The Morris family is moving West from Texas to California. The father, Cal (Gerald McRaney, 'Simon & Simon') is a war veteran eager for a fresh start, although this is the third time they've moved in the space of five years. The family is rounded out by Jean (Elan Oberon, the original "Red Dawn"), the hot to trot mother who was making time with a neighbor, and Leann (Carla Gugino, "Watchmen"), the innocent teen daughter. During their journey, they will be terrorized by a degenerate young biker gang: Jake (Jake Busey, "Starship Troopers"), Volker (Richard Edson, "Do the Right Thing"), Crab (John Cassini, "Se7en"), and Road Pig (Pete Antico, "29th Street"). Jake kidnaps Leann, and spirits her across the U. S. - Mexico border where he hopes to make a deal with a local kingpin (Orestes Matacena, "The Mask"). Cal, realizing that he won't be able to turn to the law for help, decides to take on the bikers by himself.
'Motorcycle Gang' was filmmaker John Milius' entry into the 'Rebel Highway' series of mid-90s, cable TV, in-name-only remakes of old American International pictures. At its core, the story is pretty routine, although as in any story like this, it's worth it to see a group of antagonists set up to be so loathsome that we inevitably cheer when they finally get their comeuppance. (Although Jake tries to pass himself off as a romantic figure to Leann, we KNOW that he's just as mean and nasty as the rest of his boys: they murder a crooked lawyer (Robert Miranda, "Midnight Run") and a waitress on the way to confronting our main protagonists.) Fortunately, Milius and the writers DO take the time to include as much character detail as possible among the family. They've grown distant from each other, but this debacle might just be the glue that brings them back together. Jean (Oberon is the real-life Mrs. Milius) is a woman with demons to confront, and Cal has always been hesitant to talk about his war experiences, although he has a nice moment with an Asian hotel owner (Akio Mitamura, "Conan the Barbarian") who refrains from charging him for the rooms after they do some bonding.
The performances are all solid: nothing flashy, apart from the dynamic Busey (playing the kind of character that his father Gary played once upon a time). McRaney is effectively low-key, while Oberon does a capable job as the character going through the biggest arc.
A good soundtrack, a decent pace (this wraps up in 84 trim minutes without commercials), and a reasonably rousing finale (violent, but not that gory) all make this basically agreeable entertainment.
Six out of 10.
'Motorcycle Gang' was filmmaker John Milius' entry into the 'Rebel Highway' series of mid-90s, cable TV, in-name-only remakes of old American International pictures. At its core, the story is pretty routine, although as in any story like this, it's worth it to see a group of antagonists set up to be so loathsome that we inevitably cheer when they finally get their comeuppance. (Although Jake tries to pass himself off as a romantic figure to Leann, we KNOW that he's just as mean and nasty as the rest of his boys: they murder a crooked lawyer (Robert Miranda, "Midnight Run") and a waitress on the way to confronting our main protagonists.) Fortunately, Milius and the writers DO take the time to include as much character detail as possible among the family. They've grown distant from each other, but this debacle might just be the glue that brings them back together. Jean (Oberon is the real-life Mrs. Milius) is a woman with demons to confront, and Cal has always been hesitant to talk about his war experiences, although he has a nice moment with an Asian hotel owner (Akio Mitamura, "Conan the Barbarian") who refrains from charging him for the rooms after they do some bonding.
The performances are all solid: nothing flashy, apart from the dynamic Busey (playing the kind of character that his father Gary played once upon a time). McRaney is effectively low-key, while Oberon does a capable job as the character going through the biggest arc.
A good soundtrack, a decent pace (this wraps up in 84 trim minutes without commercials), and a reasonably rousing finale (violent, but not that gory) all make this basically agreeable entertainment.
Six out of 10.