Why so much hype?

Brilliant and touching

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Even though Kevin Bacon has turned in some wonderful performances in the 35 years as a performer I for many years have dodged the 1986 low-budgeted thriller "Quicksilver". I just felt that Bacon has made far better movies than this. But once I purchased it on Blu-ray, I was pleased by the movie. For a meagre budget, this movie was very heart pumping, entertaining and once again, Bacon excels in another vibrant performance.Granted it has its bizarre scenes. But what do you expect? This movie was released in the 1980's. But to delve deeper into the layers of the movie, I think it will satisfy an audience who like a vast variety of genres because there's some thing there for everyone to enjoy. Kevin Bacon plays the part of Jack Casey, who at one time was a top notch stockbroker who made a living trading stocks. One day, a bad tip has come his way and suddenly he gets knocked down from Cloud 9 to rock bottom, even his parents are left in the drenches of his financial downfall. Down on his luck, he ends up getting a job as a messenger cyclist and becomes an unwritten adviser to other messenger cyclists in San Francisco who take their low-payed jobs very seriously. With a talent pool of outstanding supporting players like Jami Gertz, Paul Rodriguez and Laurence Fishburne these performers utilize their abilities to provide, thrills, drama and action.With the concentration of Mr. Casey returning back to his old job, he must resolve his past failures while trying to win back his dignity once again. Losing everything he's got has made Jack downtrodden and just fixated with hanging on to everything he still has. When his fellow messenger Hector (Paul Rodriguez) has ambitions to open up a hot-dog stand, Jack pulls all his resources to help Hector fulfill his dream. Jack stands up to his fellow messengers once drug-dealers begin to take over to deliver their goods. After being a witness to a murder, Jack learns first hand that these druggies are hiring messengers to do their dirty work, this leads to Jack coming to the aid of Terri (Jami Gertz) so that she does not bite in with their manipulative schemes.Terri is quite vulnerable to give into their schemes, while Hector in an reluctant act of desperation joins in to make quick money to gather his funds. And while Jack's quest to go back to being a broker, takes a negative impact on the bikers as they're now part of this illegal operation. They're fates all depend on Jack for getting back to his old ways again as Jack has now become a hero to all of them.The editing was tightly knitted and the action pieces were purely sublime as it compliments the rather dark sub-plot that this movie has to offer. This movie stands the test of time as a definitive Kevin Bacon 80's film that's worth to take a gander at. Though it was made 27 years ago, it has aged quite gracefully. Even though the Blu-ray offers no special features, the picture restoration is quite an improvement.

Jack Casey used to be a hot-shot stock market whiz kid. After a disastrous professional decision, his life in the fast lane is over.He loses his nerve and joins a speed delivery firm which relies on bicycles to avoid traffic jams of San Francisco.He is also attracted to a fellow bicycler, Terri, and befriends Hector, a budding entrepreneur.Can Jack regain his nerve and his self-respect, and rebuild his life on a more sound basis.....The first thing that strikes you in this movie is Bacons moustache. It has to be the worst cinematic moustache I have ever seen.It goes downhill pretty fast from there. Learning to live without the material things, which is portrayed as his girlfriend, Bacon settles down into his new life and never feels bitter about anything.He meets Gertz who is waiting for The Lost Boys, and their are subplots involving minorities not having any money, gangsters wanting Terris to do stuff, and Larry Fishburne, getting killed at the end of the first act.It's all pretty silly, and never really adds up to much. There is the obligatory 'look what I can do on a bike' scene, an over the top end sequence, and honestly a scene where a man in a bar hears some bad news and snatches the drink from the guy sitting next to him.It all ends how you would expect, but it's an uphill struggle to get there.

I usually don't let little things like geographic errors bug me, but the switching back and forth between New York and San Francisco gets to be too much. Some chase and race scenes have notable SF landmarks, like Coit Tower and a brief glimpse of the TransAmerica Pyramid, in the background. I guess they really wanted those hills. There was also the convenient "dead end" off the Embarcadero Freeway, used to get rid of Gypsy. (That freeway is no more. It was declared unsafe after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.) Jack gets a name sticker with "PSE" on it. PSE is the abbreviation for Pacific Stock Exchange (also now defunct) which was in San Francisco. The messengers hang out in Civic Center.Then there's the NYC aspects. One of the deliveries is to West 88th Street. The rough accents are all Brooklyn/Bronx. The tight traffic scenes are all Manhattan. The city buses are from NYC. SF just doesn't have that many yellow cabs on the streets.Does it really matter? Perhaps for people who aren't familiar with either city it's all background. But when the movie has very little going for it in the first place, the location flip flops are a huge distraction.

Anyone who has a 6 digit salary would agree that the only thing better than have a great income is not having one...which is exactly what Kevin Bacon decides to do in Quicksilver. Bacon is a stockbroker, the best there is, but somehow manages to lose all his and his parents money. What happens next is that he decides that being a bike messenger is the only life he can have now. He learns all the bike tricks and can even do jumps. This may not be suitable for children since he rides around without a helmet or reflectors. Things to remember when you go on your next bike ride. A. Check you tires, make sure you haven't caught any debris in them. B. Make sure you have a nice hairdo so old ladies aren't offended by your appearance. c. Don't talk to dogs you don't know, stray dogs may bite you.