Over the Top (1987)

Director: Menahem Golan

Writers: Gary Conway, David Engelbach, Stirling Silliphant, Sylvester Stallone

Composer: Giorgio Moroder

Starring:  Sylvester Stallone, Robert Loggia, Susan Blakely, Rick Zumwalt, David Mendenhall, Chris McCarty, Terry Funk, Bob Beattie, Allan Graf, Magic Schwarz

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  Some fight for money... Some fight for glory... He's fighting for his son's love

Plot:  Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) is a struggling trucker who arm wrestles on the side to make extra cash while trying to rebuild his life. After the death of his wife, he tries to make amends with his son who he left behind 10 years earlier. Upon their first meeting, his son does not think too highly of him until he enters the World Arm Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas. His hope is to receive the grand prize of $100,000 and an expensive current custom semi-truck and thus start his own trucking company.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

It would be really easy to tear this film apart but it's so likable.  Stallone is a likable guy.  The kid starts out being an ass that needs the switch taken to his backside but he eventually comes around to being nice.  His transition from shit to good is pretty quick but then this flick doesn't have all that much time.  Robert Loggia is great as usual.  One big issue, technically, is the arm wrestling B-story.  I always thought this movie was all about that and it was more of an action movie but then I never saw it until now.  Instead it's more of a father getting in touch with his son and, oh, by the way, there's this World Series of arm wrestling happening in Las Vegas.  I didn't mind the disjointedness of it at all.  There's some dumb shit in the movie but it's professionally crafted without being great.  Everything works out too well for Stallone.  You can see it coming a mile away but it's still entertaining and the movie files by.  It's a reasonably fun, predictable movie. that beer drinkers and Stallone fans can sit through without yelling at the TV.  It could've been a lot worse and that would be just too bad.