BITE-SIZED REVIEW: Black Moon Rising (Harley Cokeliss, 1986)

Professional thief Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) is hired by the government to steal files from a corrupt corporation. When he is tracked down post-robbery, Quint is forced to hide the tape in the only place he can find - the boot of a super car, the 'Black Moon'.

When the car is itself stolen, Quint finds himself drawn in the crosshairs of a powerful crime syndicate. He tracks the car to the syndicate's HQ, a hi-tech skyscraper with near-impregnable security.

Quint will need all his skills to break into the building and get the car out before he runs out of time.

Based on a script originated by John Carpenter (the credits list two other scribes), Black Moon Rising is a high-concept action film that might be more well-known than I give it credit for.

The chief reason for watching this movie is Tommy Lee Jones. Prior to his breakout role in The Fugitive, Jones was a respected character actor who occasionally starred in genre fare. An interesting bit of trivia is that Tommy Lee Jones also starred in the Carpenter-based thriller Eyes of Laura Mars.

From the opening scene, in which he coolly talks a would-be robber at a gas station, Jones owns every scene he is in as the veteran thief. While he cracks wise and has a cat-like facility for getting out of trouble, Jones brings a grizzled pathos to Quint that gives the character a sense of weight and weakness.

Apparently John Carpenter wrote Black Moon Rising around the same time as Escape from New York, and the two films share some DNA. They are both centred around anti-heroes who are enlisted by government forces to do their dirty work. Watching this movie, it is a real shame that Jones and Carpenter never worked together - as Quint, he fits as one of Carpenter's no-nonsense professionals.

And while the movie does not look like a Carpenter movie, the story-telling does feel rather reminiscent of his early work. We start with a short scroll of electronic text - a communique between unseen members of the Justice Department - that lays out the basic set-up.

Carpenter's stories are pretty good at establishing character through action, and Quint's introduction, talking down a nervy gunman while buying a cup of coffee, is a little gem. In under a minute we know everything we need to about Quint - he has already scoped out the location's security, he knows the police's response time, and he is perceptive enough to recognise that the gunman is green and probably recognises something of himself int he young man's predicament ("I'm just trying to help you, son").

While the concept of the scene feels Carpenter, it also fits Jones to a T. He is the smartest person in the room, he is funny without being sarcastic and he shows just a beat of gravitas as the button to the scene.

While the Carpenter connection is the main selling point for genre fans, Jones makes the viewing experience worthwhile. Sure, the script feels very Carpenter but the movie lacks his visual touch or sense of atmosphere. With Jones in the lead, the movie gains a bit of spice.

His portrayal of Quint feels more multifaceted than the character on the page - all the history we need in that hawk-like face, the cackling laugh, and his long stare. Quint feels like a man who has been through a lot, and his sense of humour acts as both a coping mechanism and a weapon to keep his opponents off-balance.

The rest of the cast - including Linda Hamilton and Robert Vaughn - are good, but they do not get a lot to do. Hamilton plays a car thief under the thumb of Vaughn's creepily possessive gang boss, who becomes Jones' love interest. While all the characters have interesting wrinkles (Hamilton is a former runaway), none of them really pop like the supporting casts of Assault on Precinct 13 or Escape from New York.

While the conceit of getting a car out of a skyscraper is interesting, the script piles on a bunch of contrivances to get us to that premise. The final heist is also a bit too easy - sequences which could be extended for tension (Quint's vertiginous crossing between two skyscrapers) feel shortchanged.

Watching the climax might give some viewers a sense of deja vu. I have a sneaking suspicion James Wan is a fan of this movie, because the ending to this movie feels VERY similar to a certain set piece from Furious 7, even down to some of the shots and edit choices.

Overall, Black Moon Rising is a decent B-movie anchored by a terrific lead performance. The Carpenter connection makes it interesting, but as a movie in its own right, it is just fine.

Related

Eyes of Laura Mars

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