Wordiezett So much average

PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Monique One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

Adam Peters (57%) Hauer plays a super-cool bounty hunter taking on an international terrorist (played by real life jerk Gene Simmons) in the exact same way he'd play a super cool dentist, or a super cool zookeeper, in that he doesn't even need to really try. The plot echoes the absurd Arnie movie "Collateral damage", only here it works a little better, as a bounty hunter taking in a terrorist is more likely than a fireman. Between the action this is a little too flat and could have done with a ten minute trim here and there. Although it's worthy of a watch for 80's action fans, but it's pretty clear why this has somewhat fallen between the cracks and is now largely forgotten about.

dunmore_ego Does it irk Gene Simmons that two of his first "serious" motion pictures (RUNAWAY and WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE) are names of Bon Jovi songs? Simmons has a small key role in the Gary Sherman-directed "actioner" WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE. He plays the Arab villain, Malak Al Rahim, intent on causing terrorist chaos in Los Angeles seemingly for the sake of giving hero Rutger Hauer someone to pursue. No motivation on the villain's part is the first sign that this movie smells much like working out next to a hairy-backed Middle Easterner in the gym.Blond, blue-eyed Hauer is bounty hunter Nick Randall, supposedly continuing the legacy of Steve McQueen in the TV series of the same name; he's ex-CIA, combat-rugged and as weirdly pansexual as ever. In the grand tradition of boring screen writing, he wants to give up the bounty hunting and settle down with his bland lady - until he is called upon by his ex-boss (Robert Guillaume) for One Last Job - to bring in Rahim, Dead Or Alive.So begins a series of vapid car chases, half-hearted fight scenes, annoying gun battles and furiously silly explosions, with intermittent perfunctory characterization which doesn't lend any emotion to the non-chemistry between Randall and his babe, his bro or his boss. Writers Michael Patrick Goodman, Brian Taggert and director Sherman try to inject an interesting twist by having all the cops and FBI and CIA double-cross Randall. We don't know why. And we don't care.WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE begins that drab period in Hauer's career where we see him popping up in every piece of crap that required a blond, pansexual action hero. Strangely, the man to watch in this movie is KISS martinet Gene Simmons. He truly makes an imposing villain; he's the tallest Arab-looking guy in the room, he doesn't say much, and he puts that Bat Demon dead eye stare to great use. He doesn't do anything overtly thespian - in fact, he is underused, probably because he can't act - but since his first major outing as Tom Selleck's nemesis in 1984's RUNAWAY, he has learned to control his overacting stage persona, in the process creating a more sinister performance.During the boring climax when Randall is beating up Rahim, we see blood dripping from Rahim's mouth and are instantly reminded of who Rahim is; someone well acquainted with the practice of spitting blood - the Bat Demon himself.Thankfully, KISS went back on tour, saving Gene - and us - from too many more acting outings.

Jonathon Dabell First there was a TV show called Wanted Dead Or Alive, made in the late 1950s, with an upcoming young star named Steve McQueen playing heroic Wild West bounty hunter Josh Randall. Here, in this 1987 actioner, the events take place in modern times and Rutger Hauer's character is named Nick Randall. He is, in fact, revealed as the great-grandson of McQueen's character from the old TV show, but the link is barely mentioned and has absolutely no relevance to the plot of this film. Still, that wouldn't matter if the new and updated Wanted Dead Or Alive was any good…. maybe if the action was exciting, or the storyline had a few new ideas and angles, or even if the film as a whole had any sense of pace and purpose. But no! Wanted Dead Or Alive is an ultra-mindless, ultra-pointless offering that makes one grind one's teeth with despair.Ex-CIA operative Nick Randall (Rutger Hauer) now works as a lone-wolf bounty hunter in L.A. He lives in between jobs in a huge warehouse full of motorcycles and gym equipment. His knife-edge existence teeters even closer to the edge when Arab terrorist Malak Al Rahim (Gene Simmons) starts blowing up buildings and people in downtown L.A. First 140 people are slaughtered in a cinema bombing; later Rahim proposes to destroy a chemical plant, wiping out some 30,000 innocent lives in the process! One of Randall's old CIA colleagues, Philmore Walker (Robert Guillaume), approaches our moody hero and pleads with him to track down Rahim. Randall agrees, but is initially unaware that the authorities intend to double-cross him as they have reason to like him even less than the terrorist! Rahim doesn't take too kindly to the interference of this bounty hunter and kills a few of his nearest and dearest, leaving Randall so angry that he forsakes his money and goes after his adversary purely for the personal satisfaction of it….Wanted Dead Or Alive is a pretty awful movie on most levels. It doesn't deliver for action fans, because the action has a cheap, amateurish feel about it. It doesn't deliver for suspense fans because there is no excitement, just lots of noise and mayhem. It doesn't deliver as a "thinking-man's" thriller because of its insistence on mindlessness. And it doesn't deliver for those who fondly remember the old TV show because it has virtually nothing in common with it other than the fact that it features a bounty hunter named Randall. The script by Michael Patrick Goodman, Brian Taggert and director Gary Sherman goes nowhere - it doesn't even build up an interesting contrast between the hero and the villain. In a movie like Die Hard, which came a year later, the cat-and-mouse psychology played out between hero and villain gives the story a sense of focus and creates real tension. In this one, there's none of that….. Rahim and Randall have barely any scenes together, and their battle against each other carries no interest for the audience at all, other than an all-too-brief final showdown in which the good guy comes up with an admittedly novel way of disposing of his nemesis. Gene Simmons as the Arab terrorist looks suitably wild, but beyond that it's a nothing of a role. Hauer is similarly wasted as the hero – he wears a cool leather jacket and lives in a pretty mean bachelor pad, but that's about as deep and meaningful as the character gets! As anti-terrorism action movies go, this is one BOMB in urgent need of detonation, preferably on some island as far from intelligent civilisation as possible.

DVD_Connoisseur I recently revisited "Wanted Dead Or Alive" after a period of almost 20 years. The film's really stood the test of time and it's a shame there weren't any sequels produced. Rutger Hauer's time as an action hero was short-lived.The film's low budget roots can't be missed but there are enough strong performances from the cast to carry the movie. Hauer's bachelor loft is the ultimate guy pad and, in my opinion, worth watching the movie for. To say his crib is cool is the understatement of the year.Gene Simmons delivers the goods as a thoroughly nasty baddie.Great '80s "B"-movie fun.