Sky Bandits (1986)

User Rating:

4.2/10   

Director:

Zoran Perisic

Writer:

Thom Keyes (writer)

Release Date:

October 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | War

Tagline:

There's a new kind of adventure in the air.

Plot:

Through a series of circumstances, a pair of Old West gunfighters end up as fighter pilots in World War I.

Plot Keywords:

Cowboy | Pilot | WWI | Army | Airplane

Cast

Scott McGinnis	...	Barney
Jeff Osterhage	...	Luke
Ronald Lacey	...	Fritz
Miles Anderson	...	Bannock
Valérie Steffen	...	Yvette
Ingrid Held	...	Mitsou
Nicholas Lyndhurst	...	Chalky
Keith Buckley	...	Von Schlussci
Nicholas Frankau	...	Ffolkes
Conrad Asquith	...	Hawkins
David English	...	Hamilton
Michael Jenn	...	Nicky
Simon Harrison	...	Aldiss
Bernice Stegers	...	Countess Olga
Tony Sibbald	...	Car salesman

Also Known As:

Gunbus (Philippines: English title) (UK)

Runtime:

USA:105 min | USA:95 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

J&M Entertainment

Trivia:

The film holds the record (2002) for the largest number of craftsmen and technicians employed on a dramatic feature, with 532. The crew built enormous sets for war scenes, constructed buildings that were to be exploded, and built airplanes similar to those used in 1917.

Silly, poor acting, poor effects and daft plot – slightly trashy fun but cr*p

When two cowboys are captured in the old west trying to rob a bank, they are exiled to the front lines of World War I to fight alongside the British. They get into a bet to see if they can fly a Gunbus, they do but then end up in another base under an officer who is determined to hunt down a German airship.

I taped this film on the basis of the catchy name (it was called Gunbus in the UK) and I didn't really know what to expect from it in terms of plot, action etc so my expectations were pretty low. Surprisingly my low expectations were never even met once. The plot jumps around from the old west to WWI with little explanation, before we know it, the heroes are flying missions on German aircraft (despite not being able to fly). The film gets sillier towards the end as cars, broken aircraft etc are pieced together for an attack from the British – it would be laughable if it wasn't so bad.

The effects are what you'd expect from a cheap film of this period – awful. The back projections of the sky spins all over the place and the little model planes just look daft. The action stutters simply because it is so silly. Like another reviewer said, some of the designs are imaginative and daring (the big airship for one) but the effects aren't up to the job and the action just makes the whole thing silly.

The acting is pretty poor and isn't helped by the total lack of characters in the film. The lead actors have a bit of banter between them at the start but they stutter as they get lost in the silly mess that comes about. The only interesting things in the cast are a couple of pretty women, some really, really poor English accents and an appearance by Nicholas Lyndhurst from Only Fools & Horses.

Overall this is a pretty poor film. I'm sure some users will see it as trashy fun but I only see it as trashy. It doesn't really have anything of value going for it and all you're left with is the cracks in the film.