Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

callanvass Jamie Hankins (Charlie Sheen) is murdered by Packard Walsh (Nick Cassavetes) and the rest of his gang for getting too intimate with a girl he desires, Keri Johnson (Sherilyn Fenn) A mystical figure shows up without warning one day, a man who goes by the name of Jake Kesey. He has an invincible Dodge Turbo Interceptor, and hits it off with Kerri. People don't realize Jake is actually Jamie Hankins who has come back to avenge his death by killing Packard and his gang. I am half and half on this movie. I did enjoy this movie very much in a B-movie type way, but I also feel they failed to execute on the potentially riveting storyline. It doesn't do nearly enough with the set-up and resorts to playing it safe far too often. Jamie was a man who was murdered, and it sure didn't seem like he was that angry about it. We get scattered flashbacks of Jamie's death that don't really amount to much, nor do they provide much emotion. Jamie kills Packard's gang in the most routine ways imaginable, all by car chaos. As a matter of fact, that's all it was really interested in. It felt like it was bragging by saying "Hey! Look at all these cool cars we are throwing your way, be in awe by it, and shut up" You got murdered bro, go nuts! On that note, the cars are indeed cool. We get a dodge turbo, a firebird, corvette, among others. The car chases are certainly exciting, but it gets redundant after a while when the storyline really begins to lack proper substance. The visuals are pretty dated, but still pretty neat, especially those flying lights. The abundance of plot holes can't be ignored. Why was there no conjecturing that Jake was Jamie? How did it take the sheriff so long to figure out what was going on? Charlie Sheen doesn't exactly give his best performance in this one. He's one of my favorite actors, but I'd be lying if I said he wasn't somewhat wooden at times. He was far too cool for a precarious situation that his character was in. I would have loved to see him be more conflicted and emotional, but we can't always get what we want, now can we? it's still Charlie Sheen, and I love him. Sherilyn Fenn is awful as the love interest. She couldn't emote very well, but she was pretty easy on the eyes. Her love story with Sheen is supposed to be very potent, but it fell very flat. Nick Cassavetes gives the best performance in the film as a ruthless gang leader. His menacing performance was quite riveting. Randy Quaid is amusing as the tough sheriff. The rest of the cast range from good to adequate. MAJOR SPOILERS! Here are my thoughts on the anti-climatic ending. Jamie manages to kill Packard, and they gave the viewers a happy ending, but it's rather ambiguous as well. Kerri & Billy find out that Jake is Jamie, and Kerri & Billy ride off into the sunset together. Is Kerri gonna be dead as well, is Jamie gonna stay on earth? it left so many questions unanswered, and it wasn't very logical. Final Thoughts: I almost forgot the amazing soundtrack. It has some classic 80's songs, if you love the 80's like I do. This movie is very enjoyable for what it is. It's a corny B-movie, but it could have been so much more. It had potential to be a suspenseful revenge film, but wound up being a cheesy 80's film. I can't complain too much. Cheesy 80's is just fine with me. Well worth a look, just make sure you temper your expectations5.7/10

Cine-Maniacal Is there anything about this movie that sets it above any other 80s flick, or racing movie, or revenge thriller? No. Not a thing. It has all the expected features for any 80s movie ever made, from the cast to the soundtrack. But it is no worse (nor better) than any of the others from that era. There is a lot to like here, but for those with limited tolerance for cheese or goofy plot lines, there will be plenty to hate. Be prepared to suspend your disbelief and open your might to the 80s nostalgia and movie conventions. Most of all, sit back, shut-up, and enjoy.Note: This is my standard disclaimer when offering reviews for movies of this sort (cult classics, 80s & 90s standards, etc.): Plenty of others have already recounted the plot, cast, effects, and so forth ... so I don't waste your time or mine rehashing all of that. I prefer to offer a brief, succinct opinion comparing films to others in their genre or class.

tomgillespie2002 So we find ourselves again in the heady, glossy '80's. A film that would delight any 10 year old; special, fast, shiny cars in high-speed races on Arizona desert roads. What more could a boy ask for? Well, in the case of The Wraith, we also have a supernatural avenging spirit.A gang of leather-clad "punks" lead by mullet-wearing Parkard (Nick Cassavettes), 'bothers' teenage drivers, and forces them to race for the possession of their cars. And they don't play fair. Packard is obsessed with Keri (Sherilyn Fenn), and believes that she belongs to him. We are offered glimpses of backstory in an incident where she was caught with Jamie Hankins, and the gang murder him. At the same time that Jake (Charlie Sheen) arrives in town, a visible apparition of possible alien origin arrives in a futuristic-looking sports car: A wraith with the intent of avenging his death (yes, he is the spirit of Jamie; revenge is his motivation). What proceeds is a series of repetitive kills, as the wraith races with the gang and blows their car (but not their bodies) to smithereens. In a different decade, this post-Knight Rider-like ghost-revenge flick, could have been less, well, 1980's. it focuses more on the fast-car elements, and less on the spiritual nature of post-death revenge. It's not a bad film, just very predictable and as I previously mentioned repetitive. There are hammy turns by Randy Quaid (Sheriff Loomis), and Eraserhead- haired geek, Rughead, by nerd regular Clint Howard. This adds nothing to the film, except for decade-cliché. The film bizarrely had a poster that was directly descended from the Back to the Future (1985) promotions (i.e. a figure exiting a vehicle with bright-white light emitting from the drivers door). The wraith itself is clearly lifted from the Japanese Manga character introduced in 1985, The Bio Booster Guyver (which was also turned into a Hollywood film in 1991). The costume almost identical.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Ankhenaten91 I remember seeing this movie when I was 7 years old going to see it opening weekend at a matinée show. Westwood in LA '86 was a great time.The movie left an indelible mark on me from the moment I walked out I was a changed man, er boy. I had just seen the coolest most bitchin' movie ever!Charlie Sheen in his first staring role plays a new kid in a small town in the Arizona desert town that is held hostage by a group of road pirates that race people for their pink slips. This group led by Packard (Nick Cassavetes) is a motley crew if I ever saw one filled with every stereotypical character you can find. Packard and Sheen are both into the same girl (Sherrilyn Fenn) and that is where the fun starts.The gang of thugs are being taken out one by one by a masked avenger of sorts in a supernaturally cool car that forces you to hit it and blow up while it re-appears without a scratch. Of course law enforcement is called in and it falls to Sheriff Loomis (Randy Quaid) always one step behind the action right where we need him.Awesome driving sequences showing the same scenery over and over and a shoestring budget give this movie more character than you would normally have but everything is up on the screen to watch. The music is pretty good for 80's rock tunes and it is such a perfect little time capsule for the era in which it was produced.If you want a fun movie to watch on a Saturday night maybe some beer and pizza a some friends to revel in the greatest time in cinema ( I am joking by the way) you can't go wrong.It's schlocky, weird and makes little sense, the acting is pitch perfect for the material and is just a good time. Plus Sherrilyn Fenn is HOT AS HELL!