Director: Kevin Hooks
Writer: William Mickelberry, Dan Vining (Screenplay)
Starring: Patrick Swayze. Randy Travis, Meat Loaf, Gabriel Casseus, Brian Vincent, Gramham Beckel, Brenda Strong, Charles S Dutton, Stephen Tobolowsky
Plot: A weapons loaded truck is shadowed by FBI and ATF. It explodes and kills the driver. Jack, just out of prison, is pressured into driving another truck from Atlanta to NJ. Things get rough when hijacking attempts are made.
Tagline – The rules of the road are simple. Don’t turn back.
Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Black Dog starts when Jack Crews (Swayze) is offered a one time job to drive a truck across the country for a massive fee $10.000, he learns that during his time in prison, his wife Melanie (Strong) hasn’t been able to keep up with the payments on their home, leading him to accept the job to clear the debts.
The Job Jack takes, sees him needing to ride with Earl (Travis) with protection from Wes (Vincent) and Sonny (Casseus), which will see them being tracked by the law and a businessman Red (Meat Loaf) who is looking to take the load of the man he did the deal with.
Thoughts on Black Dog
Thoughts – Black Dog is an action thriller that will see a reluctant truck driver take a job which would help clear his family’s debts, only to find himself in the middle of an arms deal gone wrong, needing to drive to survive and save his family. This is a chance for a man who made a mistake in life to do the right thing with a simple driving jo, only for things to take a darker turn, where he must become a fighter, using his driving skills for the best. The idea of watching the FBI and ATF fight over who should have the rights to lead the investigation does almost add a comical side to the film. Patrick Swayze did make for a strange choice in an action leading role, but he does well with the serious side, while handling himself in the fight sequences well. The supporting cast is strong too, with the four on the trip having the right chemistry for not feeling like they are comfortable being together. Meat Loaf does make for the right type of over-the-top villain in this film too. This is an enjoyable wildly over the top action film, that fitted the action world of the late 90s.
Final Thoughts – Black Dog is a wildly over-the-top action film that is entertaining throughout.
