Tank Girl

For all the flaws in plot, acting, and production in general, Tank Girl is a horrible movie. The narrative follows a predictable pattern of a really fake futuristic dystopia with a boring villain and poorly designed underworld mutants. The slick style over substance coupled with Courtney Love's musical selections and the quick edits make the proceedings like a feature-length MTV commercial. As the lead, Lori Petty does not convince as the tough, wise-cracking, beer-swilling hero from the Jamie Hewlett comic book. However, in its defense, Tank Girl offers totally mindless entertainment value for a few reasons. The animated sequences in-between the gloriously decorated sets are wild and action-packed. Perhaps if this were an entirely animated feature it could have done better. Since design is the reason to watch this movie, the costumes by Ariana Phillips are one of its best assets. Besides, the very idea of placing haute-couture fashion and a dance sequence in the middle of a action movie is strangely compelling. With its incoherent plot, this mess of movie allows its protagonist to be frivolously destructive and creative, although it could have used more of both. But that doesn't really matter, because director Rachel Talalay (who got her start in films by working with John Waters) seems to be just having fun with this movie without forcing any particular point. Ultimately, Tank Girl can be appreciated as an exploitation movie for the usually exploited, and therefore good for some cheap thrills. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide