Keep on Trucking
by
Stuart Gordon’s Space Truckers wasn’t made to be dissected or taken seriously. It’s a romp through space as unassuming as a sun tan and twice as thorough. Check your grocery list for there are many items to pick up: Dennis Hopper’s chilled cruiser; able bodied Stephen Dorff who keeps it simple; Debi Mazar’s charm no matter the temperature or company; and Charles Dance...
We first see Dance as the head of research and development on a rock soon to be plagued by a major case of the evil robot run amok. This scenario proves disastrous for Dance, although the screen tastefully fades to a whiteout freeze frame. Fast forward a little and the latter reappears, now peg-legged but minus an eye patch. Instead, there’s an electronic gizmo over the left eye. So he has downgraded from lab genius to space pirate. Also, we mistake the silhouette of his vessel for a chunk of “Black Rock,” which damages Hopper’s cargo ship en route to earth.
Incidentally, Space Truckers contains a couple of golden pickings where the humour left me gasping for breath. Both belong to Dance, whose entire character ends up an elaborate special effect. Good times ahead. Adding to which, the hybrid soundtrack by Colin Towns makes effective use of country and western, jazz, Americana and orchestral variations.
My advice? Throw all expectations into the quicksand, relax and enjoy. (Capsule review)
Released by Sterling Entertainment and rated "PG-13" for adult situations/language, sex and violence. Available on Amazon Prime.
For more information about Space Truckers, go to the IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes website.