The Lunacy of Buckaroo Banzai
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https://blenderdumbass.org/reviews/the_lunacy_of_buckaroo_banzai : 👁 1
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by Blender Dumbass
Aka: J.Y. Amihud. A Jewish by blood, multifaceted artist with experience in film-making, visual effects, programming, game development, music and more. A philosopher at heart. An activist for freedom and privacy. Anti-Paternalist. A user of Libre Software. Speaking at least 3 human languages. The writer and director of the 2023 film "Moria's Race" and the lead developer of it's game sequel "Dani's Race".
Few films come close to the shier amount of WTF moments as the 1984 W. D. Richter film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. The best way to describe this film is "WTF". Let me explain. ↩ Reply
The movie opens up rather strong. You have a very long sequence building suspense for something rather big. The cinematic language reminds of late 70s and early 80s Sci-fi film by Steven Spielberg. Even though Richter is nowhere near as good as Spielberg, this Spielberg-inspired pathos is there in the air. The movie takes its time to introduce the main character. The masked doctor, becoming a shadowy test pilot. First you are already asking yourself "What the fuck is a surgeon doing in a cockpit of a jet-propelled car?". We get some sci-fi bullshit designed to utterly WTF the audience. And only then we see his face. Only then we see Buckaroo Banzai. ↩ Reply
But WTF does not stop there. On paper the movie should be a rather not-so-good sci-fi shlock film. The premise ( of an action adventure movie with aliens ) could work. Look at things Spielberg did. But in the hands of W. D. Richter who is not such a great director. Having what seems to be no budget on sets, costumes and visual effects, this movie must have been utterly unwatchable. But it isn't. It isn't because it is smart in how it unfolds. ↩ Reply
In E.T. for example we get the alien right away. We get the concept first. Which gets people in their sits. Which hooks the audience about what gonna go next. And then the masterful hand of Steven Spielberg takes on and does magic with this premise. I believe W. D. Richter didn't think he can accomplish such magic. So Buckaroo Banzai went the other direction. ↩ Reply
The film intentionally does not reveal what it is about. Or what is even possible in the film. And instead it feeds you one WTF inducing element at a time. Basically not allowing a minute to go by without you saying "What The Fuck!?". This way, even lacking technical and artistic quality, the film keeps you engaged. Almost like a slot-machine. The amount of WTF-ery makes you expect more WTF-ery. And you lean forward expecting to get surprised again. c:0 ↩ Reply
Funny I was talking about Spielberg all this review. I learned about Buckaroo Banzai from Spielberg. From references to this film from his 2018 block-baster Ready Player One. Respect! ↩ Reply
Happy Hacking!! ↩ Reply
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c:0 July 01, 2026 The film intentionally does not reveal what it is about. Or what is even possible in the film. And instead it feeds you one WTF inducing element at a time. Basically not allowing a minute to go by without you saying "What The Fuck!?". This way, even lacking technical and artistic quality, the film keeps you engaged. Almost like a slot-machine. The amount of WTF-ery makes you expect more WTF-ery. And you lean forward expecting to get surprised again.
⤴ ViewWait, that's what Christopher Nolan does!
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