Waste of time

Very well executed

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Charlie, a Korean War veteran, is paid to drive a truck which is transporting plutonium from Nevada to Arizona. But there are a bunch of terrorists who want to steal the truck, and all of its contents....Thunder run is the cinematic equivalent of one of those £2.99 spectrum games you used to get from the chemist when you got your pocket money.It does exactly what it says on the tin, hardly any build up, straight forward plot, and bad guys that seemingly get progressively harder as the film reaches its climax.It's completely silly, the first twenty or so minutes are absolute nothing more than bonding between grandfather and grandson, but as soon as they get in the truck, it's mindblowingly brilliant in an 'only in the eighties' way.We get girls on bikes cooked to death, guys in dune buggies with missiles attached, and the actual truck filled with pound shop gadgets such as barrels filled with explosives, flame throwers, and a ram at the front.And then it finishes.It's not brilliant, but if you want something to entertain in a way that Cannon films did, you'll find something to entertain here.

This is very straightforward and rudimentary action-cheese from the 1980's, no more and no less. First, we have 45 minutes of obligatory character introductions, depiction of clichés and mood-setting tableaux. Then, we have a good 45 minutes of crowd-pleasing action sequences that include explosions, ramming, 18-wheel truck stunts and impressive accidents. That's how simple movies can be, and it's great! Charlie Morrison was a Korean War veteran and furthermore notorious heavy truck driver, but that was a long time ago. Now he, his beloved wife Maggie and daredevil grandson Chris unsuccessfully try to exploit a mine in Nevada. Charlie receives a visit from his former army buddy turned government agent George, who hires him to transport a chest of plutonium to Arizona in a specially armored truck named "Thunder" and earn $250.000. During his trip Charlie has to be wary of well-organized terrorists with special tricks and gimmicks up their sleeves (like Volkswagen Beetles with rocket launchers on the roof), but he gets help from his grandson and his nerd friends. At first, I assumed "Thunder Run" would be a delightful and joyous "hillbilly" movie! There are bar sequences where the band plays songs like "Cotton Eye Joe" and "Bullsh*t". The elderly townsfolk dance in the bar while the younger generation are out in the streets organizing illegal street races. Furthermore there's the weird romance between a blond babe (with a really fine bottom) and the world's biggest nerd and the Chevy pick-up with gas injection which predates the similar "The Fast and the Furious" with approximately fifteen years. Later, there's the typical pimping of the truck with explosive gadgets (immensely popularized by "The A-Team") and the introduction of ultra-evil villains. You can clearly tell these guys are pure evil because they either have icky scars in their faces or non-Americans! The finale contains some wondrous action highlights including 65ft long Thunder jumping over a moving train and an exhilarating showdown between trucks. "Thunder Run" is fantastic, monumental 80's guff!

Probably hardly anyone has even heard of this movie, and that's all right, because the only people who would care about it are truckers and hot rodders. As far as the plot goes, let's just say there's a secret government operation here, subject to terrorists and internal corruption. Forrest Tucker was a man many people today are not familiar with, but he had a lot of roles and was a common name. And then we have John Shepherd, who is not a familiar name but is worth checking out. His character drag races a Chevy pickup, apparently one of the fastest in existence, and it seems the girls flock to him two at a time. There's also a scene with the "Cotton-eyed Joe." Anyway, Forrest and John are trucking plutonium in a high-tech customized semi with the Chevy on board, just in case they need it. The Kenworth conventional tractor has a 8V-92 Detroit, apparently the best powerplant for this mission. Now for the best part of this whole movie: Where White Line Fever gives you a truck tractor jumping through the air, Thunder Run gives you a whole semi!! Later they have to abandon the rig and use the Chevy to escape from a 12V-71 Detroit-equipped Kenworth cabover which gets wrecked. Anyway, they get like $250,000 for the run, and John asks Forrest what they're going to spend it on, and, like a real man, Forrest says "On anything we damn well please!"

Bullhead City, Arizona. It was great to see Hollywood coming to town. I'll admit this movie is bad but some of the people I went to high school with are in it. Dennis Deal, the General, was our high school basketball coach. The bar scene, where the two guys get in an argument over a girl (isn't that always the case?), those guys are brothers and the bartender that breaks it up is their father. Funny, eh? Anyway, I said it's bad and it is but I get a big kick out of watching it. I can point out all the places they go in the movie. The final destination is really Davis Dam on the Colorado River. Anyway, watch this movie, laugh at how bad it is and, if you're from the 'Head, it'll mean that much more to you.