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Tango & Cash
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Tango & Cash (1989) More at IMDbPro »

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Tango & Cash (1989) -- Two cops are framed and must clear their names.
Tango & Cash (1989) -- ZuGuide.com - Trailer (Flash)

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Overview

User Rating:
5.7/10   22,746 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 83% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writer (WGA):
Randy Feldman (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Tango & Cash on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 December 1989 (USA) more
Tagline:
Two of L.A.'s top rival cops are going to have to work together... Even if it kills them.
Plot:
Two cops are framed and must clear their names. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
3 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Boos! and Whoop-doos!: The Epic Origins of a Future Summer
 (From MovieWeb. 1 June 2009, 10:54 AM, PDT)

Russell Turned Down Stallone's Expendables Offer
 (From WENN. 23 March 2009, 5:10 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
works best as a goofy star vehicle, not as a knowing parody of Lethal Weapon more (112 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Sylvester Stallone ... Lt. Raymond Tango

Kurt Russell ... Lt. Gabriel Cash

Teri Hatcher ... Katherine 'Kiki' Tango

Jack Palance ... Yves Perret

Brion James ... Requin

James Hong ... Quan
Marc Alaimo ... Lopez

Philip Tan ... Chinese Gunman

Michael J. Pollard ... Owen

Robert Z'Dar ... Face
Lewis Arquette ... Wyler
Edward Bunker ... Capt. Holmes
Leslie Morris ... Hendricks
Roy Brocksmith ... Fed. Agent Davis

Susan Krebs ... Prosecutor
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Set Up (USA) (working title)
more
Runtime:
98 min | USA:104 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The scene where Tango (Sylvester Stallone) faces an oncoming truck with nothing but a gun was borrowed from Ging chat goo si (1985), where Jackie Chan (a good friend of Stallone's) performed the stunt. more
Goofs:
Continuity: During the prison escape, on the roof while attempting to jump to the power line, the camera front view has Cash wearing a sleeveless shirt. When camera shot is on the back of them Cash (or rather his stunt double) is wearing a tee shirt with sleeves. more
Quotes:
Ray Tango: When this is over, we have to pay Jabba the Hutt here a visit.
Gabriel Cash: I'll bring the chainsaw.
Ray Tango: I'll bring the beer.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Shock 'Em Dead (1991) more
Soundtrack:
Harlem Nocturne more

FAQ

What special features are on the DVD?
What exactly is Katherine doing at the drum kit during her dance routine?
What type of SUV is used in the climax?
more
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful.
works best as a goofy star vehicle, not as a knowing parody of Lethal Weapon, 11 April 2009
7/10
Author: MisterWhiplash from United States

If there is any reason to watch Tango & Cash today, and there is, it's because Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell work excellently on screen together. There's Jack Palance too, of course, mugging and doing his Jack Palance thing so much his performance in this and his performance in Batman should have a face-off to see who's the gnarliest villain (this one might win just due to his penchant for senseless mice torture in mazes). But for all intents and purposes, this is a fun guy knock-off flick dependent on its stars for a lot of the heavy lifting. The plot and dialog are only so clever; one knows for sure that because Lethal Weapon was the huge smash it was they decided to go down that route: give us characters that are not too over the top or too serious (albeit Lethal Weapon took itself more seriously AND had some genuinely funnier bits). It is also incredibly, occasionally painfully, 1980s. This is so 80s that Russell can not only be forgiven for the mullet, it's actually kind of cool.

This is also the one big shot that the director, Konchavalesky, who previously had knocked it out of the park (or at least to the fence) with his movie Runaway Train. He directs it with some flair, maybe even an over-abundance of wretched action-movie style. But his skills as an action movie director are put by the wayside for his leading stars (the original DP, Barry Sonenfeld, was fired midway through production by *Stallone* for not giving enough 80s light on him), so if there's joy in watching the movie it's all in credit to the beefy and sometimes very funny actors. We've seen so much of this before that only the limited twists and the charisma and talent of the cast drive it along to some redeemable fate.

If you're up for some reason at 3:30 on a weeknight and decide to say "screw it" to your next day's work and Tango & Cash is on... there's certainly worse things you could be doing other than sleeping. At the least there's a near perfect self-knowing Rambo joke.

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