Wanted: Dead or Alive (1987) New World Pictures/Action RT: 106 minutes Rated R (strong graphic violence, terrorism, language) Director: Gary Sherman Screenplay: Michael Patrick Goodman, Brian Taggert and Gary Sherman Music: Joe Renzetti Cinematography: Alex Nepomniaschy Release date: January 16, 1987 (US) Starring: Rutger Hauer, Gene Simmons, Robert Guillaume, Mel Harris, William Russ, Jerry Hardin, Hugh Gillin, Dennis Burkley, Robert Harper, Eli Danker, Joseph Nasser, Suzanne Wouk, Gerald Papasyan, Nick Faltas. Box Office: $7.5M (US)
Rating: ****
The hero of Wanted: Dead or Alive is Nick Randall (Hauer, Nighthawks) the great-grandson of Josh Randall, the hero of the 1958 TV series of the same name. Nick is an ex-CIA agent/bounty hunter in L.A. content with receiving large sums of money for capturing wanted criminals. His past is about to catch up with him. Terrorist Malak Al Rahim (Simmons, Runaway) sneaks into the US disguised as a Hasidic rabbi and immediately makes his presence known by bombing a crowded movie theater (showing Rambo: First Blood Part II, no less). Randall’s former CIA boss Walker (Guillaume, Benson) asks him to come back for one last job. Due to a previous connection, Randall is the best man to capture Malak and thwart his diabolical plan to strike a blow against America. For some reason, the FBI and CIA seem determined to hinder his efforts to get to Malak.
Like all action heroes, Randall tries to balance his latest assignment with his “normal life”; namely, his romance with Terry (Harris, K-9), an airline stewardess and anthropology student who thinks her man is in the security business. Well, it’s sort of true. He’s also close friends with Danny Quintz (Russ, Dead of Winter), an LAPD detective who throws a lot of work his way.
I realize Wanted: Dead or Alive is an exploitation movie, but damned if it doesn’t work. It is one kick-ass action movie, one that features Hauer in a rare good guy role. The actor endows his character here with unique traits like buttering toast by rubbing it against a stick of butter. Hauer makes a great villain AND a great hero. He’s a total bad ass! Watch how he captures a cop killer in the opening scenes. Check out his arsenal of weapons; it would make any survivalist nut green with envy. He gets some choice lines too. The best, of course, is “F*** the bonus.” If you’ve seen it, you know what I’m talking about. BTW, his loft apartment is to die for. He can park all of his cars in it. Bounty hunters make good money.
Every once in a while, New World would release a movie with slicker production values than their usual low-budget efforts. Wanted: Dead or Alive is one of their best. It’s well-written even if the plot is a little confusing with the CIA and FBI involvement. Jerry Hardin (Missing) plays the CIA head who we instinctively know doesn’t have Randall’s best interests at heart. In short, he’s a real bastard. His actions lead to one of the movie’s best lines when Walker angrily tells him “The next time you want to f*** me, kiss me first!” Director Gary Sherman (Vice Squad) keeps things moving at a fast pace with a few nicely executed action scenes.
Simmons, also of the rock group KISS, makes a perfectly despicable villain. His character is cold and evil. He commits terrible acts with the cool manner of a suburbanite mowing his lawn. He gets increasingly hateful to the point where you want to see him die a horrible death. I’ve always felt that Simmons should have been a bigger movie star. He ranks right alongside Lee Ving (Streets of Fire) as an effective movie bad guy. Harris, best known for the popular TV drama thirty-something, is quite good in her first big role. The writers actually take the time to develop her character beyond random love interest. She’s an intelligent character. Her relationship with Randall is believable.
The script also develops his friendship with Danny. Randall doesn’t like cops; he won’t even enter the station when delivering a fugitive. When he brings in the cop killer, he hands him over to Danny in the parking lot. In the role, Russ does a good job. I love that he hides his motorcycle from his wife at Randall’s loft. It gives Randall leverage when he wants something from his friend.
When Wanted: Dead or Alive came out in January ’87, I remember hearing a lot of complaints about its negative depiction of Middle Easterners. Any intelligent person knows NOT all Arabs are terrorists. It’s just typical 80s-era Hollywood jingoism. Don’t most action movies of the time feature villains from countries with which we didn’t have good diplomatic relations? How many times has a Communist from the USSR been the villain? Too many to count. I say just sit back and enjoy the ride. There’s no need to get political about it. It’s entertainment, nothing more.
Wanted: Dead or Alive is one of my favorite action flicks; it’s something I never get tired of watching. It has a high repeat watchability quotient. It has plenty of action and violence. It has a cool cast that also includes Dennis Burkley (Mask), one of my favorite character actors. It’s a B-movie with A-level aspirations. It works all around.
