I don't fully get why I didn't adore this movie, because it has so many things that I enjoy. Firstly it has Gary Busey in one of his few lead roles, but he's so good at playing action villains ("Under Siege" would be his highlight) that you don't really buy him as the straight man. This is most obvious in the infamous bingo hall scene, where he gets to do a long monologue that just doesn't go over at all. This isn't what Busey is good at, and a more competent director would have used his talents more and hid his limitations better. Secondly you have my favorite villain cliché of the 80s: an oddball motorcycle gang that rules a small town. Sadly we only really get to know the leader and everyone else is just an extra standing around doing nothing, which seems like a missed opportunity to me. But the biggest letdown was probably just the lack of action. Logically you'd assume that Busey is going to kill every single biker thus saving the town, but if that's what you expect you're in for a real anticlimax. There are some explosions and gunfights here and there, but you just keep waiting for Busey to go postal which never happens. In fact, for a Vietnam veteran (which in action movies usually makes you Superman) he's really not that tough at all. If the motorcycle gang had any common sense, this movie would be twenty minutes long. "Eye Of The Tiger" isn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but damn I expected so much more.
Review of Eye of the Tiger
