Before I get into this review, I want to talk about the original Smokey and the Bandit. First off it is my #1 favorite movie of all time since I first saw the film at age five and it was the movie that got me into cars and stunts. I loved all of the action, the directing of Hal Needham, the comedy of Jackie Gleason, the chemistry between Burt Reynolds and Sally Field, the trucking culture of the 70's, and the classic soundtrack by country legend Jerry Reed who played the Snowman in the movies. After seeing the Bandit roll out of the trailer in his black and gold Special Edition Pontiac Firebird Trans Am and I promised myself that one day I would get a car like Bandit's and I am very fortunate enough to now own a Bandit Trans Am. Since then, I have seen all of the Smokey and the Bandit movies, including the 4-part TV movie series from 1994 that while many hate, I for one enjoyed them and they are way better than most movies made these days. I have also seen all of Hal Needham's films and I absolutely love his work both as director and as a stuntman. I'm also a Dukes of Hazzard fan and I was fortunate enough to have met Ben Jones who played Cooter in the show, who also had a brief cameo in Smokey and the Bandit.
Now fast forward to 2020 and John Schneider who played Bo Duke in the Dukes announced that he was planning to make a Smokey and the Bandit tribute film called Stand on It which I was eager to see, until I saw leaks and teasers of the production and I soon realized what this movie was going to be. But I was still willing to see it hoping it would be a decent, all-original movie that payed respect to Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham. After over 8 months and waiting 1 week after I placed my DVD order, I was finally able to watch the movie and here is my review.
What should've been a fun tribute that honored the original movie, Stand On It turned to a huge disappointment for me. It was a cheap, low-budget remake of Smokey and the Bandit, not a tribute. There are so many problems with this movie that makes it probably the worst movie I have ever seen.
The movie consists of Schneider playing his version of the Bandit, Duke Marietta who is asked by two guys resembling Big and Little Enos Burdette from the original to deliver 400 cases of beer from Austin, TX, to Baton Rouge, LA within 24 hours with a $500,000 prize, same plot scenario as in the original, but different locations, more money and 4 hours less time. He enlists the help of his friend Roy Reed who takes on the CB handle "Frosty" and brings his dog Frog along for the ride. Duke then drives out of his rig in a 2017 Dodge Challenger done up to look like the Special Edition Trans Am from the original movies. Like the original, Duke picks up a runaway bride named Fred who is being chased by the local Sheriff Cletus T. Necessary played by Tyrus and his dim-witted son Sonny. Everything from then on just rehashes everything from the 1977 classic with car stunts, plot scenarios, and characters. The only big change to the plot is that Duke and Frosty accidently pick up 400 cases of "green local" instead of the "yellow local" beer, which turns out to be, you guessed it, marihuana. At the end, Duke, Frosty, Fred and Frog make it the fairgrounds that was filmed during Schneider's Bo's Extravaganza event on his studio property where much of the filming took place. The film then concludes with the gang leaving the fairgrounds with Tyrus in hot pursuit with Sonny running after them on foot.
Now with the plot summarized, lets talk about the editing and acting.
This film has to be one of the worst edited films I have ever seen, as there are scenes of flopped footage of people driving on the right-hand side of the cars, bad camera work and bad acting. One example of the bad editing is the scene where they redo Justice's door getting hit by a truck, but in this movie the truck is seen hauling a trailer and when it cuts to hitting the car door, the trailer disappears and the truck is completely different. For some reason the movie uses mostly green-screen backgrounds and you can see a dark green background inside the cars when the film cuts to the characters inside. You can also tell that the mural on Frosty's semi-trailer is fake and was pasted on in post-production, which gives the movie a very cheap look and feel to it. The lighting was completely awful as it made everything way to bright at least on the DVD cut of the movie and many of the clips don't make any sense such the redo of the convoy scene that for some reason cuts to a family sitting still in their truck that is supposed to be moving. Many of the shots were likely recorded from cheap cameras and phones that make the movie look even more awful to watch. It seems Schneider wanted to get this thing out asap and didn't bother to fix the continuity errors and wanted to make this movie as cheaply as possible. I understand that the budget is low, but that should translate for more creativity of the filming, but this is sadly not the case for the movie. As an ambitious filmmaker and one who has taken film classes, there is no excuse for bad filmmaking.
The acting was very poor and was very cheesy and cringe-worthy. I often paused the movie because I was laughing at how poorly executed the movie was. Some of the actors in the movie looked like they did not receive any training or guidance at all. Its also off-putting to see John Schneider play a Bandit-like character in this movie, as he is the same guy to played Bo Duke in the Dukes of Hazzard. His acting was poor and I'm very disappointed how him and the other cast members are lifting a lot of the dialogue from the original Smokey and the Bandit film. Supposedly John wrote the script for this movie, but I believe all he did was just copy-and-paste of the original Bandit script with only a few changes to incorporate Dukes references which is a shame because it just makes this movie feel like a rip-off remake of the original. He didn't even give credit to Universal Studios or Hal Needham for characters based off of the original movie.
Another big problem with the movie is Duke's blocker car. Now I know Schneider is a Dodge guy and is known for driving Dodge cars, but he stated how he has always loved the Bandit's Pontiac Firebird Trans Am since he saw the car in person when he was an extra on the set. Now I figured he was going to drive a Dodge in this movie, but I was hoping for an original car that had its own unique look to set the movie apart or a black and gold General Lee as a nod to the Dukes. The car in this movie is a 2017 Dodge Challenger, done up to look like the Bandit Trans Am. It has a fake and poorly-cut t-top roof, a bird on the hood that resembles the original screaming eagle decal from the Trans Am, and throughout the production of the movie, John refers to it as a Hellcat. The Challenger in this movie is actually a V6 base-model, not a Hellcat which has different bumpers, wider wheels, and a 707 HP 6.2 liter V8. There is video of the car jump and you can hear that is a V6 and the Hellcat sounds were added in post-production from a Charger he borrowed that was recorded on Facebook. It would have been awesome to see Schneider drive a 77-81 Trans Am or a new Trans Am Depot Camaro conversion T/A to honor the original car that Burt, Hal, and many Bandit fans loved. If you are trying to pay respect to the Bandit and the fans, you need to bring back the car to further pay tribute to the original. This movie to me was trying to pull a Knight Rider 2008, which had a Ford Mustang for KITT instead of a Trans Am or a new Camaro.
The only parts I really enjoyed were the car stunts and the cameo of the Bandit and Justice characters which the actors did a great job with capturing the charm of Burt and Jackie, but I hated how they were written into the story. All they do is just appear in the General Lee taking Fred the bride to the wedding, instead of working in a surprise appearance of the Bandit helping Duke with a car chase with Buford T. Justice. That would have been so cool to see and it was a huge letdown for me that they chose to not go that direction.
My final thoughts.
Stand On It to me was just a cheap remake of Smokey and the Bandit that fails to capture the spirit of the original films. What should have been a fun original storyline turned into a rehash of the Smokey and the Bandit that many fans will find very disappointing. The one good benefit of this movie is that it makes the poorly-received sequels look great and have better appreciation. Some really good examples of a Bandit tribute done right was Fast N' Loud's Bandit Trans Am build episode and NASCAR's Mobil 1 short series Smoke IS the Bandit on YouTube. Another amazing tribute to both the Bandit and the Dukes is Stuntlife: The Bandit Project, which is a documentary film about the Burt Reynolds Bandit Tribute Jump and the obstacles the stunt team faced to recreate the Bandit Trans Am jump from the original movie. If you are a fan of Smokey and the Bandit, DO NOT watch Stand On It and go watch the original movie, along with Parts 2, 3 and the 1994 TV movies. They are well more worth watching and what you are paying for compared to this poor excuse of a movie.
Thankfully this will likely fade into obscurity while the original Smokey and the Bandit will continue to thrill audiences for generations to come.
John Schneider, I'm extremely disappointed in your attempt to bank off the Bandit with this so called "tribute" movie. I know deep down in my heart that Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham would be very disappointed in this remake of their iconic classic.
Tributes are supposed to be original stories with a few nods to the material, not a beat-for-beat remake solely made to make money.
Now fast forward to 2020 and John Schneider who played Bo Duke in the Dukes announced that he was planning to make a Smokey and the Bandit tribute film called Stand on It which I was eager to see, until I saw leaks and teasers of the production and I soon realized what this movie was going to be. But I was still willing to see it hoping it would be a decent, all-original movie that payed respect to Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham. After over 8 months and waiting 1 week after I placed my DVD order, I was finally able to watch the movie and here is my review.
What should've been a fun tribute that honored the original movie, Stand On It turned to a huge disappointment for me. It was a cheap, low-budget remake of Smokey and the Bandit, not a tribute. There are so many problems with this movie that makes it probably the worst movie I have ever seen.
The movie consists of Schneider playing his version of the Bandit, Duke Marietta who is asked by two guys resembling Big and Little Enos Burdette from the original to deliver 400 cases of beer from Austin, TX, to Baton Rouge, LA within 24 hours with a $500,000 prize, same plot scenario as in the original, but different locations, more money and 4 hours less time. He enlists the help of his friend Roy Reed who takes on the CB handle "Frosty" and brings his dog Frog along for the ride. Duke then drives out of his rig in a 2017 Dodge Challenger done up to look like the Special Edition Trans Am from the original movies. Like the original, Duke picks up a runaway bride named Fred who is being chased by the local Sheriff Cletus T. Necessary played by Tyrus and his dim-witted son Sonny. Everything from then on just rehashes everything from the 1977 classic with car stunts, plot scenarios, and characters. The only big change to the plot is that Duke and Frosty accidently pick up 400 cases of "green local" instead of the "yellow local" beer, which turns out to be, you guessed it, marihuana. At the end, Duke, Frosty, Fred and Frog make it the fairgrounds that was filmed during Schneider's Bo's Extravaganza event on his studio property where much of the filming took place. The film then concludes with the gang leaving the fairgrounds with Tyrus in hot pursuit with Sonny running after them on foot.
Now with the plot summarized, lets talk about the editing and acting.
This film has to be one of the worst edited films I have ever seen, as there are scenes of flopped footage of people driving on the right-hand side of the cars, bad camera work and bad acting. One example of the bad editing is the scene where they redo Justice's door getting hit by a truck, but in this movie the truck is seen hauling a trailer and when it cuts to hitting the car door, the trailer disappears and the truck is completely different. For some reason the movie uses mostly green-screen backgrounds and you can see a dark green background inside the cars when the film cuts to the characters inside. You can also tell that the mural on Frosty's semi-trailer is fake and was pasted on in post-production, which gives the movie a very cheap look and feel to it. The lighting was completely awful as it made everything way to bright at least on the DVD cut of the movie and many of the clips don't make any sense such the redo of the convoy scene that for some reason cuts to a family sitting still in their truck that is supposed to be moving. Many of the shots were likely recorded from cheap cameras and phones that make the movie look even more awful to watch. It seems Schneider wanted to get this thing out asap and didn't bother to fix the continuity errors and wanted to make this movie as cheaply as possible. I understand that the budget is low, but that should translate for more creativity of the filming, but this is sadly not the case for the movie. As an ambitious filmmaker and one who has taken film classes, there is no excuse for bad filmmaking.
The acting was very poor and was very cheesy and cringe-worthy. I often paused the movie because I was laughing at how poorly executed the movie was. Some of the actors in the movie looked like they did not receive any training or guidance at all. Its also off-putting to see John Schneider play a Bandit-like character in this movie, as he is the same guy to played Bo Duke in the Dukes of Hazzard. His acting was poor and I'm very disappointed how him and the other cast members are lifting a lot of the dialogue from the original Smokey and the Bandit film. Supposedly John wrote the script for this movie, but I believe all he did was just copy-and-paste of the original Bandit script with only a few changes to incorporate Dukes references which is a shame because it just makes this movie feel like a rip-off remake of the original. He didn't even give credit to Universal Studios or Hal Needham for characters based off of the original movie.
Another big problem with the movie is Duke's blocker car. Now I know Schneider is a Dodge guy and is known for driving Dodge cars, but he stated how he has always loved the Bandit's Pontiac Firebird Trans Am since he saw the car in person when he was an extra on the set. Now I figured he was going to drive a Dodge in this movie, but I was hoping for an original car that had its own unique look to set the movie apart or a black and gold General Lee as a nod to the Dukes. The car in this movie is a 2017 Dodge Challenger, done up to look like the Bandit Trans Am. It has a fake and poorly-cut t-top roof, a bird on the hood that resembles the original screaming eagle decal from the Trans Am, and throughout the production of the movie, John refers to it as a Hellcat. The Challenger in this movie is actually a V6 base-model, not a Hellcat which has different bumpers, wider wheels, and a 707 HP 6.2 liter V8. There is video of the car jump and you can hear that is a V6 and the Hellcat sounds were added in post-production from a Charger he borrowed that was recorded on Facebook. It would have been awesome to see Schneider drive a 77-81 Trans Am or a new Trans Am Depot Camaro conversion T/A to honor the original car that Burt, Hal, and many Bandit fans loved. If you are trying to pay respect to the Bandit and the fans, you need to bring back the car to further pay tribute to the original. This movie to me was trying to pull a Knight Rider 2008, which had a Ford Mustang for KITT instead of a Trans Am or a new Camaro.
The only parts I really enjoyed were the car stunts and the cameo of the Bandit and Justice characters which the actors did a great job with capturing the charm of Burt and Jackie, but I hated how they were written into the story. All they do is just appear in the General Lee taking Fred the bride to the wedding, instead of working in a surprise appearance of the Bandit helping Duke with a car chase with Buford T. Justice. That would have been so cool to see and it was a huge letdown for me that they chose to not go that direction.
My final thoughts.
Stand On It to me was just a cheap remake of Smokey and the Bandit that fails to capture the spirit of the original films. What should have been a fun original storyline turned into a rehash of the Smokey and the Bandit that many fans will find very disappointing. The one good benefit of this movie is that it makes the poorly-received sequels look great and have better appreciation. Some really good examples of a Bandit tribute done right was Fast N' Loud's Bandit Trans Am build episode and NASCAR's Mobil 1 short series Smoke IS the Bandit on YouTube. Another amazing tribute to both the Bandit and the Dukes is Stuntlife: The Bandit Project, which is a documentary film about the Burt Reynolds Bandit Tribute Jump and the obstacles the stunt team faced to recreate the Bandit Trans Am jump from the original movie. If you are a fan of Smokey and the Bandit, DO NOT watch Stand On It and go watch the original movie, along with Parts 2, 3 and the 1994 TV movies. They are well more worth watching and what you are paying for compared to this poor excuse of a movie.
Thankfully this will likely fade into obscurity while the original Smokey and the Bandit will continue to thrill audiences for generations to come.
John Schneider, I'm extremely disappointed in your attempt to bank off the Bandit with this so called "tribute" movie. I know deep down in my heart that Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham would be very disappointed in this remake of their iconic classic.
Tributes are supposed to be original stories with a few nods to the material, not a beat-for-beat remake solely made to make money.