and sincere character, so that you dont for one minute doubt the values of Hawk and the good man he is. The hard work Stallone puts into Hawk is completely obliterated by a terrible cliched performance by David Mendenhall as Hawks long lost son Mike. A typical spoilt bratt, you wish Sly would beat the life out of Mendenhall ala Rocky VS Drago in the closing moments of Rocky IV, at one or two times during the movie. Mendenhall has NO redeaming features and compliments the movie zero. It would have perhaps been better had someone like Sean Astin or Macauly Culkin played the part of Hawk's son. The sentimentality comes in the form of Susan Blakely as Hawk's estranged and dying wife, and this once again is a burden to the movie, because the scenes, handled with too much syrup by director Menahem Golan go too far over the top (no pun) to try and reach your tear ducts. Despite this everything pays off. The Arm wrestling scenes are handled efficiently by Golan, and come close to the heart pumping heroics of the Rocky movies, and Georgio Moroders 80's Rock score is as good (and dated) as anything Vince Di Cola and Survivor did for Messers Balboa and Drago. And i would defy even the most ardent of cynics not to root for Hawk in the movies macho encrusted arm wrestling finale. An efficient fammily/adventure movie, that is good to pass the time with, but for sheer class, watch the Rocky movies.

6/10

This movie really touched base with me. I grew up not knowing my father, so I really felt for "Michael Cutler", played by David Mendenhall. This was the first thing I remembered seeing David in and I became a big fan of his thru this movie. I identified with his character so much.

If only there would have been a sequel to this movie. (+:

I grew up on this movie. This is the first movie I ever recall watching. My grandpa has his own Tractor-Trailer and I always went with him on road trips, so I instantly fell in love with this movie when I saw the truck. Even though it's an old, beaten up, disgusting truck, I would have to say it looks pretty sweet. Lincoln Hawk, played by Sylvester Stallone, is a independent trucker just trying to put his life back together. He realized he made mistakes, and tries to reconcile with his son that he abandoned years earlier. When the boy's grandfather offers Hawk the offer of a life time, and Hawk refuses....it's very clear to him, that he has no other choice but to win, and the determination really shows. Sly acts a bit uninterested in this movie...you can see it in his eyes. Every now and then you can catch his wandering off and not paying attention. If you watch closely, some of the extras often keep there eyes on the camera, and Sly will look at them. Pretty good movie, could have been better, but it's a for sure movie to watch.