User reviews

If you can ignore the dopey ending, the movie has some very nice surprises best of which is the incredible performance of GD Spradlin as the sheriff. This may be a lightweight movie but he does not throw away his role. He's genuinely scary and believable as the tyrannical sheriff. Jenilee Harrison is also at her most sexy in 1984. She was a mouthwatering beauty back then! The film rolls along pretty blandly but the scenes with C. Thomas Howell getting framed are pretty well done and plausible. If you can get over the guy owning his own Sherman tank, the decision to use it makes at least some sense by that point in the movie.

I didn't see this when it came out, so when it appeared on cable late one night I didn't expect very much. But it exceeded my expectations. It's the story of an honorable man who is pushed too far.

Yes, there are some stretches of the imagination to be made. For example, with all the gunfire, I don't remember anybody getting killed or seriously wounded. The good guys are too good and the bad guys are too bad.

But I enjoyed a few scenes a great deal. For one, the portrayal of the small town, that seems idyllic at first but is rotten to the core. I especially appreciated the scenes between Sgt. Carey and his son, the way that the military was shown pulling together as a family, and the others who help the group trying to get to the state line. These were all people that I wanted to cheer for.

This is an old fashion good vs. evil movie that is fun. Movies don't always have to have some heavy deep plot. Sometimes it's great to watch a movie that is fun that you can cheer, and this is one of them. It's now over 20 years old, but it still holds up as a fun movies to watch and enjoy.

A big surprise will be to many is to see James Cormwell playing a simple deputy sheriff, and what Command Sergeant Major Carey does to him.

James Gardner, as always, carries the film very well. He is a very believable CSM, and Shirley Jones has a military wife down pat. A young C. Thomas Howell does a good job too as a military son. G.D. Spradlin plays the very mean Sheriff that is very easy to hate. And Jenilee Harrison did this movie at the same time she began a two year run on Dallas, and she looks great in this movie. The whole cast together works great for this movie, and it's great for the whole family.

I enjoyed this movie, by the looks of the score I am a bit alone in my opinion of this film. The story has a guy in the army who somehow owns his own personal tank moving onto a new army base. I am rather sure they probably explained how he had his own tank, but it has been awhile since I last saw this film so I do not remember parts of it all that well. What I do know is that one evening James Garner's character (the one with the tank) goes into town and ends up taking out a deputy. This infuriates the sheriff of the town and he wants revenge. He seems to have some problem with the military folk and it is against the law to punch a cop even one who deserves it. Of course, this part of the film makes little sense to me, usually a southern town like the one depicted here would embrace the military and be patriotic even bashing the lawman for bruising the army guys hand or something. Same strange hatred of the military appeared in the film "First Blood". Most of these bases also offer jobs to the locals and provide income as a lot of military guys have a lot of money to spend on frivolous things. That aside the sheriff gets his hands on the army guy's son and now the army guy is ticked, so ticked he uses his tank to break his son out of a boot camp style prison. A cross state chase soon occurs as they know they will not get a fair trail where they are so they head to either the next county or state, do not recall which. Some good humor to follow along with some good action. The movie gets a bit to heavy handed near the end and the thing with the dad getting his ribs broke was a bit to much, but all in all I found this movie quite enjoyable.

Tank has been an inspiration in my life. Its rich plot is rife with moral dilemmas, all of which end in ethical resolutions. Zack (James Garner) is the epitome of all that is good and right in the universe, and he wins in the end like good should. While I usually watch the film for its moral content, sometimes I find myself fast- forwarding to scene eleven, which features james cromwell naked, chained to a phone pole.

Ten stars. This film has changed my life.

Destruction! By tank. Revenge! By tank. Sadistic southern sheriff… yep let's roll over him with a tank! James Garner plays Commander Sgt. Maj. Zack Carey who moves to an army base with his wife and son in the south, but gets on the wrong side of the local sheriff when he knocks out the deputy in bar quarrel. Too proud to let it slide they want payback, so they frame his son with a drug charge and imprison him. Carey would now do it the sheriff's way to get his son out of prison, but circumstances change when that isn't followed leaving his son to be convicted serving three years. So Carey gets in his own prized Sherman tank to bust out his son while heading for the state border in search for actual justice.

Ludicrous, but amusingly dreamt-up boot-kicking patriotic nonsense of standing up. What starts off quite serious (where I thought it might culminate in pushing "Rambo: First Blood" territory), ended up as chaotically gung-ho and comedic in a very mechanical, but spirited sense. Relatively well-made with spacious cinematography and an upbeat music score contributed by Lalo Schifrin. Material-wise the wit is there, but it's a little deeper in its perspective themes, in which it really does moralise its intentions --- as what eventuates is a tug of war involving sappy dialogues and silly humour. The early sequences build some intense confrontations -- where Garner and Spradlin's authority figures go at it each other in their own personal war. But soon that is all forgotten when Garner goes for a pleasant ride with his tank and ends up on sort of a road trip with what seems like all of America are riding the heroic underdog home. Go you good thing! One thing that's for sure is that in one sequence Jenilee Harrison looks good behind the tank's machine gun. An excellent Garner is suitably likable and G.D. Spradlin nails down his bastard role as Sheriff Cyrus Buelton. Also there's a very good support cast lined-up with Shirley Jones, Dorian Harewood, James Cromwell, C. Thomas Howell and John Hancock.

This movie is good for 2 things. The drama and the tank scenes. It's problem is the entire plot. The absurdity of a county Sheriff being so powerful! Come on this guys in the military. The FBI would have come in and shut the entire town (it's government and all) down.

Sergeant Major Zack Carey (James Garner) made the mistake of being chivalrous in Clemmons, GA. He simply couldn't ignore Deputy Euclid (James Cromwell) beating on the local prostitute. But how was he to know that some bruises on a deputy would so deeply offend the sheriff? Well, that it did and Sheriff Buelton (G.D. Spradlin) is not a very forgiving or even reasonable man.

Sheriff Buelton wanted Carey's hide and when he couldn't get it he had to devise another method of payback. So, he went about planting marijuana in Carey's son's locker. In the small county of Clemmons, GA where the sheriff calls all the shots, that equaled a ticket to jail and whatever else Buelton wanted to do to Billy (C. Thomas Howell).

Carey realized he was defeated and was ready to pay the piper but his wife, LaDonna (Shirley Jones) opted for another resolution. Ole Buelton didn't like the wife's resolution so he fast tracked Billy right to a work labor camp where his safety was a complete toss up.

By this time Sergeant Major Carey had had enough and it was time to get tough. Time to break out the Sherman Tank.

This was a cool movie. At times it was serious and at times it was light. It seemed like whenever real shooting was taking place it was a bit light. They didn't want to kill anybody. When it came to Boss Hogg aka Sheriff Buelton getting his just desserts then it was serious. There was nothing light about his heavy-handed, backwards, racist, and redneck approach to the law. He made a perfect antagonist. He was so easy to hate and root against it made Carey's plight that much more appealing. It was hard to know what year all of this was taking place the sheriff was so confident, reckless, and dismissive of the law. He was the law and well beyond arrests and charges. It was like he ran Georgia!

The trouble Carey was dragged into because he had a heart for a hooker didn't even add up. It was like he rekindled the North v. the South. The moral of the story--what the seasoned rapper E-40 once preached:

Don't save a ho'.

The next thing you know your sons is in prison on some false charges and you're trying to drive a tank across state lines.

Sorry, but this film stunk. No real rym or reason. Bigotry like it was the early 1960s, not the 1980s. G.D. over acts as usual as the psycho bigot sheriff. The whole plot is ridiculous. Lots of un-needed sadistic scenes like the brutal spanking of a prostitute, the savage beating of a young child and a stupid scene regarding apple cobbler. Wasted talent in a wasted unentertaining movie.

This movie is absolutely 80's and is timeless. If your in your 40's.... and have not seen it you will LOVE IT!!!

"Tank" should have been a fun movie. Unfortunately, it's a too mean and too stupid to really be enjoyed. James Garner is as likeable as they come. The rest of the cast is fine. I could have done without Shirley Jones but she she has her moments. I also could have done without seeing Stretch Cunningham's ass. On the other hand, Jenilee Harrison shines. Harrison gives one of the best no-bra performances of all time. I was enjoying "Tank" for the first hour or so but the movie gets totally ridiculous during the second half. But of course it does. After out hero owns his own tank and the villain owes his own work camp.

Not only does Tank offer varied assortments in the ways of wit, action, and humor, I believe that it also accurate portrays the periodic levels of corruption that previously and continue to plague the various small town, white-bred trailer trash communities across the nation, moreover a mild example of which I can personally relate to.

Two years ago, a similar rural community with it's own breed of laws and regulations attempted to suspend my driving privileges upon ticketing a driver for speeding that had confiscated a driver's license that I had previously reported as stolen. My attempts to explain myself only proved a fruitless endeavor, as the community encouraged me to pay up and get over it. Only after I hired an attorney and threatened a lawsuit, did the grit munching scum-suckers in question withdraw their insistence.

Within this film, a corrupt southern bred police department attempts to enslave an Army Major's son after a deputy is justifiable beaten up in retaliation to assaulting a falsely branded "prostitute". As a portion of cover, the malevolent Sheriff runs a broadly defined farm that actually qualifies as a labor camp from which to subject luckless youths to intensive brutality. After failed attempts to appease the Sheriff's fury, James Garner elects to take matters into his own hands, commandeering a personally owned Sherman Tank in which to spring his son, and demolish a few of the corrupt police department's facilities along the way.

Perhaps another reason I enjoyed this movie is the presence of the highly versatile score by the incomparable Lalo Schifrin, who employs every compositional style in the book from Jazz to traditional military marches and a highly catchy disco tune. Unfortunately, the latter becomes a subject of unwarranted contempt from the Sergeant major's redneck upbringing, as he encourages local bars to refit their repertroire to stay any unwanted coersions to "dance the funky monkey".

Overall, the film offers a highly sympathetic premise, that eerily enough seems completely plausible in today's terms, given the prevalence of small towns, isolated from the civilized world and thus prone to erect their own dictatorial policies, no matter how severe.

James Garner portrays a military officer who has one very unique distinction. He owns his own Sherman tank! After butting heads with a sheriff's deputy, his son is framed for drug possession and he must battle wits with the evil sheriff.

This movie is sort of a cross between the original 'Smokey and the Bandit' and a free wheeling episode of 'The Dukes of Hazzard'. It's a predictable, mildly amusing film with cultural stereotypes. If you're willing to overlook this, it will provide you with the typical fast food type of entertainment.

Dumb script, dumb unrealistic dialogue. What a dud.

The premise of the story may be farcical and perhaps even silly. And the soundtrack does a good job of trying to keep it light, but this is a harsh movie portraying extreme local government corruption, violent child abuse, racial violence, abuse of power, vigilantism, unlawful imprisonment, threats of imposed sodomy while incarcerated, prostitution...need I go on? This movie should have been rated R but managed to squeeze into a PG rating just before the PG-13 rating was created. It's worth seeing, but not if you're looking for a comedy.

This is absolutely the dumbest movie I've ever seen. What a waste of a splendid cast. That's James Cromwell as the ignoramus playing deputy. I could go on and on, but I would obviously be spending more time on this review than anybody ever did on the script. The only thing this movie is about is us vs. them and how to revel in profane slapstick beyond any reasonable human being's tolerance. This is one of the 10 worst movies I have ever seen -- and I LOVE James Garner.

The stage curtains open ...

Reporter: "Why would anyone want to own a Sherman tank?" Zack: "Because it's very hard to shoot yourself while you're cleaning it."

"Tank" (1984) starring James Garner, C. Thomas Howell, Shirley Jones, and Jenilee Harrison was one of those films I remember hitting the theaters when I was about 15 years old. I saw the poster and just knew that I had to see it. I was already a fan of James Garner having watched countless episodes of "The Rockford Files" everyday after school. But, for whatever reason, I never did get to see it until many years later ... and it still delivered on its promise.

Sergeant Major Zack Carey (Garner) is moving with his family to Georgia where he hopes it will be his last post in the Army. He brings along with him a Sherman tank that he has fully restored over the last 15 years, something he takes great pride in. He is looking forward to retiring so that he can spend quality time with his family before his son is old enough to move out of the house. However, all plans are put on hold when he gets into it with the local law enforcement in a bar one night and the corrupt sheriff won't be satisfied until Zack is behind bars. When he isn't able to pry the Sergeant Major off of the Army base, he goes after his son instead, unjustly placing him on a prison farm for something he didn't do. Feeling he has no choice or recourse, Zack takes things into his own hands and decides to take his Sherman tank out for a little drive.

I've seen this movie twice now, and I enjoyed it more the 2nd time I saw it. The film was very well cast, with every actor filling their role perfectly. James Garner as the Sergeant Major, Shirley Jones as his no-nonsense, military wife, and G. D. Spradling as the evil sheriff, were all convincing and put in solid performances. The story was fun, though a bit over-the-top at the end - and the side stories along the way were well conceived and executed.

I really enjoyed this movie and would not hesitate to recommend it at a strong 7 stars out of 10. It is a fun slice of the 80's for me, even though I saw it much later. Just seeing James Garner giving that thumbs up on the poster brings back good memories from a good time for me. If you want to be entertained where the good guy triumphs over the bad guy with a 'feel good' ending, then you can do a lot worse than "Tank".

i didn't enjoy this movie at all.for one,i just found it crude and vulgar,for no reason.i also felt it's misogynistic(against women.)also,the movie really doesn't appear to be about anything,and i didn't find any of the characters likable.really,the there doesn't seem to be any point to it all.maybe i'm missing something,but for me,this movie is pretty much a waste of time,when i could have been doing something more productive and enjoyable.like using my face as a pin cushion.James garner is in this thing,as are C.Thomas Howell and Shirley Jones,and James Cromwell.all are wasted here,and i'm sure this was a low point in each of their respective careers.Jennilee Harrison(from the later years of Three's Company)is also in the movie,and it is nice to see her in a non ditsy role.but other than that,she can't rise above the mediocre script.for me,Tank is a 3/10

Tank is a film about Sergeant Major James Garner an army lifer assigned to what will probably be his last post, somewhere in an unnamed fort in the State of Alabama. He's moved on the post with wife Shirley Jones and younger son C. Thomas Howell. Garner and Jones's older son was killed a short while back in an accident and they're still grieving. Also moving on the post is Garner's pride and joy, a World War II vintage Sherman tank which he has reassembled and he's the only man in the US Army with his own personal Tank.

One night while visiting one of the local bars he sees one of the hookers, Jenilee Harrison being beaten by a sheriff's deputy James Cromwell. It bothers him and Garner takes matters in his own hands. But assaulting an Alabama deputy sheriff in his own town is normally not a good idea. As Sergeant Dorian Harewood of the Provost Marshal's office tells Garner, the sheriff G.D.Spradlin is a 'mean cracker'.

Spradlin bides his time and then frames Howell on a drug charge. After exhausting the legal means Garner resorts to the illegal and puts his career and pension at risk, but becomes one popular dude.

One of the best things Tank has going for it is the real chemistry between, Garner, Jones and Howell. You don't think of them as players, they become a real family on the screen. You also see Garner going about his daily routine on the post and you note that this is a man in whose hands the country's defense is in. As long as we do produce men like Garner for our Armed Services, the country's in good hands.

Tank was shot on several army bases and has an authentic army look about it. In fact all the players and their are several familiar ones really do convey themselves as soldiers. Garner and Mess Sergeant John Hancock have a really humorous confrontation and Hancock for example is someone you really do think of as an army mess sergeant not just an actor playing one.

Tank gives Garner and Jones roles that fit their age bracket perfectly, they are two of the best roles both of those players have had in their later years. Tank is good family entertainment with something for all ages of moviegoers.

All good family action fun, suited for young and old, and especially for the fans of the SEVENTIES!

In the same style of the classic "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977), but now featuring a tank on the loose.

The good: James Garner. What a guy.

More good: there is a terrific bad guy, in the person of a southern nasty sherrif, whose feelings got hurt, because this army officer knocked down one of his deputies during a bar fight.

In retaliation the vicious sherrif puts the son of this army general in jail, and now all hell breaks loose, when the army officer uses his tank to break his innocent kid out of jail.

Any bad? A bit silly, but the charming kind of silly. A bit slow, but the nice and mellow seventies kind of slow.

Seen it many times and it is just a delightful seventies family action picture!

This movie begins with an Army Command Sergeant Major named "Zack Carey" (James Garner) relocating to a new assignment somewhere in Georgia. What makes Zack so unusual is that during the course of his military career he has managed to build a Sherman tank from scratch and he is taking it with him to his new post. Although this is his last tour of duty he soon discovers that he is not destined to retire in peace as a brawl at a nightclub puts him and his entire family in the sights of an evil law enforcement official by the name of "Sheriff Buelton" (G. D. Spradlin). However, what Sheriff Buelton fails to take into account is that, even though he has a great deal of authority in the local area, it isn't wise to bully a man like like CSM Carey too far--especially when he has a Sherman tank at his disposal. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, even though this picture was a minor success when it first came out, having seen it again just recently I must admit that the film itself is rather uneven and hasn't improved with age. Yet despite its obvious flaws, it's still entertaining to a certain degree and because of that I have rated it accordingly. Average.