Better Late Then Never

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

*MINOR SPOILER ALERT* This might not be up to the usual "Herbie" standard, but 4.8 is just ridiculous when you compare it to all the other kinds of movies rated on the IMDb. It's still about infinitely better than the usual no-budget, no-production-value, no-story, no-dialog, no-nothing movie that gets that low a rating here. A more fair rating would be about 6 or so. The cast is largely name-brand and Harvey Korman even has moments that remind you of Joe Flynn in the earlier Disney/Buena Vista live-action movies which preceded this one.I especially appreciated the location shooting, not only in Mexico but in Columbia and most especially Panama, where we get to see Herbie in the Pedro Miguel locks of the Panama Canal, cruising past Panama Viejo, and whizzing down the Fort Amador causeway with Panama City in the background, and over the Thatcher Ferry Bridge (known to everybody but Zonians rather grandiloquently as "The Bridge of the Americas") with the old Rodman Naval Station off in the distance. It was fun.

It was thought the Herbie phenomenon had finally run its course with Herbie Goes Bananas. It turned out only that the franchise just took a quarter century hiatus.In this film Herbie has been given over to Stephen W. Burns and his mechanic Charles Martin Smith by previous owner whom we all know was Dean Jones. Of course he did it without telling nephew Burns or Smith about Herbie's capabilities. A bit of time with him and they really do believe that he can win the Grand Prix at Rio.But before that the little bug gets involved with some counterfeiters played by John Vernon, Richard Jaeckel, and Alex Rocco, a little boy who calls him OCHO played by Joaquin Garay, and the pretentious captain of a cruise ship in Harvey Korman who has the best performance in the film. Burns gets himself involved in a shipboard romance with Elyssa Davalos who is accompanied by her chaperon aunt Cloris Leachman. Korman and Leachman get a little something going themselves though what she sees in him is beyond me. Maybe she just likes the uniform.Herbie Goes Bananas has some nice location cinematography in the Panama Canal, Tijuana, and Guadalajara in Mexico. And it has two good scenes with Herbie walking the plank as per Captain Korman's orders and later on in a corrida facing a bull with Leachman and Korman inside. The rest of the time it moves at a snail's pace, odd for a Volkswagen that's supposed to win Grand Prix events.By the way little Joaquin Garay calls him Ocho because he adds the five and three painted on Herbie's side and that's eight in Spanish. So why didn't he just call him Cincuenta Y Tres?

"Herbie Goes Bananas" is way too underrated. Quite honestly, I don't see any reason why so many people dislike it. It's a light-hearted comedy in the old-fashioned Disney style, great fun and cute. It's a harmless movie, without violence or bad stuff. I know I'm in minority, but I consider this a classic.Despite being one of the sequels, this one can be considered a movie apart. It is original and different from the 3 previous movies. It's not a "rip-off", which is a benefit. Plus, unlike the other movies (which are dated), this one has that timeless, nostalgic feeling. The movie is much better than its cheesy title suggests."Herbie Goes Bananas" takes us to exotic locations such as Mexico and Panama, but also to a cruise ship (the "Sun Princess"), a bullfight, Inca ruins, Panama's Canal...Soundtrack is nice. "I found a new friend" is a very charming and cheerful song and I also like the instrumental musics.About the characters, I generally like them. My favorite is Paco, along with Herbie. Paco is cute and lovable, but also comical and one of the nicest and smartest movie kids ever. He always keeps his cheery disposition. He is polite, cool, he really likes his car friend (Herbie) and he always says the car looks good (even rusty). He is so much different from the obnoxious Maggie Peyton from "Herbie: Fully Loaded" or even Jim Douglas himself in the beginning of "The Love Bug".Captain Blythe is *very* surly yet hilarious. Imagine having an explosive captain like that aboard a ship...Herbie, the lovable VW Beetle, is a charismatic car in the world of cinema, while the VW Beetle itself is a legend in car industry. I love how he's always there for Paco when he needs help and that Paco does the same for Herbie. I just love their friendship.The bad guys are likable for villains. They always remain calm and delicate without showing signs of aggressiveness.Joaquin Garay III steals the show. His performance as Paco is just so energetic, so lively and terrific. He must have had great fun making this movie. Other talents include Stephen W. Burns, Charles Martin Smith, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, John Vernon, Richard Jaeckel, Alex Rocco and Vito Scotti.It's really cute that Paco calls Herbie "Ocho" ("eight" in Spanish) because he believes Herbie's 53 number means 5+3=8. The way Paco and Herbie communicate with each other is so cute. Not less cute is to see Paco acting like a taxi driver (Herbie is disguised as a taxi later) and the painting smiling flowers with the word "taxi" which Paco paints on Herbie. Curiously, Herbie's name is never mentioned in the movie, except one single time by the garage owner.One of the most hilarious parts of the film is Herbie as a matador. The entire sequence is just so funny! Also, the part when Herbie throws bananas to the bad guys is just hilarious! But there are plenty of other moments as funny as these, of course...This should definitely be on Top 250.

this movie is point-less, taste-less and most importantly Herbie-less! that's right his name is only spoken once in the entire film and his original paint job is only seen for half an hour of the movie. the movie just isn't as original or lovable as the others. and don't fall for it the way i did i ran around the internet for 13 hours(no wait i think it was 14) looking for a review that says this movie was a success but it is not a success it's barley even a Herbie moviewhat it is is a waste of time and money my advice:don't fall for this movie,skip this one, go right to Herbie:fully loaded