Bullet Points: Moonfire

Some people do not have the respect for truck drivers that they deserve. Trucking can be a tough, dangerous and monotonous profession, especially when there are so many bad drivers regardless of vehicle type. Trucking, besides the technological advances, really hasn’t changed much over the years, especially the belief that it was better in the old days. So if trucking can get the blood pumping, and there is nostalgia for the good old days, there is no better idea than to check out a trucking action movie. The stars have aligned, because I just so happened to have some Bullet Points for the 1970 movie Moonfire.

• Once Upon a Time in Mexico – Down in Mexico, Fuentes (Dayton Lummis) is up to no good. It is never really explained how Fuentes got his power, but he has several Mexican lackeys and the local policia under his thumb. You might read about Moonfire that there are Nazis involved, but besides Fuentes being German, the subject is never broached and not germane to the plot. What is important is that a manned satellite from the Russell Corporation crashes on Fuentes land and he takes the pilot hostage and uses him for a ransom of two million dollars. The project from the Russell Corporation is a planned communication network that has been codenamed… Moonfire!

• Mutha Truckas – The Russell Corporation really wants to get their pilot and satellite back and what better way to deal with Fuentes then to send truck drivers. Makes perfect sense. Enter Sam Blue (Richard Egan) and Robert Morgan (Charles Napier, Raw Justice) as the two tasked to drive to Mexico. Of course they don’t know the exact reason or location but for 75¢ a mile it is too good to pass up (I guess that is one change to today’s trucking). For some reason, Moonfire decides to have Sam Blue leave for a good portion of the movie because his brother-in-law loses his legs in a railroad crossing accident (gruesome). That doesn’t mean we are left with just the fresh-faced Charles Napier (something I never thought I would have said) because Russell sends The Farmer (former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston) as his partner/bodyguard. Don’t feel blue for Sam, he comes back when the action gets spicy.

• The Long Road – Morgan and The Farmer are given small bits of the route every time the stop from phone calls from Russell or Fuentes or maps. It is all very intriguing, but leads to a lot of driving scenes. For you Mack lovers (cabover and conventional), there are some great scenes shifting gears and of the southwest scenery, but it makes Moonfire a little longer than it should. Moonfire even shows the boring side of trucking with an extended truck loading scene, unless you are just watching to see a sweaty Charles Napier (not as sweaty as he is in Armstrong). You know what a movie that is running long needs? A biker gang, and not just any biker gang but a racist biker gang. Honestly, I like this addition because racists are easy to hate and bikers are willing to scrap with anyone, and love to use a chain as a weapon.

• Lechuga Congelada – The men working for Fuentes realize all the money in the kidnapping game and mislead Fuentes on where he is hidden. Fuentes realizes that his men may be double crossing him so he attempts to get his money right away. That leads to Morgan trying to shave an old German man with a forklift and in this edition of forklift versus car on the side of a cliff, the forklift wins… explosively! We finally get to see the return of Sam Blue and he freezes the cargo (the on the nose produce of lettuce) that the ransom money his hidden in so the kidnappers will have to thaw before they can get to the cash. This gives the truckers time to rescue the pilot and the satellite. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I did not see the faulty sprinkler head playing such an important role. Death by sinking trailer rules! Also, there is a nice little surprise ending that makes the plot of the movie make more sense.

Moonfire was clearly made by people that have the love and respect for big rigs and the truckers who drive the trucks. The story is pretty straight forward which gives ample time (some might say too much time) to the driving scenes, but big props for Charles Napier for doing all of his own driving. There is some action sprinkled throughout, but not as much motor mayhem as you would expect, but then again trucks aren’t cheap and destroying them would be counterintuitive to a truck lover. Moonfire might not be for everyone, but if you have respect for the men and women who are out on the roads delivering our goods, and the machines they use then you could do worse than Moonfire. Either way, you should definitely check out the Moonfire Bonus Bullet Points before making your decision.

• Not To Be Confused With – The 2018 Danish film Moonfire may have the same name, but it is a completely different movie.
• Out of the Mouth of Babes – A young kid gives it to the trucking industry when he tells Morgan, “You’re not fat enough to be a truck driver.”
• If You Ever… – Wanted to see Sonny Liston punch a biker while holding a small ice cream cone eating child in one arm then Moonfire is for you.
• Driving Music – You can’t have a driving movie without the tunes, and Marty Robbins delivers.
• Best Trucking Quote – “Truck drivers don’t ask questions. They are paid to steer, load, unload, and keep their mouths shut.”