Quicksilver

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 (Kevin Bacon) is a big shot stock broker. He makes a big move that doesn't work out and loses all his parents' savings. He gets gun shy and ends up as a bicycle messenger. Terri (Jami Gertz) is the new rider. Hector Rodriguez (Paul Rodriguez) is the entrepreneur who wants to buy a hot dog cart. Voodoo (Laurence Fishburne) is the big rider who is not particular about what he carries. Gypsy is a local drug dealer who uses messengers to deliver his product. I have to admit that I don't remember how cheesy 80s this movie actually is and that Louie Anderson is in this as a bike messenger. The music is so 80s and the bike acrobatics is fun. The story is nothing special. It's got Kevin Bacon and a few really good actors. The bike riding is fun. It's not more than that.