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Summary: Possibly the goofiest film I've ever seen.
Review: Peter Weller is Buckaroo Banzaii brain surgeon, scientist, and rock star. His gun toting body guards/band The Hong Kong Cavaliers, and himself, joined by new band member (cowboy outfit clad) Jeff Goldblum are forced to save the world from being destroyed to prevent the escape of the evil Dr. Emilio Lizardo (John Lithgow) an alien from the 8th dimension, and leader of the evil red lectoids. Lizardo is joined by sidekick John Bigboote (Christopher Lloyd). Buckaroo who traveled to the 8th dimension in his experimental interdimensional rocket car is forced to save the world while wooing the seperated at birth twin of his deceased wife Ellen Barkin. What can I say it is a B-movie, but it is pretty dang entertaining. Directed by W.D. Richter. Rated PG.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: Best DVD ever. worth it for the extras. "No matter where you go there you are....."
Rating:
Summary: This says it all
Review: "No matter where you go, there you are". I think this says it all. Enjoy this cult classic.(This quote, incidentally, was the theme of Lollapalooza `93).
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Summary: It is about time
Review: Buckaroo Banzai is one of the most creative bits of nonesense ever filmed. From "No matter where you go... there you are", to John Big-Bootay, the amount of original and quoteworthy material here is astounding. Buy this movie, but leave one for me. I'm proslytizing.
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Summary: Filled With Surprises
Review: Since the release of this film in 1984, it has achieved bona fide cult status, and with good reason; for it is, without question, one of the most unique offerings in the universe of cinematic science fiction. chock-full of quirky, memorable characters and scenes, "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension," directed by W.D. Richter, is laced with clever dialogue, action, adventure and surprises. And where else are you ever going to find a main character who is a scientist, brain surgeon and rock n' roll star all rolled up into one? After years of research, Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller) and his colleague, Professor Hikita (Robert Ito), have successfully developed an "overthruster," a device that has allowed Buckaroo to pass through solid matter-- a mountain, in fact-- driving through it at high speed in his specially designed and equipped car. But when his achievement hits the news, it captures the attention of the mad Dr. Emilio Lizardo (John Lithgow), who catches the story on television from his room in the insane asylum, where he has been a resident for many years, ever since his own attempt at developing an overthruster failed. But though Lizardo's trial run with the overthruster failed, it did put him in contact with alien beings from another realm, one of whom-- Lord John Whorfin-- has since that encounter inhabited Lizardo's mind and body. They are Red Lectroids from Planet 10 by way of the 8th dimension, stranded on earth (in human form) and awaiting the development of the overthruster, which will enable them to return home. These are dangerous and resourceful beings, and they are about to take Buckaroo Banzai-- currently on tour with his band, The Hong Kong Cavaliers-- by surprise. And soon, all that will stand between the Red Lectroids and the destruction of the earth, will be Buckaroo, his band and some help from his loyal followers, the "Blue Blazer Regulars." Working from the highly imaginative, clever and detailed screenplay by Earl Mac Rauch, Richter has fashioned and delivered a colorful and exciting adventure filled with subtle humor, the unexpected and an array of outrageous characters, from Whorfin and the Lectroids (all of whom have the first name "John"), to Buckaroo's cohorts like "Perfect Tommy (Lewis Smith)" and New Jersey (Jeff Goldblum), to the alluring, mysterious woman Buckaroo encounters, Penny Priddy (Ellen Barkin). It's an unconventional, yet readily accessible film that Richter has packed with interesting asides, lines and situations, all of which drive the story forward and keep you guessing as to what could possibly happen next. He throws so much at you, in fact, that it's impossible to catch it all the first time through; but it's a movie that lends itself to repeated viewings, because it's exactly what this kind of film is supposed to be: Pure entertainment from start to finish. Peter Weller is perfectly cast as Buckaroo, and he successfully captures all of the elements that make his character the ultimate Renaissance Man of the immediate future. With this performance, Weller becomes the personification of the genius, adventurer and master-of-all-things; it's the definitive portrayal of a unique individual, quite unlike any ever presented on the silver screen before. Weller's Buckaroo is intelligent and self-assured-- watching him you get the feeling there's always something going on in his head, and always a step ahead of the next guy-- and it's his ability to convey the complexities of the character that makes him believable, and his incredible exploits seem credible. Simply put, Weller has taken a comic book character and made him real, and it makes the film work. As Lizardo/Whorfin, John Lithgow takes it magnificently over the top with a character that is something of a precursor to his High Commander Dick Solomon on TV's "3rd Rock from the Sun." And watching this guy in action is a real kick. He's larger than life, wildly animated and extroverted, while affecting an accent that's a veritable smorgasbord of dialect. He lumbers along like a mutated Quasimodo, and when he gives a speech to his fellow Red Lectroids about going "home," it's one of the most hilarious scenes you're ever going to see anywhere. There's definitely a method to Lithgow's madness, and it's a terrific performance. Christopher Lloyd also turns in a winning performance as another of the Red Lectroids, "John Bigboote," and his exchanges with Lithgow are a riot (especially when Lizardo insists on calling him "Big-Booty," and Bigboote adamantly insists that it is pronounced "Bigboo-TAY!"). And that's just an example of the many, many finer and detailed elements Richter uses to make this film so enjoyable and successful, from consistently funny verbal exchanges to broad physical humor, all interspersed with the action and woven seamlessly into the story. The additional supporting cast includes Rosalind Cash (John Emdall), Pepe Serna (Reno Nevada), Matt Clark (McKinley), Clancy Brown (Rawhide), Carl Lumbly (John Parker), Vincent Schiavelli (John O'Connor), Dan Hedaya (John Gomez), Bill Henderson (Casper), Damon Hines (Scooter), Billy Vera (Pinky Carruthers), Ronald Lacey (President Widmark) and William Traylor (General Catburd). A film that will take you on a wild ride and into regions beyond the known, "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" is that most rare treasure among cinematic discoveries: A truly unique film. It's enthralling and entertaining, and will keep you laughing and involved no matter how many times you see it. And it's filled with great lines you'll be able to quote endlessly and use for any occasion. Or, as Buckaroo himself would say, "No matter where you go, there you are..." It's the magic of the movies.
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Summary: Oh happy days!!!
Review: I am so happy that this film has returned to give another generation a treat. While the plot is fairly simple and the acting may not be top drawer, it is a fun quirky film that will make you wish they had done a sequel. Several sequels in fact.
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Summary: Complete nonsense
Review: No action, no special effects, no plot, no sense. One of those movies you can go to the bathroom, come back and you didn't miss anything. Some funny moments, but really few. No tension whatsoever, movie is terribly boring. Action can change direction unpredictably at any moment and you don't care. I had a feeleing this movie is a joke, but then it should be cut to 1hr, as it is it is horribly looooong. Only for die-hards.
Rating: 
Summary: While in the right mood you MIGHT like it
Review: Now pushing 40 and having seen the original in theaters and on VHS a bazillion times but never straight or sober, I find the humor dated and clunky but I still can't get too far from the film. It is really an acquired taste unless you enjoy scattered pseudo-intellectual cult films, but John Lithgow's performance is worth seeing all by itself. This edition looked and sounded great on our big screen and surround sound, and I even got my wife to watch it. Easy comparison: A less well produced and more weird 5th Element or a sci-fi version of Remo Williams. If you enjoyed either of those films you would probably love Buckaroo!
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Summary: Some Things Are Better Left Unrevisited
Review: I enjoyed this film greatly when a gang of us went to see it on opening day back in -- what? 1984?. I thought that it was clever and fast-moving and altogether a perfect Doc Savage analog for the Eighties. I rewatched it for the first time in years over the weekend with my stepdaughter and a friend of hers (both of whom apparently enjoyed it as much as i did in '84) and discovered that while i may have been right about all of those qualities, there was a third quality that, as part of the group experience, i failed to notice the absence of -- and that was "Substance". The pacing and the surface glitter serve to keep the mind from catching up with itself and the film on first viewing and asking plaintively of itself "But *why*...?" or going "Wait a minute -- how...?" (not unlike most Steven Spielberg films) or from examining the plot contrivances necessary to make the story "work". Perfect Tommy's watermelon could be a metaphor for most of what happens in the film, in that respect -- "Why a watermelon?" "Why not?" The villainous Red Lectroids never manage to do anything but look more or less vaguely ridiculous, and why must the Good Guy Black Lectroids have Rasta dreadlocks and accents? Do the spaceships remind anyone else of giant kidney stones? Why are all Lectroids named "John (something)"? And why do some have comic-relief last names and some have perfectly ordinary last names? Neatly nestled in the tissue-thin narrative, however, are a few goodies. "It's not my planet, monkey-boy!" and "Wherever you go, there you are" have, quite properly, become catchphrases, and it's worth watching the whole film just to see John Lithgow's totally deranged performance as Dr Lizardo. But, even though we own the DVD, i doubt i'll be watching the film again -- some parts, maybe, but not the whole film. Sad; i really liked it eighteen years ago...
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Summary: And Now For Something REALLY Different
Review: I bought Buckaroo Bonzai last week sight unseen after reading the Amazon reviews; I was not disappointed. How can I explain the appeal of this strange and wonderful little film? In an age where smart, funny and original film dialogue is a true rarity, this film has enough great throwaway lines to fill three movies.The plot continually defies all expectations as it careens crazily from hospitals to the desert to a swampy crash site back to Buckeroo's hideout and finally to the Evil Alien lair. And then there is the oddly appealing Peter Weller as the title character. Weller manages to exude effortless cool and an off-hand sexiness despite dressing like a total dweeb for most of the movie. The best scene in my mind is where Buckaroo meets the mysterious and slightly violence-prone Penny Priddy for the first time in a dance club and seranades her with "Since I Don't Have You", just before she pulls out a gun. Ah, good stuff. So remember, character is what you are in the dark, and wherever you go, well, there you are.
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