While vacationing in Paris with some friends, young carefree student Maureen Winston is abducted in broad daylight by a gang of white slavers. Her family is desperate, especially her guilt-ridden older sister Margaret, who was the one who talked Maureen into taking a trip to see Europe. Despite some comforting words, the State Department has no idea where the girl is, which leaves her desperate family out of options. However, Grandpa Winston suggests that they should turn to pulp heroes like Remo Williams (aka The Destroyer), Mack Bolan (aka The Executioner) or Jake Speed (a character made up for the movie) for help. Everyone believes it's just dementia talking until Margaret's best friend Wendy visits her the next day and finds a message addressed to Margaret under the door. The note only says that if Margaret wants to see her sister again, she should go to a sleazy bar near the peer. Driven by guilt, she does so and meets Jake Speed's assistant Desmond Floyd there. He explains that Jake is willing to take her case for free. Jake then finally shows up, but he seems like he's not all there. He explains to Margaret that her sister is being held by Sid, a sadistic murderous British white slaver and crime lord, who operates from a (fictional) African country, where a full blown armed rebellion is in progress. He also explains that all pulp fiction heroes are actually real (including Doc Savage) and that their novels are all based on their wild real life adventures. Margaret buys this and agrees to travel there with Jake and Desmond. However, once there, she's attacked, almost blown up and almost sold into slavery herself by Jake, all as part of his plan which he neglected to explain to her. She eventually begins to suspect that there's something wrong with Jake and his friend and runs away. She finds her way to a consulate that's being evacuated due to heavy fighting. The consul explains that Jake and his friend are two infamous benign fraudsters, who actually believe that they are two pulp fiction heroes. However, when he asks Margaret to lead him to the barn where the two are religiously waiting for her return, it becomes perfectly clear that Jake, although not exactly at his best, is very much who he says he is - but the consul is not. Jake and Margaret are captured and taken at gunpoint to Jake's arch-nemesis Sid's villa, where Margaret's sister is being held as well. Can the good guys win, even in the 80s? When her sister is kidnapped by white slavers, only Grandpa knows what to do. He puts in a call to a fictional hero, Jake Speed. She is amazed to find that he actually exists, and that as flesh and blood, is much less formidable than his reputation. Most people (36) gave this movie a 10 and those who don't are being too critical or maybe expected something else. This is one of my favorite movies from the 80's, it grows on you, and has it all. I just got it on DVD and 20 years later it still does not disappoint, having plenty of action, drama, romance, and even comedy. Add to that the great car chases, automatic weapon shootouts and lots of stuff blowing up and you have a fun, edge of your seat experience! You will even be humming or whistling the main theme song for days after seeing this. <br/><br/>You can watch this movie with your wife/gf and you will both enjoy it lots. The premise is that of a paperback book hero, like Doc. Savage, really existing and helping people fight evil so he can write the story is almost true to life here. The actor Jake Speed is also a director, producer and writer of many films. In THIS film Jake Speed (the character) is an Indiana Jones adventurer type, he usually uses his head to get out of sticky situations but will sometimes resorts to brute firepower (yay!,and sheer dumb luck too!). Keep an eye out for his one "James Bond" hi-tech equipment, the ultimate road warrior SUV dropping out of the sky.<br/><br/>The heroine is the very beautiful young love interest from the early Jim Carey vampire movie "Once Bitten" and here she is a little older and still a knockout even compared to her teenage blonde little sister.<br/><br/>The bad guys are "real bad" men and are the worst lowlife villainous scum you love to hate. The ending is just perfect and can stand alone or invite a sequel, sadly never made - but you can just imagine what would happen next!<br/><br/>You have to see this movie just because it will entertain and amuse you and that's worth the price of a ticket. My dad had a biker friend I loved that he called "Doc" because of the Doc Savage pulps he always used to read.<br/><br/>It didn't end there in our home. Remo Williams was a beloved family film and…we had a couple old paperbacks about him laying around the house. And Dumas and Claremont and Doyle and their creations.<br/><br/>And of course Elmore Leonard was always somewhere to be found along with Louis L'Amour and Marv Wolfman and….<br/><br/>The point is that pulp was a common thing in our blue collar home and especially if that was an adventure pulp. My father loved trash like that and it rubbed off to my sister and I.<br/><br/>Jake Speed is trash like that. It is not only trash like that it references trash like that. It pays homage to trash like that. It spoofs trash like that it's, well, it's brilliant.<br/><br/>In fact, it does for the pulp action hero what "El Diablo" did for the pulp western hero…<br/><br/>And at the same time it is pure adventure…<br/><br/>…you have to love it…<br/><br/>…that is unless you are the type that has to have everything absolutely serious and only read stories about murdering your family with an axe, turning into a beetle, and only if they are penned by suicidal novelists.<br/><br/>If that is the case you are going to hate this movie…<br/><br/>But if you are the discerning gentleman or lady that has a respectable library…and a Kindle full of Sabatini with a password guaranteeing that no one will ever know your childlike love for high adventure…<br/><br/>Then "Jake Speed" is bound to be one of your favorite films.<br/><br/>Not Everything has to be "Citizen Kane" you know…these are movies, they are made for one singular reason…to entertain.
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293 weeks ago