If you're reading this, you're no doubt somewhat familiar with wrestling, or remember the 1980's "rock n' wrestling" craze that swept the land during that time. You also probably remember massive wrestling hero (at that time) Hulk Hogan, who stars here as "Rip", the hero of this rather interesting relic of wrestling and pop culture past.
I'm not going to give a plot summary, but suffice it to say, the plot revolves around the hero, Rip, fighting an evil television studio head, Brell, who takes Rip's snub of not signing with his network rather deeply and personally, and ultimately ends up with his own champion, "Zeus", played by Tommy "Tiny" Lister, a human wrecking machine that sets out to wreak havoc on Rip and all that Rip holds dear. Of course, this leads to an inevitably epic battle between the two on Brell's TV show, where the two square off in a struggle for the ages.
Now, there are some interesting things to note here about the film. This was essentially WWF's (not WWE at the time) first foray into movies, LONG before they had their own studio, such as it is.
Secondly, within the plot itself, you have what is basically the first tossing around (pun intended) of the whole "who's the toughest guy?" theme, which came well before UFC was ever around. In that respect, it makes one wonder if Dana White, creator of the UFC, actually saw this movie and decided to poach the concept, either deliberately, or inadvertently. That may be a stretch, to be sure, but it does make you wonder, and is a fun "What If?". While the whole "tough guy" idea is not a new concept, the idea had not been polished to these heights before.
Thirdly, McMahon, being the rather shrewd and opportunistic promoter that he is, saw a chance to shill the film with a Pay Per View where Hulk Hogan actually squared off against Zeus in a WWF ring. A tie-in, if you will. No doubt this probably sold some PPV's and generated some interest, but the fact that the Zeus character was pretty one dimensional, and that Lister, who played Zeus, was not a wrestler himself, pushed the whole thing into a corner, and the angle (storyline, buildup, etc) was soon forgotten afterwards and Lister disappeared. I'm happy to say that he returned to the screen with the FRIDAY movie series, and it seems he still gets work here and there. If I'm not mistaken, WCW, WWF's business rival for years before they went out of business, also tried to bring Lister back, but it fizzled with little fanfare.
Lastly, look for other wrestlers in bit parts. I remember chuckling seeing legit wrestling tough guy Stan Hansen (who had a legendary career both in the US and Japan) show up in a small role as a bar tough guy who ridicules Brell's executives when they come to the dive bar Brell has seen that runs the "Tough Guy" contest. See also Bill Eadie, he of the WWF Demolition tag team, as "Jake Bullet", an early opponent of Rip's in the movie, rocking a hugely coiffed mane, which threatens to touch the rafters of the arena with its height. This is a goofy but fun example of the wrestling business spilling into film, where it would ultimately go in later years. Certainly no Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson production here.
WWF and Vince McMahon ultimately played it pretty safe with the film, casting Hogan and Lister as archetypes of the "Face" (good guy) and "Heel" (bad guy) very obviously and with broad strokes. If you're looking for a film with an explanation as to why Zeus is the rampaging, dangerous baddie that he's portrayed as (very well, I might add) by Lister, look elsewhere. The film is a classic case of "you pays your monies, you know what you gets", and that's fine.
Turn off your brain at the door, expect a simplistic and by the numbers plot, and also expect bad acting and overacting in some places. While the film may not be for everyone, it's a fun romp through a time when the WWF thought fans would buy kayfabe (that wrestling was real), and a time where good guys and bad guys were one side or the other, with no shades of gray.
In other words....mindless fun!
I'm not going to give a plot summary, but suffice it to say, the plot revolves around the hero, Rip, fighting an evil television studio head, Brell, who takes Rip's snub of not signing with his network rather deeply and personally, and ultimately ends up with his own champion, "Zeus", played by Tommy "Tiny" Lister, a human wrecking machine that sets out to wreak havoc on Rip and all that Rip holds dear. Of course, this leads to an inevitably epic battle between the two on Brell's TV show, where the two square off in a struggle for the ages.
Now, there are some interesting things to note here about the film. This was essentially WWF's (not WWE at the time) first foray into movies, LONG before they had their own studio, such as it is.
Secondly, within the plot itself, you have what is basically the first tossing around (pun intended) of the whole "who's the toughest guy?" theme, which came well before UFC was ever around. In that respect, it makes one wonder if Dana White, creator of the UFC, actually saw this movie and decided to poach the concept, either deliberately, or inadvertently. That may be a stretch, to be sure, but it does make you wonder, and is a fun "What If?". While the whole "tough guy" idea is not a new concept, the idea had not been polished to these heights before.
Thirdly, McMahon, being the rather shrewd and opportunistic promoter that he is, saw a chance to shill the film with a Pay Per View where Hulk Hogan actually squared off against Zeus in a WWF ring. A tie-in, if you will. No doubt this probably sold some PPV's and generated some interest, but the fact that the Zeus character was pretty one dimensional, and that Lister, who played Zeus, was not a wrestler himself, pushed the whole thing into a corner, and the angle (storyline, buildup, etc) was soon forgotten afterwards and Lister disappeared. I'm happy to say that he returned to the screen with the FRIDAY movie series, and it seems he still gets work here and there. If I'm not mistaken, WCW, WWF's business rival for years before they went out of business, also tried to bring Lister back, but it fizzled with little fanfare.
Lastly, look for other wrestlers in bit parts. I remember chuckling seeing legit wrestling tough guy Stan Hansen (who had a legendary career both in the US and Japan) show up in a small role as a bar tough guy who ridicules Brell's executives when they come to the dive bar Brell has seen that runs the "Tough Guy" contest. See also Bill Eadie, he of the WWF Demolition tag team, as "Jake Bullet", an early opponent of Rip's in the movie, rocking a hugely coiffed mane, which threatens to touch the rafters of the arena with its height. This is a goofy but fun example of the wrestling business spilling into film, where it would ultimately go in later years. Certainly no Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson production here.
WWF and Vince McMahon ultimately played it pretty safe with the film, casting Hogan and Lister as archetypes of the "Face" (good guy) and "Heel" (bad guy) very obviously and with broad strokes. If you're looking for a film with an explanation as to why Zeus is the rampaging, dangerous baddie that he's portrayed as (very well, I might add) by Lister, look elsewhere. The film is a classic case of "you pays your monies, you know what you gets", and that's fine.
Turn off your brain at the door, expect a simplistic and by the numbers plot, and also expect bad acting and overacting in some places. While the film may not be for everyone, it's a fun romp through a time when the WWF thought fans would buy kayfabe (that wrestling was real), and a time where good guys and bad guys were one side or the other, with no shades of gray.
In other words....mindless fun!