Hailed by critics, the 1990s action thrillers marked the end of a fan-favorite era
Hailed by critics, the 1990s action thrillers marked the end of a fan-favorite era
By Robert Scucci | Published: 2025-10-27 16:30:00 | Source: GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT
Written by Robert Scocchi | Published
It is my self-appointed mission in life to re-evaluate films that have been critically and commercially successful despite having disproportionately high ratings. As of this writing, 1998 Black dog It has a critical score of 15 percent across 20 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Over 10,000 audience reviews on the same site Black dog More reasonable 60 percent. This is a classic case of the audience knowing what it wants, and the critics not having their finger on the pulse.
He is Black dog High art? Absolutely not. Is it a surprisingly fun $30 million thing to do? speed and Die hardwhich pits Patrick Swayze against Meat Loaf and his henchmen as an ex-con transporting toilets and illegal firearms from Atlanta to New Jersey, perfectly embodying the “last job” trope that dominated the ’90s? You are Bisha.
Trucks, guns and redemption are the risks that are claimed Black dog. Despite that, I’m glad audiences are looking forward to this movie, because it has all the trappings of a cult classic that never stops, even if the critics lead you to think otherwise.
Mama, she said, the way you move…
Not to be confused with the Led Zeppelin song (although the joke is made at some point during the third act), Black dog The title is derived from folklore that suggests that exhausted long-haul truck drivers hallucinate a demon dog with glowing red eyes when they push themselves too hard, resulting in a fatal accident.
Patrick Swayze Jack Cruz, an ex-con who has just finished serving a two-year sentence for manslaughter under the circumstances, is pursued by the Black Dog. His CDL was revoked as part of his sentence. Jack now works as a truck mechanic who can barely support his wife and daughters Melanie (Brenda Strong) and Tracy (Erin Broderick). Since the bank is due $9,000 by the end of the month or his house will be foreclosed, Jack is running out of options as an honest blue-collar worker.
Through a twisted stroke of luck, Jack’s boss, Frank Cutler (Graham Bickle), offers him a $10,000 driving job transporting toilets from Atlanta to New Jersey. Problem: Jack doesn’t have a license. Solution: Jack is one hell of a driver when he’s not falling asleep behind the wheel and seeing hounds in the dark.
I would do anything for $10,000, but I won’t do this
After traveling to Atlanta, Jack meets the boisterous, Bible-loving Red (Meatloaf), who provides him with a truck. Unbeknownst to Jack, the toilet shipment, which is already illegal for him to transport because he is not a certified driver, also contains about $3 million worth of illegal firearms. Join the jack to ensure smooth charging Black dog He is Earl (Randy Travis), Sonny (Gabriel Cassius), and Wes (Brian Vincent). Things start going off the rails right away when Red tries to hijack the truck due to a financial dispute with Frank.
Along the way, Wes and Sonny are spotted making suspicious phone calls during each pit stop, causing Jack’s BS detector to be put on high alert, even though he doesn’t yet know what kind of heat he’s actually carrying. Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse for Jack Black dogFrank kidnaps Melanie and Tracy to “motivate” him into continuing to drive the truck.
An interesting take on the last job trope
Black dog It’s a fun watch because Patrick Swayze plays a good guy through and through. Yes, he got into a wreck that led to the chain of events that he’s now trying to get out of, but we’re not talking about Gone in 60 seconds A scenario in which a criminal comes out of retirement to make one final epic score.
You want to support Jack as he is just trying to catch up on his mortgage after a string of bad luck. The suspense comes from his naivety and willingness to trust some truly terrible people for a sum that barely exceeds five figures. I can get behind that.
When he’s finally thrust into fight-or-flight mode, Jack wastes no time getting ready to kick his ass, take names, and return home in one piece. Once again worried that the Black Dog will sink his teeth, Jack pushes the clutch, comes up with a plan, and does what he can to get the job done, even if it means more time in prison.
Black dog flow
Never give up once things go into overdrive, Black dog It is a real adrenaline rush. It’s also one of the last action films to achieve its goal using mostly practical effects, marking the end of an era. Black dog It doesn’t deserve its fate as a critical and commercial failure. It’s certainly middle-of-the-road fare, but like the protagonist, it gets the job done.
As of this writing, Black dog It is streaming for free on Tubi.
(Tags for translation)Brenda Strong
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