Sadly Over-hyped

Admirable film.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Sergeant Major Zack Carey is in a local bar when a corrupt Deputy Sheriff starts slapping around a prostitute. The Sergeant comes to her defense and ends up beating up the deputy. The Sheriff sees this as a reflection on him and attempts to persecute Carey. When Carey stands up to the Sheriff, the Sheriff plants drugs on Carey's son and tells Carey he will send his son to a prison camp if the Sergeant Major does not give him a large sum of money in a payoff. Sergeant Carey pays him off, but the Sheriff reneges, takes the money and sends the Sergeant's son to the prison camp. The Sheriff also hints that Carey's son will be raped in the camp. The Sergeant Major has had enough and takes off in his restored Sherman Tank in order to break his son out of the camp and cross the state line so he can get fair justice. This is a strange movie. It has some very dark moments yet it has some laugh out loud moments due to some very funny dialogue. The film has a rousing, silly ending.It's hard not to like any movie with the great James Garner in it. G.D. Spradling is very good as the evil Sheriff. The WWII era Sherman Tank is also fun to watch, especially when the Sergeant Major destroys the Sheriff's office.

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

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.

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.