The eighties, some of my favorite movies have come from this time and most of them failed to find an audience. Such films as Buckaroo Banzai, Streets of Fire and Radioactive Dreams found new ways to tell classic stories and over the years Streets and Banzai have both developed cult followings but sadly Radioactive Dreams has never been able to find its fan base. It may be because it has never been released on DVD, it could be the terrible music number that grinds the movie to a halt just when the excitement should be building but perhaps it is just too odd.
The story is the standard hard boiled detective yarn with the dick trying to play several sides against each other and discovering the danger of putting their trust in the wrong person. At least it would be standard if not for the Post-Apocalyptic setting and the fact that our heroes have spent almost their entire lives locked up in a bomb shelter and have picked up all they know about the world from reading detective novels. These changes allows the characters to actually grow from kids playing a game to two guys trying not to become cynics in the face of a world were everyone only consider their own best interests and everyone is expendable.
One of the problems with the film for first time viewers is the way that the tone changes from a pretty light hearted beginning to a much darker conclusion. When watching it the second time the shift does not take you off guard and you can just appreciate the film.
If I have made it sound more serious than it is I apologize. It is a fun, very entertaining entry in the Post-Apoc genre and needs a DVD release so it has a chance at building new fans.
The story is the standard hard boiled detective yarn with the dick trying to play several sides against each other and discovering the danger of putting their trust in the wrong person. At least it would be standard if not for the Post-Apocalyptic setting and the fact that our heroes have spent almost their entire lives locked up in a bomb shelter and have picked up all they know about the world from reading detective novels. These changes allows the characters to actually grow from kids playing a game to two guys trying not to become cynics in the face of a world were everyone only consider their own best interests and everyone is expendable.
One of the problems with the film for first time viewers is the way that the tone changes from a pretty light hearted beginning to a much darker conclusion. When watching it the second time the shift does not take you off guard and you can just appreciate the film.
If I have made it sound more serious than it is I apologize. It is a fun, very entertaining entry in the Post-Apoc genre and needs a DVD release so it has a chance at building new fans.