64 - Bulletproof (1988)
Bulletproof is a movie in search of an identity. One second we are getting a lethal weapon ripoff, the next we are emulating Rambo 2; much like Gary Busey the man, we never know what's going to happen next and what crazy thing will be said.
This ultimately makes for one of the greatest movies I've ever seen. By no means is this a "good" movie but it's such a glorious mess that you can't help but be entertained. We've all been in the situation of seeing a trailer for a movie and thinking it's going to be awesome only to watch the film and be disappointed. This is not the case with Bulletproof.
Gary Busey as a leading man is a truly confounding experiment. For a brief moment in time Hollywood was casting him as the protagonist in B movies and the results were terrifying. A man best known for being insane villains with zero sex appeal is now supposed to be our main character and actually have sexual contact with the opposite sex; it's honestly shocking. We actually have to see Gary Busey playing a saxophone on the beach in this movie in a masturbatory fantasy to siren call a woman over to him; there is no way this should have been allowed to be filmed.
The movie starts as another LA buddy cop film. We see a rapport being set up between Busey and his partner, we get a lot of lethal weapon saxophone music, we get a great action sequence, and then all of this is simply thrown out the window for another movie.
Suddenly, we are thrown into the world of terrorists gathering in Mexico (TerrorCon88) and some nonsensical plot about them wanting to steal a tank that the US government is actually giving to them to try and sabotage their operation. We learn Busey is some sort of government agent (or used to be) and he is coerced into being a one-man wrecking crew to somehow kill all these terrorists and bring back the tank the US gave to them. What should have just been a great buddy cop rip off of Lethal Weapon now becomes a Rambo 2 movie about Busey going into a terrorist convention to rescue Americans held hostage there. Then the Russians get involved because it's the 1980's. Seriously, it's a complete mess.
Despite this, Bulletproof is exactly what you hope for in an action movie. It has one-liners, great character names, horrible miscasting, guns, explosions, new catchphrases and of course Gary Busey. This movie truly is a hidden gem and I can't recommend it enough for those who are curious. Whether it's intentional or not, Bulletproof is one of the funniest and most over-the-top action movies you'll ever see.
Imagine if the McBain segments from The Simpsons was an actual movie; that's Bulletproof.
