Streets of Fire (1984)

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In this self-proclaimed ‘rock & roll fable’ from director Walter Hill (The Warriors, 48 Hrs.), a mercenary is summoned to rescue a revered singer from a motorcycle gang that kidnapped her right off the stage. That the singer and the mercenary were once lovers complicates matters, especially since her new boyfriend and stage manager is funding the rescue operation. The idea of Streets of Fire is far better than its execution. Despite an intriguing, post-industrial quasi-’50s backdrop littered with wet streets, neon, Studebakers and leather jackets, the screenplay struggles to achieve forward momentum or a reason to emotionally invest in any of its characters.

Playing the mercenary, leading man Michael Pare (Eddie and the Cruisers, The Philadelphia Experiment) is so bereft of charisma, you’ll notice the film editors constantly cutting away to anything but his blank, expressionless face. The great Diane Lane (Rumble Fish, Hollywoodland), as the kidnapped singer, is left with little to do but lip-sync a number of songs, while Rick Moranis (Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors) makes the most of it as their romantic foil. Willem Dafoe (Platoon, The Lighthouse) suffices as a stock villain, but Amy Madigan (Field of Dreams, Uncle Buck) is easily the film’s most valuable player. As a rough-and-tumble vagabond who ingratiates herself to Pare and the rescue, she exhibits more personality and charisma than everyone else combined.