Streets of Fire

Movie Name: Streets of Fire
Year of Release: 1984
Director: Walter Hill
Starring: Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan, Willem Dafoe, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Richard Lawson, Rick Rossovich, Bill Paxton, Elizabeth Daily, Lee Ving, Ed Begley Jr., Stoney Jackson, Mykelti Williamson, Robert Townsend, Grand L. Bush, John Dennis Johnston, Harry Beer
Genre: Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6 
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Synopsis and Review:

Director Walter Hill was riding a wave of success when he tackled "Streets of Fire". His previous directorial efforts were met with fairly good reviews and commercial success, respectively "Southern Comfort" and "48 Hours". "Streets of Fire" was conceived as a dream project for the director, and it was intended to be the first of a trilogy of films. The film takes place in a stylized world, a place where the 50s and 80s meet. The kidnapping of a beautiful rock star by a gang named "The Bombers", jumpstarts a series of events. Wanting to get Ellen back, one of her fans, Reva, reaches out to her brother, also Ellen's previous beau, by the name of Tom Cody, to come back to town and help retrieve her. Tom's laconic stance, but also resourceful and ingenious personality make him the perfect fit for the task, and he is aided by Ellen's snarky manager Billy Fish, and an unexpected sidekick by the name of McCoy. This diverse group go on the rescue mission, putting them straight at odds with "The Bombers" ruthless leader, Raven. 

"Streets of Fire" is an interesting and quite unique endeavor, in the sense it marries some influences from Nicholas Ray's "Rebel Without a Cause", with the stylistic approach noticeable in commercials and music videos from the 80s, with a dash of Western. This combination makes for a film that is distinctive in its visual treatment, even if the narrative itself isn' the most original. That being said, the film has a series of interesting takes on the supporting characters, which actually makes it more of a standout. The manager character played by Rick Moranis has a great comedic take on the boyfriend/good guy, whereas the sidekick character, the ex-military, friend of the hero, is tackled by Amy Madigan, who gives the character not only a witty and acerbic personality, but manages to nuance it with just enough humanity not to make it a cliché. This diverse array of characters, compliments the stylistic approach of the film perfectly, though Michael Paré's lead performance always registers the same way, whereas the wonderful Diane Lane doesn't have much to do, the same going for the always fantastic Willem Dafoe as the villain of the story. Nonetheless the film has just the right amount of Nicholas Ray's influences, mixed with a Western stance (the rider coming into town to save it from the villainous posse), and the action scenes are nicely staged and crafted. The cinematography from Andrew Lazlo is wonderful, as is the score from Ry Cooder. A film worth revisiting.