Malone (1987)

Car trouble leaves ex-hit-man Malone (Burt Reynolds) in a small valley town, paddling around in an A-Team plot scenario that's equal parts reliant on the Western genre. The local villain is a ruthless land-buyer named Delaney (Cliff Robertson), a man who considers himself a true "patriot" of America. If that wasn't enough cliché for military-trained Malone to contend with, his former employees aren't happy to see him leave. There's a mechanic (Scott Wilson) with a teenage daughter (Cynthia Gibb), both of whom have a role to play, but it's Burt that carries it mostly, with a low-key performance that makes up for some pretty standard characterisation and mundane directing.

2½ stable jobs out of 5

Battletruck (1982)

aka Warlords of the 21st Century

Two excellent titles for one average movie. I feel that Battletruck suits the film better, seeing as how there's an actual armoured truck in it. The vehicle thunders along post-WW III roads in a typical Mad Max clone-movie setting.
To be fair, the production does carve out an identity of its own, it's just not a very exciting one and the bad rock music that accompanies the action scenes ruins any chance they ever had of being dramatic.
The hero rides into the story (literally, he's on a motorcycle), saves a girl in trouble and things progress slowly thereafter. Some of the cast try their best, some even succeed, but it's unlikely it'll net many new fans for the genre.

2½ horse-drawn cars out of 5

Black Moon Rising (1986)

For the John Carpenter completist, BMR is another of the lesser known films that he wrote but didn't direct.
Tommy Lee Jones plays a resourceful thief who gets embroiled in a large-scale criminal operation. There’s 80s hair, a prototype car and a heist that requires crucial timing and possibly half a dozen beers to enjoy.
It won’t stay in the memory long after viewing, but nor does it bore at any stage. It’s just average and there’s no shame in being average.

2½ bruises out of 5