Over the Top (1987)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Menahem Golan

Writers:

Gary Conway (story) and
David Engelbach (story) ...

Release Date:

13 February 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Family | Sport

Tagline:

Driving headlong towards the biggest fight of his life.

Plot:

Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) is a struggling trucker who's trying to rebuild his life. After the death of his wife...

Plot Keywords:

Arm Wrestling | Competition | Cult Favorite | Kidnapping | Letter

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Sylvester Stallone	...	Lincoln Hawk
Robert Loggia	...	Jason Cutler
Susan Blakely	...	Christina Cutler-Hawk
Rick Zumwalt	...	Bob 'Bull' Hurley
David Mendenhall	...	Michael Cutler / Michael Hawk
Chris McCarty	...	Tim Salanger
Terry Funk	...	Ruker
Bob Beattie	...	Announcer
Allan Graf	...	Collins (as Alan Graf)
Magic Schwarz	...	Smasher
Bruce Way	...	John Grizzly
Jimmy Keegan	...	Big Boy (Richie)
John Braden	...	Col. Davis
Tony Munafo	...	Tony
Randy Raney	...	Mad Dog Madison

Also Known As:

Meet Me Half Way (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Norway:12 | Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-10 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Canada:G

Filming Locations:

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

Company:

Cannon Group

Trivia:

John Wetton, lead singer of the rock group Asia, sang "Winner Takes It All" for the movie, but after performing the song, it was felt that his voice wasn't "mean" enough, so the song was offered to Sammy Hagar, whose version ended up being the one on the soundtrack.

Goofs:

Continuity: "Hawk" becomes "Hawkes" in the middle of the movie, and returns to "Hawk" again for the arm-wrestling climax.

Quotes:

Lincoln Hawk: The world meets nobody halfway. When you want something, you gotta take it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Robot Chicken: Plastic Buffet (#1.4)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Mind Over Matter

Sly acts a bit 'un-interested' in some parts of this film.

Good choice of work for Sly - a trucker. Something 'masculine', on the move. He wrangles with his father-in-law for custody of his son, who thought his dad (Sly) disowned him. To the contrary, grandfather didn't want the boy associating with Sly because he was'nt 'of money' like grandfather was. When Sly's former wife dies of cancer, (Susan Blakely again), Sly sees it as a 'sign' to take his responsibility seriously & raise his son the only way he knows how - take him on the road with him, teach him not to be a spoiled brat all his life, live a little! At first, his son rejects him totally. But later on when he finds out the truth about his dad, he decides he WANTS to be with him.

Yes, the veritable 'macho-sport of arm-wrestling' is thrown in as a way to win big money quick & show-off Sly's ever-bulging muscles. But hey! What's a Sly-film without muscles?? See this one for family entertainment. Sly might be a bit 'wooden' with some of his lines, but the action scenes are typically Sly!