Band of the Hand (1986) User Reviews

Hilarious 80's romp!

[markthompsons · 5/10 · 23 January 2008]

This movie is just THE BEST. It's absolutely hilarious - a total knock off of Miami Vice. I found it on VHS tape at a thrift shop and gave it a go. I had forgotten how many up and coming BIG name actors were in this.

James Remar makes an excellent villain. A young Laurence Fishburne is also very good as a Little Haiti drug dealer. Lauren Holly is also great in an early role as Nikki, lover of BOTH member Carlos.

The first half of the film as the Band train with Joe in the Everglades, learning how to survive is done very well, with the Band naturally complaining about everything at first but slowly and surely adapting. The final big battle at a Miami dope farm after Joe's death is great as well, where the Band of The Hansd finally put all their experience with their mentor to the test.

The film is, in short, great. Not excellent, but great, and I strongly recommend it.

One of the coolest movie's I saw as a child

[filmbuff-36 · 7/10 · 28 January 2000]

When I was a kid, I used to watch BAND OF THE HAND all the time because it always came on HBO. I know it's a cheesie movie, but there's something about it that makes it cool. Is it the fact that Bob Dylan sings the theme song? Is it future star Laurence Fishburne in an embarrassing pre-fame role as a drug lord? Or is it the cool shootout's on the playground and the drug factory? Whatever the case, it's a neat nostalgic piece from the Reagan-era anti-drug Zeitgeist, and it just equals cool.

Fascinating '80s gem

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 16 March 2018]

"Band of the Hand" has no trouble standing on its own; it's jammed with plot, the cast is colorful, and the very notion of using society's rejects to clean up the streets somehow fits right in with the time. That sort of DIY community- outreach angle mixed with coming-of-age urban drama . . . and "Lord of the Flies"? How the hell do you pull that off? I enjoyed this because it does pull it off, and you'd be surprised at how well that's done. Also, that's one hell of a soundtrack.

But the best way I can describe this movie is "Miami Vice-adjacent", which suits me perfectly. This has the feeling of an episode from the show's first couple of seasons. Most of the cast are carry-overs from the series (as well as the filmmakers), and it captures the gritty style, whether you're sweating to death in the 'glades or staying alive on the neon streets. All of it's seedy, and none of it's especially light - even though we're talking about a teen movie. In its own way, this is a treasure.

7/10

Perfect cheezy 80's flick.

[nos4a2-2 · 26 April 1999]

This is one of those movies that you had to see when it first came out. It also helps I think if you were the same age as the kids in the movie. The locations were magnificent. And some of the performances were not too shabby either I might add. This was an atypical 80's movie, set in Florida (do you think that a Miami Vice relation was intentional?). When I was a kid I loved this movie, and upon watching it again recently, I didn't even remember how cheesy it was. I just remembered these 5 deadbeat kids, forced to work as a group to survive, and everyone thinking that it would never work. Even now that I've seen it and know how cheesy it is, I still just remember it the way I used too.

Tons Of Fun If You Don't Think Too Hard

[Dan1863Sickles · 7/10 · 29 August 2018]

I remember when this movie came out. Seeing the music video on MTV of Bob Dylan singing away about the street life made me incredibly excited. I pictured a movie that would be like THE WARRIORS -- all gang fights, sexy chicks, and endless pounding rock music.

Years later, I rented the film, and it was really like that -- for about two minutes during the opening credits. After that it becomes almost a Saturday Night Live sketch of a comedy, showing Eighties teens with silly hair dragging their sorry behinds through the swamp whining like toddlers while a stereotypical Indian brave keeps grunting stuff like "Teamwork!" and "Survive!" A CLOCKWORK ORANGE this ain't, folks. It's more like ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, mixed with THE BREAKFAST CLUB, mixed with LORD OF THE FLIES.

The film makers apparently couldn't decide what they were going for. The teen angst clashes with the gun battles, and the adult level crimes (including a creepy Harvey Weinstein style rape) just get shrugged off in a hail of bullets. The Indian is supposed to be the hero they all look up to, but he's never more than a cardboard cutout of stoic Injun virtue. He's really Injun Joe from TOM SAWYER, only played as a good guy.

They even work a spin on the famous scene of Tom getting all his old buddies to take turns painting the fence!

Typical 80s action, but fun.

[bannonanthony · 7/10 · 5 November 2007]

I didn't really give this film much thought when I first saw it advertised on a VHS tape I have at home years ago. But after a few years, I did get curious and decided to have a look-see. And I have to say I'm glad I did.

Yes, the fashion and dialogue etc. is very 80s in this movie, but then again, every movie sooner or later shows signs of age. So I'll forgive the Miami VICE fashions and stereotypical characters and concentrate on what made this film good. The central performance of Stephen Lang as 'Nam vet Joe Tiger (pronounced Tee-ger) is very good as he takes it upon himself to train a bunch of juvenile delinquents whom the law has deemed as being beyond redemption into becoming survivors, fighters and ultimately those who will right the wrongs of society.

Yes, it is far-fetched, but movies are supposed to be about escapism, aren't they? The actors playing the teens range from okay to over the top, but handle the action well. And once again, Mr. James Remar, one of my favourite actors makes an excellent villain. A young Laurence Fishburne is also very good as a Little Haiti drug dealer. Lauren Holly is also great in an early role as Nikki, lover of BOTH member Carlos.

The first half of the film as the Band train with Joe in the Everglades, learning how to survive is done very well, with the Band naturally complaining about everything at first but slowly and surely adapting. The final big battle at a Miami dope farm after Joe's death is great as well, where the Band of The Hansd finally put all their experience with their mentor to the test.

The film is, in short, great. Not excellent, but great, and I strongly recommend it.

Waging the war on drugs with Bob Dylan on your soundtrack.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 17 January 2017]

Trashy, brainless, and oh-so-80s action melodrama stars Stephen Lang ("Avatar", "Don't Breathe") as Joe, an American Indian & Vietnam veteran who runs a program to reform troubled youth. Five punks - Ruben (Michael Carmine), J.L. (John Cameron Mitchell), Carlos (Danny Quinn), Moss (Leon), and Dorcey (Al Shannon) - are dragged out to the Everglades and deposited there, where Joe teaches them survival instincts and teamwork. Once back in Miami, the gang is *somewhat* more mature, and they go up against vicious drug runners including Cream (Laurence Fishburne) and Nestor (James Remar).

To be honest, "Band of the Hand" is a hard slog for a while, since it's hard to give a damn about our protagonists for an extended amount of time. (This IS an overlong movie.) But things improve as "Band of the Hand" progresses, and debuting feature director Paul Michael "Starsky" Glaser gives this production a certain amusing amount of 80s excess. It bears the mark of its executive producer, 'Miami Vice' creator Michael Mann. It's noisy, it's silly, it's violent in a sometimes cartoonish way, and it's got a hip soundtrack. The centerpiece of said soundtrack is a priceless, catchy rock ditty written and sung by Bob Dylan, with Tom Petty's band The Heartbreakers backing him up.

The acting suits the material. Top billed Lang is fine in a low key portrayal. The young cast is lively, with a cute Lauren Holly playing Carlos' love interest. Remar is okay as our primary villain, and other familiar character actors like Paul Calderon, Bill Smitrovich, Michael Gregory, and an unbilled Martin Ferrero all turn up as well.

This is a decent, fun movie overall, even if the script ain't so hot. As was said before, it goes on a bit too long, but for the most part, it's *not* boring.

Seven out of 10.

Let's go to Miami....see some Vice....

[FlashCallahan · 3/10 · 23 July 2015]

In an attempt to ease themselves back into society, five juvenile criminals are sent away from prison into the Everglades, for a survival training under Indian Joe.

When they have successfully completed their 'training', they move back to Miami.

However this means the illegal inhabitants of their house have to up sticks and leave without warning, all loyal customers of local drug baron Cream.

The conflict leads to a street war of sorts.......

It's another one of those films from the eighties where you would have had to be there I. Order to appreciate the full cheesiness of the narrative and mise en scene, because seeing for the first time in 2015, it's a real dog of a film.

It's as if the makers have taken every single politically incorrect ethnic stereotype, made them a gang member, and joined them in to some sort of unit, all led by a caked in make- up Stephen Lang, who looks like he doesn't want to be there one bit.

Add a sub-plot involving James Remar trying to channel Willem Dafoe in To Live And Die In L.A, and separate incoherent narrative with music video type scenes, and you have this epitome of the eighties, which I would usually love, but the characters are just so unlikable and offensive to their native culture, you cannot help but really strongly dislike the film.

The film cannot decide who it's for, it's way way too dark for younger people, and too bonkers for the Freidkin and Mann audience it desperately wants to grab, so it ends up in purgatory.

But the music is good, and some of the camera-work is as bonkers as the outfits, but come the end, it just doesn't work in anyway.

Watch Toy Soldiers instead.

Classic movie for Miami Vice themed fans

[djslammm · 10/10 · 16 February 2005]

I found this movie in a video store shelf when I was 14. At the time, this movie was phenomenal. This movie gives you a very nostalgic feel of what the 1980's would be like in Miami. I am a very big 80's buff so this was a definite for my collection. I am very pleased to see they released it on DVD. What really makes this movie neat is that at the time, almost all of the actors were unknown, with the exception of James Remar. This movie is based upon the many programs that were employed to straighten up troubled minors and make them realize the value of life. Unfortunately, many of those programs were cut because of mismanagement, lack of funding, or were bogus boot camps run by abusive individuals. I do believe with the right people, a program like this can work, and that is what this movie portrays. Although this plot is fictional, it still leaves you with that feeling of "Wouldn't it be great if this actually worked". This movie was one of the first '80's films I can recall to touch racism, drug trafficking, assault weapons, gang warfare, and the effect it had on the youth at the time and put a positive spin on the outcome. One more thing, Bob Dylan and the Heartbreaker's (from Tom Petty) recorded a song for this movie specifically that cannot be found anywhere else. It is called "Hell Time" and it is pretty awesome. The rest of the soundtrack could use some work as they did not include Mr. Mister or Prince. If you enjoyed the Miami Vice series or if your a big action packed '80's buff, I highly recommend this movie whether you rent it once or add it to your collection as I did.

Not a bad way to step back into 80's Miami Vice territory

[Aylmer · 6/10 · 2 February 2024]

I'm fairly shocked that, being as much a fan of Michael Mann as I am, that I had never even heard of this innocuous little gem he produced while directing his far-superior, though less action-packed MANHUNTER the same year. My eyes must have always glided right past it before owing to how corny the title is, making it sound like some kind of music-themed movie akin to an Electric Booglaoo or whatnot. I would imagine that is why this movie remains very little-discussed even today in this era of 80's nostalgia and reappraisal.

With a mostly great cast, this film at least keeps things elevated in the performance department and never gets too predictable. It doesn't make the plot line or theme too apparent for the first hour or so, seeming to split its attention on a group of juvenile criminals getting whipped into shape by Steven Lang (unconvincingly made up to look Native American!!!) while the girlfriend of one of them begs a local drug lord (who may also be into voodoo!!!) to help spring him. How she expects the drug lord to do this is anyone's guess, especially as the boys are being rehabilitated completely off-grid somewhere in the swamp. Eventually this movie settles down on the main conflict, as well as on a main character, and that would be in the form of Danny Quinn, who looks handsome but doesn't exactly give the most electric of a performance.

Whatever small sense of realism the film maintained in its first hour gets lost quickly when the boys get their hands on some guns and become a vigilante squad just as deadly as a squad of navy seals after what seems like just a couple weeks of training. Also James Remar, though an excellent actor (especially at playing scum bags) feels laughably young to be some well-connected drug baron. Lang comes off better though we never really get to know his personal life or how he's able to get the system to cooperate with his schemes to bring delinquents back into society.

As far-fetched as this movie is (and as dumb as the title sounds), it actually moves at a good clip and has enough 80's nostalgia and music to bring a tear to the eye of anyone who witnessed the decade. It also provides an interesting window to what life was like in Miami prior to the modern era of heavy gentrification and channels a lot of what the show "Miami Vice" brought us on a weekly basis, only lacking in the show's style or sense of humor. Supposedly this was originally meant to be a pilot for a TV show of teenage vigilantes but I doubt such a show would have been too good. We already had "The A-Team" and RED DAWN and watching a bunch of kids wipe out heavily armed soldiers and mercenaries was already getting a bit stale. At least it manages to keep you guessing with its fun unpredictability, but only up to a certain point.

Give me a break

[Stryker-2 · 1/10 · 24 August 2000]

This has to be one of the stupidest premises ever... Maybe this is a decent movie later on, but I wouldn't know. After about 15 minutes I had to change the channel because the entire concept of dropping five hardened juvenile delinquents off in the middle of the Everglades with only one guy to watch them is stupid beyond words! This wouldn't be legal for adult prisoners, much less teenagers. Also, they give the kids a knife! Since if any of the kids got so much as a snake bite they'd be sued for millions (even in the eighties), this just doesn't work. Cheesy B-movie horror flicks are more believable. If you can swallow the stupid premise, this one might be worth a look. Me, I give it a zero out of ten. Pure stupidity... not worth the waste of time.

Reformed juvenile delinquents wage a war on drugs. Funny as hell.

[frodog23 · 9/10 · 23 July 2005]

Good story, good acting, good music. Oh, and it's freakin' hilarious. I first saw this movie as a kid with friends and we loved it for the hilarious lines and characters. Now as i watch it at age 24 i still love it. Its one of those movies that has so much unintentional comedy that its such a pleasure to watch.

And the cast isn't to shabby either. You can even find Lawrence Fishburn, credited as Larry Fishburn, playing a coke peddling pimp. I highly recommend this film.

And if for nothing else, watch this movie to see Lauren Holly attempt to pronounce "brujeria."

"I keep askin', where's the facility?" - Ruben Pacheco

Band of the Hand is an underrated 80s gem, capturing the classic characters and circumstances of the era with nostalgic charm

[kevin_robbins · 6/10 · 28 January 2024]

I recently watched Band of the Hand (1986) on Tubi. The storyline follows a group of juvenile delinquents repeatedly rejected by society and shuffled between schools. Their last chance involves a program where they're taken to the Everglades to live off the land, learn survival skills, and forge teamwork. Returning to society after the experiment, they apply what they've learned to their former surroundings.

Directed by Paul Michael Glaser (The Running Man), the film stars Stephen Lang (Don't Breathe), James Remar (The Warriors), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), Leon (Cool Runnings), and Lauren Holly (Dumb and Dumber).

This movie is a fun watch and reminded me of Lord of the Flies. The introduction to characters in the opening credits is well-executed, and the acting and diverse characters with their unique backgrounds and perspectives feel realistic and authentic. Remar and Fishburne shine as fantastic villains. The Everglades scenes are solid, there's an excellent fight against Fishburne and a thrilling final shootout.

In conclusion, Band of the Hand is an underrated 80s gem, capturing the classic characters and circumstances of the era with nostalgic charm. I'd give it a score of 6/10 and recommend a viewing it once.

Woah

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 13 May 2022]

For years, Band of the Hand had me fooled with its "From the maker of Miami Vice" poster line. I always thought this was a Michael Mann directed movie and not one by one of the directors of several episodes of that show, Paul Michael Glaser, who also played Starsky. That said, Mann is one of th executive producers.

Even knowing that, I kinda love this movie. It's all rather dumb - five teenage criminals get rehabilitated by Vietnam vet and Native American Joe Tegra (Stephen Lang, who is also in Mann's Manhunter, so maybe that's another reason I was confused): rival gang leaders Ruben Pacheco (Michael Carmine, who sadly died of AIDS when he was thirty) and Moss Roosevelt (Leon, Derice in Cool Runnings), as well as drug dealer Carlos Aragon (Danny Quinn, who was married at one time to co-star Lauren Holly, who plays Nikki), James Lee "J. L." MacEwen (John Cameron Mitchell - yes, the writer, director and star of Hedwig and the Angry Inch is in this movie and fights evil drug lords) who killed his father and car thief Dorcey Bridger (Al Shannon).

After surviving training in the swamps and cleaning up their neighborhood, Joe is killed by gangsters who include Laurence Fishburne and James Remar as the big bad Nestor. Of course the Band of the Hand comes together and makes a plan that I am in amazed by as someone who loves wacky revenge plots.

Wrter Leo Garren also directed and wrote the early 70s occult weirdness Hex, while co-writer Jack Baran wrote Great Balls of Fire!

The craziest thing about this movie is that it has a Bob Dylan song written for it and he's backed by Tom Petty (who produced) and the Heartbreakers with backing vocals by Stevie Nicks.

"We're gonna blow up your home of Voodoo And watch it burn without any regret We got the power, we're the new government You just don't know it yet"

Let me say that again: Bob Dylan wrote a song for Band of the Hand.

Ultimate fantasy for 15-year-olds in the 80s.

[skintwinkie · 14 January 2004]

The people who rag on BAND were probably the same who bought Don Johnson sport coats in the 80s and are now ashamed. You trendy-then now-pretentious fools, it's not supposed to be freakin' Shakespeare! BAND is a stylish 80s flick with plenty of heart, action and coolness. It's the ultimate fantasy for 15-year-olds. Five troubled 'yoots' are sent to an experimental last-chance program in the Everglades run by Joe, a mysterious Miccosukee Indian/Nam Era elite commando. (See? Already off to a good start)! Joes lays it down: learn to live in this wilderness or die. The 2nd half of the movie (and 'program') takes place in a Miami ghetto run by local drug lord LARRY Fishburne, replete with cute lil' lines buzzed in the sides of his high-top fade. (There's also an underaged Lauren Holly to consider, long before that drooling idiot Carey came and went).

War ensues in the hood as Joe trains the yoots to fight. Purists and prudes can shove it...when Dorcey's machine gun lights up the street from the roof of the feel-good 80s pastel renovated crackhouse it's a spinal moment. The characters don't have to be 'deep' cause they're all the way likable and automatic gold star for the guest appearance of a vulcan cannon (aka "that's a goddam minigun!") If you don't dig this flick, YOU'RE OUT OF MIAMI!

Awful!Worst movie I have seen-ever.

[jsbrad2 · 1/10 · 12 September 2002]

I made a list the other night of my top 5 worst movies ever seen. This was #1, so I thought I'd give it the honor of a post here. I have even given it credit for its validated 80's "cheese", and it still comes out bad. Actually, "cheesy" would be a gift for this train wreck...it was just BAD. Lauren Holly...it's a good thing she didn't use this for her resume entry into Hollywood! They woulda put her promptly into XXX for all her acting ability. But a very shrewd career move was made here-she married her co-star, Anthony Quinn's son, which explains why she was able to get her foot in ANY producer's door after this disaster. In case you are wondering, Showgirls is my # 2 worst movie of all time and this one, Band of the Hand, blows Showgirls away for pure, unadulterated, stink.

Band Of the Hand

[r-el · 9/10 · 30 April 2006]

When I first viewed Band of the Hand in the 80's it had a profound impact on me. At first I thought that the treatment of the youth was too much. But the movie showed the positive impact of uniting to overcome societal ills and personal weaknesses. This movie is a good model to use in similar communities with similar situations. Although things may not seem the way they do in the movie, people who have experienced personal challenges may agree that Band of the Hand showed how certain strategies can have successful results. Band of the Hand can be summed up as: Unity is the key to success. I am planning to rent the movie again to compare it to today's problems in effort to find possible solutions.

Under-"Hand"ed...

[Mister-6 · 4/10 · 1 February 2000]

Ladies and gentlemen, afficionados of the '80s, fans of Michael Mann, allow me to introduce a movie most of you probably have never heard of.

"Band of the Hand" came and went in 1986 like the millions of other movies of the '80s, some with more plot and less style, others vice versa. But what makes this any different than the rest of its ilk?

Well, for starters, it was produced by Michael "Miami Vice" Mann (which accounts for the Miami setting and the Don Johnson clothing styles), it was directed by Hutch from TV's "Startsky and Hutch" (Glaser), a LOT of familiar faces are featured in the cast (Holly, Fishburne, Remar, Graham and Ferrero and Smitrovich from "Vice") and has that old "hey-let's-get-the-kids-together-and-clean-up-the-neighborhood" plot transplanted into Reaganomic drug-enforcement sensibility.

On the down side, there is little to nothing in the ways of personality in the characters; they act just about the way you'd expect TV characters to act. Thing is - THIS IS A MOVIE! And while there are a lot of stretches where people say nothing and just do their thing while music plays on the sound-track for "emotional emphasis", there are a few dozen of these scenes too many for my taste (hey guys, a little dialogue so we'll know what people are thinking would be nice...you know, once in a while?). And WHY, in the name of every holy being you could possibly think of, did Mann think he had to ape EVERY SINGLE nuance from "Miami Vice"??? You know, Michael, you are allowed to do something different every once in a while.

Thank god he learned his lesson later on and actually did better movies like "The Last of the Mohicans" and "Heat". Even 1981's "Thief" with James Caan was done better in style as well as story. Of course, "Miami Vice" wasn't on TV yet, either.

As it is, just a reminder of everything that was pastel in the '80s. Other than that, this is a "Hand" that should be banned.

Four stars, mostly for the look. Maybe "Band of the Hand" would be better if you watched it with the sound turned off? I'll have to try that sometime.

1986!

[irishmorgans · 10/10 · 28 January 2023]

Every 13 yo I knew loved this movie (like yours truly!)

Is it cheesy? Totally. Is it 80's music cheesy? Definitely. It is STILL an amazing movie. As a young latchkey kid with HBO (like one movie per month!) it was epic.

Don't go in to this movie and expect any insights into the human psyche. That ain't happening.

Go in for laughs; be a kid again; with boundless dreams and a great imagination.

It's appropriately inappropriate. Rated PG by todays standards. The kids today have access to all things.

Some good; most bad.

I recommend this movie; with the above stated expectations.

ENJOY!

~Your humble viewer.

Miami twice

[Prismark10 · 3/10 · 18 April 2017]

The Miami Vice influence is heavy in this silly cheesy film. Michael Mann is the producer. Director Paul Michael Glaser also directed several episodes of Miami Vice and you will spot several Mann regulars in this movie such as Martin Ferrero and Stephen Lang.

Lang plays a military survival expert and former Vietnam veteran in the Florida everglades, an improbable native Indian. He has created a program to rehabilitate a small bunch of juvenile delinquents in this hostile environment, one of them even gets bitten by a snake. However the group of youths after some complaining soon bond in the Everglades.

After that the youths move to a house in Miami, however they fall foul of the local drug lords who rule the area. The group led by Lang wage war against the violent gangs.

There is a lot of mid 1980s music here as well as the title track sung by Bob Dylan. The film is uneven in pace, I could never buy these bunch being somehow rehabilitated and united in the Everglades, never mind becoming a fighting force in the streets of Miami.

Every Generation Has a Guilty Pleasure

[e_estrella_jr · 16 March 2004]

For my brother, "Billy Jack" was the film that was low budget, cheezy and darn good when it came to telling a story you really WANTED to hear. For me, it was "Band of the Hand."

Though I was in the ultimate conservative environment (1st school after Marine Boot Camp), I couldn't help but love the melding of "the establishment" and a bunch of kids who were definitely from the "wrong side of the tracks." Most important, it let someone show some teens that they could make a difference, even if the method might have been a bit much.

One more thing: Lauran Holly may have been "eye candy" for the movie but she DID have a powerful albeit limited role, and that impression has positively affected my opinion of her in later roles. James Remar (you ladies know him from Sex and the City) did a good psycho role as well.

Inside of a slug, there's a vigilante!

[mark.waltz · 3/10 · 17 January 2022]

It's easy to feel sorry for the cast of this poorly made teen action film about five delinquents who are taken out to the Everglades by Vietnam War veteran Stephen Lang in an effort to teach them some discipline and camaraderie and teamwork and get away from their gangster lead and violent lifestyles. All it takes is a snakebite and one of the young men to nearly die for them to show any caring towards each other, with Michael Carmine's Ruben standing up and showing that he's got some heart underneath his gang leader toughness by cheering him on. John Cameron Mitchell (later of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"), Danny Quinn, Leon Robinson and Al Shannon are the other four, and they do continue to fight even after Lang abandons them, with racial slurs and tough talk abound even though, Divine would sing her camp hit "You think you're a man, but you're only a boy" to describe each of them.

Following their return to civilization, they now decide to take on all of the illegal associations in Miami that they were utilizing before, including their own gangs, drug dealers and prostitution rings, having successfully handled rattlesnakes, bears and wart hogs. Not only is the premise of the Everglades subplot ridiculous, but it's probably also illegal. The fact that they hear rock music in the background as they try to get out of the Everglades is also a silly twist, especially when it takes them to a camp that could inevitably have been a Jim Jones type cult, with Lang as the big kahuna. It's hysterical to watch the opening scene where the five guys are tossed into a jail cell, obviously having just come from a nightclub, and go into the Everglades dress the very same way, literally tossed into the swamp.

This was an early role for Lauren Holly as Quinn's troubled girlfriend and Laurence Fishburne as the head of a drug ring, whom the five go up against Wen Liang takes them back Miami to be their den father in a halfway house in the neighborhood where all this crime is going down. Of course first they have to get rid of the squatters, and then it's the drug dealers and the hookers and the other elements of "bad society". I'm pretty sure that they break some laws along the way. There are so many ridiculous elements in the script that you don't know where to point the blame whether it be the screenwriter or the direction or the person who green-lighted this ill-fated film. If there were good intentions there to show early 20-somethings that they didn't have to turn to a life of crime to make it, this film didn't really show a good way to do it. Outside of the performances, this is good for a laugh or two, but it's really all forgettable.

A slick "Miami Vice" stylized street war flick is a cult classic!

[kclipper · 8/10 · 14 May 2011]

This is one of those late-night paid cable network flicks that attempted to cash in on the success of "Miami Vice" and its cool but criminal look and style. Violent 80's movies like "To Live and Die in L.A.,", Manhunter, and Vice Squad seem to stand out along with "Band of The Hand" for their unique portrayal of the sleaze and the slime of the big city criminal underground of the 1980's. Especially with the cocaine craze sweeping up through the upper class southern states. This good little movie brings back memories of flashy clothes, sports cars, and suntans for those who appreciated this genre.

This stars Stephen Lange (who I recently realized is Colonel Quaritch in "Avatar") perfectly casted as a militant survival expert who invents a program aimed toward helping violent juveniles by forcing them into the Florida everglades to survive by their own means, and what they learn along the way is respect and comradeship. Everyone from gang members to a small-time cocaine pusher to a whacked-out pyromaniac find their way back to the city and launch a full-scale war against a big-time drug dealer/pimp (played by a young Larry Fishburne) who is tied to an even bigger bad guy (intensely played by James Remar) who is also involved in Voodoo magic to further his criminal empire.. The band and their leader must learn to become one fighting force in order to take down the villains despite their differences.. Its a great blend of action adventure, survival in the southern bayou, exploitation and good old fashion 1980's crime mania. Watch as seemingly hopeless characters are transformed into urban superheroes that discover unity against the odds. The performances are well done, and the action is enough to keep you interested throughout. Also features an amazing soundtrack with music by Bob Dylan with The Heartbreakers. 80's enthusiasts rejoice!!!

Dylan's song

[duxdylanqc · 4/10 · 13 June 2007]

Dylan's song was called "band of the Hand" not hell time or it's hell time now. which are lines out of the song but not the songs title. The song was recorded in sydney Australia in 1986 with the heartbreakers whilst they were on tour together. it was released as a single on 45, through mca which was the label the heartbreakers were with at the time. it was also on mtv with a video.

that was a pretty good tour and it's a shame Dylan's video of that tour "hard to handle" didn't include petty & heartbreakers who were the opening act before bob took stage and became his band when he was onstage.

80's movie, with a band I like, working on a different beat

[videorama-759-859391 · 8/10 · 27 February 2014]

1986 wasn't just responsible for the much stylish but less substance hit, Miami Vice. As a bonus, this cheesy delight, which had a one week release in Adelaide with only a one nightly session, hit the screens, then suddenly disappeared. It's poster and tagline were fascinating, and still today, looking back on this film, is one of the reasons, 86 was a great year for cheesy movies. BOTH is a good movie, very well directed, by Starsky and Hutch's, Paul Michael Glaser, who went onto to make on to make that unique Arnie pic, The Running Man. The premise is great, and in reality, it's something that actually should be operating with re offenders. Five juvies are taken out of jail, two of different races, going off at each other like savages, another one, a drug dealer who likes to dress good, caught in a sting operation, his girlfriend (a young unknown Lauren Holly) getting away, but coming back into the picture later. The other two are hard cases, unstable you might say, the youngest, only a kid, from an abusive childhood, who shot his old man. These five are taken out into the croc infested waters of the everglades, and dumped there, not the most appropriate place. They're met by a mentor, Joe (an always reliable acting talent, Stephen Lang) who teaches them the basics, how to survive and fend for themselves. They overcome many obstacles, the racist hating two, finally coming to a truce. This is the first half of the movie, that's slightly interrupted by the chief baddie, James Remar as a vicious drug lord Nestor, who's doing Nikki (Holly) and keeps real skeletons as trophies in his closets. He ever so nicely, orders Holly to go upstairs and take her clothes off, where back then, she was pretty hot looking. To the second, part of the film. Our juvie five, having passed the survival test, set up house, in Miami, giving a whole new revamp and colourful paint over. But remember they're here to do a job, which later becomes personal, but the band come through. I like movies with different premises, which is why I very much liked this. Mister Misters's 86 hit, Broken Wings, appears, but somehow doesn't work for a scene involving a squabble between Holly and Mr Slick dressed, juvie, boyfriend. It just didn't feel appropriate. But you can't fault the originality of the movie, where the strong performances of Remar and Lang, keep the film in check. This is one eighties flick, you must check out + a scene of Bikini clad Holly sunbathing on Nestor's boat, where he childs her on covering herself when black guys are around.