The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

TAOBBATED, as I will acronymize this film, is neither the stupid low-budget piece of excrement nor the sublimely original cult masterpiece you've been told it is, but it's a lot closer to the latter than to the former. Peter Weller plays Buckaroo, the titular neurosurgeon/inventor/modern-day samurai/Billy Joelesque rocker, and he plays him frightfully well, low-key and distant but with occasional glimmers of genius and intensity. The stellar supporting cast includes Jeff Goldblum, Clancy Brown, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, and Ellen Barkin, and they're all pretty darn good.

I'm not even going to pretend to be rational or unbiased about this movie. It's too utterly offbeat and original and just damned _odd_ to not love. Some favorite scenes: the opening sequence of the Jet Car test run; Buckaroo's phone call with the Black Lectroids, and his subsequent detection of the sinister Red Lectroid agents in his midst; the eerie recorded message from the Black Lectroid leader, the "good guys" who threaten to blow up Earth unless Buckaroo stops their enemy, Dr. Lizardo (Lithgow, in a truly twisted scene-chewing performance). Yes, it looks cheesy and dated, but damn it, you have to take a stand somewhere in life, you have to roll up your sleeves and step up to the plate and put yourself on the line, and have the courage to say, "I don't care what anyone thinks of me, I love this movie." That's the way I feel about old Buckaroo and his Hong Kong Cavaliers, and I still consider myself a loyal Blue Blaze Irregular fifteen years after seeing this film.

As a post-script, I'd like to mention that the novelization of this movie, written by Earl Mac Rauch, is great, and actually contains about 3 times the information and plot that is in the movie. If you can find it on Amazon or at a garage sale somewhere, snap it up, it's worth the search. Also, there's a script for BUCKAROO BANZAI VERSUS THE WORLD CRIME LEAGUE floating around too, which should be made no matter the cost if only to film one priceless scene - the cameo appearance of Jack Burton, Kurt Russell's swaggering truck driver hero from John Carpenter's BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, who appears as a Blue Blaze Irregular and gives Team Banzai a lift!

He is an adventurer, a brain surgeon, a rock star, and the leader of the crime fighting team The Hong Kong Cavaliers, he is Buckaroo Banzai! The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is about as ridiculous as the title sounds, but it is 1 hour and 43 minutes of pure fun and entertainment. Released in 1984 and directed by W. D. Richter, this movie sports a brilliant cast lead by Peter Weller and featuring John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Goldblum, and Ellen Barkin. In this sci-fi adventure comedy, we meet Buckaroo and his team who, after making a scientific breakthrough, must stop alien invaders who come from the 8th dimension.

When this movie was released in 1984, it did so poorly that the production company that backed it actually went bankrupt. There were plans for a sequel that went by the wayside and the movie went into obscurity until it was released on home video and became a cult classic. There is really not a lot to dislike about this movie. It is funny, it is well acted, and the story is so wildly absurd that you are on the edge of your seat the entire time just wondering what the heck is going to happen next. If you go into this movie thinking that you are going to see something of high quality that is very well written, then you will be disappointed. The best way to approach this movie is by going in with an open mind and expecting to have a ton of fun.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is currently streaming on Tubi and Pluto tv and I highly recommend checking this one out, especially if you are in the mood to have fun! While I believe that it is important when a movie tells a story and teaches a lesson, sometimes it is nice to just sit back, relax, and be entertained and that is what you will get form this movie.

This is a fun film. It doesn't take itself seriously and neither should the viewer.

The plot centres around a pre-Robocop Peter Weller's character (the implausibly named Buckaroo Banzai) who is a scientist/rock musician/surgeon...seems to be talented at just about everything. In his lab he perfects a device for travelling through solid matter on the pretext that 'solid matter' is in fact 80% empty space. True enough and so far so good.

In the movie, the 80% of matter that is space turns out to be the 8th dimention, and Banzai unwittingly causes some nasty alien "lectoids" to enter our dimension. With the help of good lectoids he and his rock band have to save the day.

John Lithgow really steals the show with some excellent madcap lines. The big name actors clearly knew this was not to be taken seriously and though the plot is OK it is the one-liners in the script that make the movie so enjoyable. Special FX are early 80's par for the course, this is not the highest budget film ever! The only question is why didn't the advertised sequal ever make it to the screen?

Aliens hiding on Earth, all with the first name of "John". A deranged mad scientist named Dr. Emilio Lizardo. A band of sidekicks named the Hong Kong Cavaliers. And in the center of it, Buckaroo Bonzai -- the part-time particle physicist, part-time brain surgeon, part-time rock'n'roller. How could this not be fun?

You're not watching this for the deep inner meaning. You're watching this because it's ridiculous and the actors know it is. John Lithgow is absolutely over the top as Lizardo. And Jeff Goldblum does a great comic turn as New Jersey.

A totally ridiculous 80's Sci-fi movie. The first scene has our hero drive through a solid mountain, and from there it gets bonkers. Great fun, makes Mars Attack look sensible. As for the cast, it's a who's who of 80's / 90's TV and film actors.The effects are terrible but the movie is great fun. A must watch.