Wow! Such a good movie.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Crossroads (1986) *** (out of 4)Eugene Martone (Ralph Macchio) is a young man from Long Island who loves the Blues and the legend of Robert Johnson. He tracks down Willie Brown (Joe Seneca) who was the last person alive to play with Johnson in hopes that he will turn over a lost song that the Blues legend recorded. Soon the two are on a road trip to Mississippi where Eugene wants to become a Blues legend himself while Willie has an old score to settle.Walter Hill's CROSSROADS is a love letter to Blues musicians of the past and there's no question that it does a great job at paying respect to them. The film was released to some great reviews but it really didn't catch on at the box office but over the years it has gained a strong cult following and it certainly deserves that. The love letter to the Blues is obvious but there's also a nice road picture here as well as one excellent performance.What I enjoyed most about Hill's film is that the director perfectly nails the Southern locations and I thought he did a marvelous job at making you feel as if you were watching a true myth come to life. There are scenes at the Crossroads where the Blues magicians sell their soul in order to play and I thought these scenes were highly effective and one wishes that an entire movie would be made of this and Johnson. Another major plus is that the music itself is extremely good and there's no question that it pulls you into the picture.Macchio was riding the success of THE KARATE KID and for the most part I thought he was good in the film. I'm not quite sure I believed him as a great musician but I thought he was fine playing the know-it-all from Long Island. Jami Gertz is very good in her role as a woman the two run into on the road and Joe Mortan is also good in his few scenes. There's also Harry Carey, Jr. in a small role as a bartender.With all of that being said, CROSSROADS work so well because of Joe Seneca. He delivers the performance of a career here and I must say that he easily steals the picture. The actor really is believable in the role and there's not a second that he's on screen that you don't feel as if you're watching a real Blues legend. I will say that the ending didn't really work too well with me but that's just a minor issue. Other than that this Walter Hill film packs a nice little punch and is certainly entertaining.

As the legend goes, Robert Johnson stood on the crossroads and sold his soul to the devil. With that contract he wrote twenty-nine songs that defined the blues genre, and… to fit within this storyline… one more tune was written that was never recorded. And this is what a young classical guitarist with a blues itch named Eugene Martone, played by Ralph Macchio, wants to record to make himself famous.He finds revamped version of "Mr. Miyagi"… an eighty-year-old African American blues man stuck in a rest home. He first denies he's Blind Willie Brown (named for wearing glasses), best friend of Robert Johnson; but then cons Martone into breaking him out of the hospital. They go on a road trip that, it turns out, won't be an easy bus ride – and like all dues-paying journeymen, they hitchhike.Along the way the duo meet a beautiful young runaway who borders on being a prostitute. Jami Gertz's spirited Frances provides not only the necessary love-interest but lights the fuse of a few action sequences. Although the best moments have Martone and Willie alone discussing, and playing, the music director Walter Hill celebrates through a soundtrack by slide guitar virtuoso Ry Cooder – providing each soulful lick Macchio imitates on the fretboard with amazing dexterity.One can argue this particular casting choice is a bit too conventional, especially given Macchio's mainstream status as a popular young star, but he does a good job. His final guitar duel with heavy metal shredder Steve Vai, so that Willie can get his soul back from an age-old crossroads deal, is reminiscent of both THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA and THE KARATE KID finale: playing his guitar, Macchio does all but a crane kick to literally beat the Devil. Yet with all the town-to-town adventures this is really about the music, not only a character in itself but the reason for the entire trip.For More Reviews: www.cultfilmfreaks.com

This movie is one of my favorites! It's got some historical truth that makes you feel like This actually happened! Some of the lines in it you'll never forget. My hats off to the man who wrote this movie, you couldn't ask for better writing and plots than this movie!! I've watched is multiple times and it doesn't get old. It makes you feel like you're a part of it after awhile! As a guitar player, this movie is a must see! It's got awesome classical guitar parts that have really inspired me over the years. Nice blues parts too. Plus the end part duel with Steve Vai is very cool too. This is a movie I wouldn't hesitate to share with anybody at any age. --Chad Bakersfield, CA

This movie will always have a special spot in my collection. I remember seeing it on TV when I was about 10, and I hadn't started playing guitar. Seeing Jack Butler (Steve Vai) rip it up left a permanent mark on my memory. A couple years later when I got my first guitar and amp, I rented the movie and was able to appreciate it all the more - I took a cassette recorder, held it up to the TV's speakers and recorded the infamous "Duel Section". I spent hours learning "Eugene's Trick Bag" note for note, and well...being a beginning guitarist, didn't really do much with it at that time. =) It's safe to say that this movie having led me to Steve Vai, is a big reason why I am playing the guitar to this day, 10 years later.Having just watched it for the first time in a few years, it's actually a very good movie. Joe Seneca is brilliant as the harmonica toting blues-man, and Ralph Maccio does an excellent job as well! The storyline holds your interest and builds up nicely to the climactic final duel with the Devil's axeslinger - the one and only Steve Vai. This film also played a big part in catapulting Vai to fame - soon after he would join the likes of David Lee Roth, David Coverdale (Whitesnake) and even replace Yngwie Malmsteen in the rock group Alcatrazz. If you're a Vai fan, you know that the rest is history and he is easily one of the most influential guitarists of our time.Great entertainment, and again - a must if you're a guitarist.