As Good As It Gets

A Masterpiece!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Blistering performances.

The billing for "Tank" is right on the mark. It is an action, drama and comedy film, with some serious overtones. Although rated PG, it's most appropriate for mature adults. In other words, those who don't get too much glee out of the treatment of prisoners on the county work farm, and those who think the allusions and references to being beaten to death, gang-raped and killed are really that funny. It's not for kids at all – with just enough nudity, foul language and discussion of prostitution, adultery, etc. to go along with the violent aspects. The film also is a look at Army life during peacetime. The film came out in 1984, so it takes place around then. Sgt. Maj. Zack Carey (James Garner) has been in the Army 30 years. Both he and Maj. Gen. Hubik (Sandy Ward) have rows of ribbons on their chest. Both also have senior parachutist badges and Ranger patches, as well as Combat Infantry Badges (CIB). They would have entered the service after Korea and probably had considerable combat time in Vietnam. Zack appears to have nine hash marks on his sleeve – which would represent four and one- half years in combat zones. The IMDb film summary describes the plot in enough detail. The cast are all very good in their parts. Besides those mentioned above, Shirley Jones is good as Zack's'wife, LaDonna; C. Thoms Howell if very good as son, Billy; Jenilee Harrison as the local hooker, Sarah; James Cromwell is the doormat and abusive deputy Euclid; Dorian Harewood is very good as Sgt. Tippett; and G.D. Spradlin is excellent as Sheriff Buelton. "Tank" seems to have capitalized on the popularity of the long- running TV series, "The Dukes of Hazzard," which was set in the South. This film has more bite and sarcasm about the corrupt and dictatorial local law found in some places, but it is a lot of fun for mature audiences. We root for Sgt. Major Zack as he demolishes Sheriff Buelton's office and jail and makes his escape across the northern Georgia county to the Tennessee state line. The film takes pokes at the military and local southern communities that host military bases – mostly the latter. It jabs Bible-thumping law enforcement and hypocrites, especially those often characterized as being in the South. The setting for the film is a fictitious Army base, Fort Clemmons. It's located in Georgia, supposedly in the NW not far from the Tennessee border. Anyone familiar with that part of the country would know how hilly and high it can get. That's at the end of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the borders of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee. The opening scene shows vehicles driving through flat tree-covered country. That's the type of country around Ft. Benning, GA, much further south, which is also where most of the Army base scenes were shot. Ft. Benning has been the home of the U.S. Infantry since 1918, and has several specialty training centers and schools there. Among them are the Airborne (parachutist) and Ranger schools, Officer Candidate School (OCS), the Infantry school and others. Since 2005, it has been home of the Armor School, which moved from Fort Knox, KY. And, since that year, Ft. Benning has been designated the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence. The film shows the 114th Infantry Division at the fictitious base. There hasn't been such a division in the U.S. Army, although there has been a 114th Inf. Regiment Military families, those with such backgrounds and anyone interested in the military and war films should enjoy this film.

***SPOILERS - LIKE I'M REALLY GONNA RUIN IT FOR YA!***When I first started seeing posters for this film in the movie theatres, I thought all my dreams had come true. A movie about a tank! ALL about a tank! It'll crush cars and blow things up!I went into the theatre on opening night expecting just that, and that's just what I got. At nine years of age, plot and acting didn't mean a whole lot to me - not when a Sherman tank was running over cop cars, anyway.Now, I can see this film for what it is: a paper-thin plot, mostly-wooden acting (Except for G.D. Spradlin chewing the scenery), and plot holes you could, well, drive a tank through. But what the hell? It's a fun little movie, with plenty of tankish action to keep armor enthusiasts like me interested, even if the rest of the story IS so stupid it makes me want to retch.

Tank has been an inspiration in my life. Its rich plot is rife with moral dilemmas, all of which end in ethical resolutions. Zack (James Garner) is the epitome of all that is good and right in the universe, and he wins in the end like good should. While I usually watch the film for its moral content, sometimes I find myself fast- forwarding to scene eleven, which features james cromwell naked, chained to a phone pole.Ten stars. This film has changed my life.

Garner's performance and quiet, comic authority carry this otherwise dull film about a sergeant major who owns his own Sherman battle tank, which he uses to rescue for son from the clutches of a redneck sheriff.