Space Truckers (1996)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Stuart Gordon

Writers:

Ted Mann (screenplay)
Stuart Gordon (story) ...

Release Date:

April 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Earth's Only Hope

Plot:

John Canyon is one of the last independent space transport entrepreneurs. Rough times force him to carry...

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Killer Robot | Spacewalk | Cult Comedy | Pirate

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Tim Loane	...	Trooper Officer
Ian Beattie	...	Trooper
Olwen Fouere	...	Building Commander
Shane Rimmer	...	E. J. Saggs
Charles Dance	...	Nabel / Macanudo
Roger Gregg	...	Tank Patrol
Dennis Akayama	...	Tech Leader (as Denis Akiyama)
Seamus Flavin	...	Chopper 4
Jason O'Mara	...	Chopper 3
Dennis Hopper	...	John Canyon
Sandra Dickinson	...	Bitchin' Betty
George Wendt	...	Keller
Graeme Wilkinson	...	Jackie
Sean Lawlor	...	Mel
Debi Mazar	...	Cindy

Also Known As:

Star Truckers

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, sensuality and drug content, and for language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

UK | USA | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Germany:16 | Spain:13 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (No. 34627)

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios - Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Goldcrest Films International

Goofs:

Factual errors: There's numerous events where laws of gravity and other physics are neglected, but the most notable is probably the upright flame of a lighter in a place where there's no air and no gravity.

Quotes:

Macanudo: I rebuilt my mind!
Cindy: So, you have a homemade brain.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of 'Space Truckers' (1996) (V)

Soundtrack:

Martian Moons

I Expected Better From Stuart Gordon

I have never been let down by a movie of his in the past...ok, Castle Freak wasn't quite as good as I thought it would be, but I had high expectations. I had mediocre expectations with this but what a let down. I'm tired so I'll just list off what I thought was bad and what I liked (to be nice to Mr. Gordon, who is still one of my favorite directors, I'll put the good stuff last) What didn't work--1. No chemistry between any of the leads, even those that were supposed to be attracted to each other 2. The plot really wasn't so hot, it seemed made as it went along, and elements were brought in that didn't go anywhere 3. not especially original except for a few things which I'll get to 4. Jeffrey Combs never showed up-they could have worked him in a cameo *somewhere* for crying out loud 5. lame monsters, who really weren't threatening or scary 6. little or no gore, to the point where it was unrealistic. George Wendt sucked out of a window, without even bleeding? I guess Alien Resurrection was a hard act to follow, but come on. 7. a pretty bad script that maybe could have been salvageable with better acting, effects, and...well, it could have used a few re-writes. 8. the ship itself--the harness did look like it was from a roller-coaster, and there was one shot where it was so painfully obvious the ship was a miniature that it looked like something from a B-movie (though I could have forgiven the B-movie stuff if the rest of the movie was entertaining) Now the stuff that did work-1. Debi Mazar is always fun to watch, though her character was kind of weak and could have had better clothes 2. Dennis Hopper at least tried, and made the character amusing and likeable 3. The genetically engineered square pigs-actually, that was the best part of the movie, and I got all excited when they showed up early on, I figured I was in for a treat, but there was just that one spurt of originality and it went downhill from there 4. Barbara Crampton showing up 5. the evil pirate captain having to kick-start his private parts 6. the country music used--bet you never heard that in a sci-fi flick before. 7. the two themes/genres of sci-fi and trucker/road movies blended together was a cool idea. I give it 4 out of 10 stars. Not bad, but not good either.