Ladies and gentlemen, afficionados of the '80s, fans of Michael Mann, allow me to introduce a movie most of you probably have never heard of.
"Band of the Hand" came and went in 1986 like the millions of other movies of the '80s, some with more plot and less style, others vice versa. But what makes this any different than the rest of its ilk?
Well, for starters, it was produced by Michael "Miami Vice" Mann (which accounts for the Miami setting and the Don Johnson clothing styles), it was directed by Hutch from TV's "Startsky and Hutch" (Glaser), a LOT of familiar faces are featured in the cast (Holly, Fishburne, Remar, Graham and Ferrero and Smitrovich from "Vice") and has that old "hey-let's-get-the-kids-together-and-clean-up-the-neighborhood" plot transplanted into Reaganomic drug-enforcement sensibility.
On the down side, there is little to nothing in the ways of personality in the characters; they act just about the way you'd expect TV characters to act. Thing is - THIS IS A MOVIE! And while there are a lot of stretches where people say nothing and just do their thing while music plays on the sound-track for "emotional emphasis", there are a few dozen of these scenes too many for my taste (hey guys, a little dialogue so we'll know what people are thinking would be nice...you know, once in a while?). And WHY, in the name of every holy being you could possibly think of, did Mann think he had to ape EVERY SINGLE nuance from "Miami Vice"??? You know, Michael, you are allowed to do something different every once in a while.
Thank god he learned his lesson later on and actually did better movies like "The Last of the Mohicans" and "Heat". Even 1981's "Thief" with James Caan was done better in style as well as story. Of course, "Miami Vice" wasn't on TV yet, either.
As it is, just a reminder of everything that was pastel in the '80s. Other than that, this is a "Hand" that should be banned.
Four stars, mostly for the look. Maybe "Band of the Hand" would be better if you watched it with the sound turned off? I'll have to try that sometime.
"Band of the Hand" came and went in 1986 like the millions of other movies of the '80s, some with more plot and less style, others vice versa. But what makes this any different than the rest of its ilk?
Well, for starters, it was produced by Michael "Miami Vice" Mann (which accounts for the Miami setting and the Don Johnson clothing styles), it was directed by Hutch from TV's "Startsky and Hutch" (Glaser), a LOT of familiar faces are featured in the cast (Holly, Fishburne, Remar, Graham and Ferrero and Smitrovich from "Vice") and has that old "hey-let's-get-the-kids-together-and-clean-up-the-neighborhood" plot transplanted into Reaganomic drug-enforcement sensibility.
On the down side, there is little to nothing in the ways of personality in the characters; they act just about the way you'd expect TV characters to act. Thing is - THIS IS A MOVIE! And while there are a lot of stretches where people say nothing and just do their thing while music plays on the sound-track for "emotional emphasis", there are a few dozen of these scenes too many for my taste (hey guys, a little dialogue so we'll know what people are thinking would be nice...you know, once in a while?). And WHY, in the name of every holy being you could possibly think of, did Mann think he had to ape EVERY SINGLE nuance from "Miami Vice"??? You know, Michael, you are allowed to do something different every once in a while.
Thank god he learned his lesson later on and actually did better movies like "The Last of the Mohicans" and "Heat". Even 1981's "Thief" with James Caan was done better in style as well as story. Of course, "Miami Vice" wasn't on TV yet, either.
As it is, just a reminder of everything that was pastel in the '80s. Other than that, this is a "Hand" that should be banned.
Four stars, mostly for the look. Maybe "Band of the Hand" would be better if you watched it with the sound turned off? I'll have to try that sometime.