Bullet Points: Thunder Run
When Cannon wasn’t producing their own films or buying movie theaters, they were distributing films for other producers. Such was the case for Thunder Run…
- Who You Gonna Call?: A trio of domestic terrorists have stolen some weapons grade plutonium and they almost got away with it until some meddling mercenaries stopped them, killed them and recovered the plutonium. Mission accomplished, but the CIA knows that these terrorists aren’t done trying to get their hands on the plutonium and they concoct a plan with former company man and current private security guru, George Adams (John Ireland, Messenger of Death). Adams has the perfect plan to catch the terrorists and knows the right man for the job, his old war buddy from back when both were in Korea and the best damn trucker he knows, Charlie Morrison (Forrest Tucker, Timestalkers).
- Cotton Eyed Joe: When we first see Charlie he is enjoying some square dancing and some drinks with his wife Maggie. We find out that Charlie retired as a trucker and purchased a cobalt mine with Maggie… although the mine isn’t doing well financially. We also find out that Charlie and Maggie have raised their grandson Chris (John Shepherd, Friday the 13th Part V), after Chris’ parents died in a horrible car accident when he was young. We meet Chris and his crazy group of friends that is more like an extended family to him and his grandparents. They include super smart computer expert Paul (Wallace Langham aka Wally Ward), Paul’s motorcycle riding girlfriend Jilly and Chris’ girlfriend Kim (played by Jill Whitlow of Night of the Creeps fame).
- Money Changes Everything: Charlie may be out of the trucking game but when his old buddy George offers him $250,000 to transport some plutonium from Nevada to Arizona, it is a tempting offer, even though George admits that Charlie will be the bait for the plutonium loving terrorists. The tipping point is once Charlie’s attempt to get an additional investor in the cobalt mine ends in bulldozing disaster, it’s not long before Charlie is buying a new big rig and accepting George’s job opportunity. With the help of Chris and his friends, Charlie modifies his new truck for the dangers that lie ahead (including Kim, painting the Thunder logo on the side)… Now Chris wants to go with his grandfather, but Charlie objects and tells him he needs him to stay with Maggie, while he is gone and assures him nothing bad will happen to him. Lucky for Charlie, Chris doesn’t take no for an answer and stows away in the truck and by the time Charlie figures it out, it is too late to turn back.
- C’Mon Jump the Train: Now up until this point Thunder Run had a good amount of action, there was the opening sequence with the terrorists, the cops chasing Jilly on her motorcycle only to end up in the drink, there was a race scene as Chris and his yellow pick-up truck (modified by tech wiz Paul) challenge a dude in a Corvette and one other scene I’ll mention in the Bonus Bullet Points… but now we are going to see Charlie, Chris and Thunder taking on the terrorists! Thunder has its share of bells and whistles, like flamethrowers on the side and a battering ram on the front and what could only be described as indestructible tires… The terrorists attack with motorcycles and dirt bikes, but when they get two Mad Max style Volkswagen Baja Bugs (complete with heat seeking rockets on the roof) , they really have to get creative in order to get away from their attackers and that is when THEY JUMP A TRAIN!!!
- Keep on Truckin’: After the big jump, Thunder starts overheating due to a crack in the radiator (they should have bought the radiator from the same place as the tires), but things get even worse when the terrorist ring leader, the scar faced Carlos, has a big rig of his own and is looking to eliminate Charlie and Chris off the face of the earth. Fortunately, Chris also stowed away his sweet yellow pickup truck and when Thunder is no longer able to run, Chris and Charlie make the switch! But that doesn’t stop Carlos who is now after the pickup with the same bloodlust. And if that’s not enough, there’s still the security measures at the testing facility they are supposed to deliver the plutonium too… security measures that George and his team were “supposed to” take care of.
Thunder Run was a movie that was way better than it had any right to be, thanks in great part to the abundance of action from start to finish and the fact that the movie never took itself too seriously. The vehicular mayhem made Thunder Run one fun ride. A reminder… a semi-truck JUMPED a train!
Thunder Run would end up being Forrest Tucker’s final theatrical film as he passed away in October of 1986, months after Thunder Run‘s United States release. Forrest Tucker was an interesting action hero choice. Tucker didn’t just play a grandfather, he felt and looked grandfatherly… a feeling I never got from watching Charles Bronson during this era (who was only two years younger than Tucker). The elder statesman hero made me wonder if Cannon distributed AND produced the movie, if this would have been a project for Bronson (maybe with J. Eddie Peck in the Chris role?!)
This Thunder Run review is almost at the finish line, we just need to survive these Bonus Bullet Points…
- Missed Opportunity: Sadly Thunder Run does not feature AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” but at least it has a song title “Thunder Run” performed by David Morgan.
- Action Movie Compliant: One action scene I have yet to mention, was short and sweet and followed action movie protocol. After Chris wins the race, he and his friends hit up a local bar and when some guys get a little frisky with Jilly on the dance floor, we get the obligatory bar fight!!
- Directed By: I was familiar with some of the acting credentials of Gary Hudson, including Road House, Martial Outlaw and The Force, but I had no idea that Hudson was also a director until I saw his name pop up as the director in the opening credits of Thunder Run.
