When you think back to the 1980s, there’s a ton of films that invoke a strong sense of nostalgia and whisk us away to simpler times when kids stayed out until the streetlights came on, and social media meant nothing more than passing notes back and forth in the classroom. It was the heyday of great cinema, and perhaps the last real decade that produced bona fide action stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger andSylvester Stallone. It’s the latter that is still going strong today thanks to the Taylor Sheridan hit,Tulsa King, but long before he was a capo, Stallone starred in what is arguably one of the most overlooked films of his career,Over the Top.
Featuring Stallone as long-haul truck driver Lincoln Hawk,Over the Topis an underrated sports drama that sees him try and win back the love and affection of his son, Mike, while at the same time trying to become the arm wrestling champion of the world. After years of being absent from his life, Hawk is asked by his estranged and sick wife to pick up their boy from military school and drive him across the countryto develop a relationship with him. This doesn’t sit well with her father, the wealthy Jason Cutler (Robert Loggia), who does everything in his power to drive a wedge between father and son, thinking Hawk isn’t good enough for the family.
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Along the way, Hawk is successful in connecting with Mike, despite all the efforts by Cutler to keep them apart. He teaches him a number of lessons, not the least of which is to believe in yourself and be fearless as you walk through life. “The world meets nobody halfway. When you want something, you gotta take it,” Stallone says at one point during the movie. It’s a creed that serves Hawk well inOver the Top’s climactic sequence, which features not only Sammy Hagar’s iconic 80s ballad “Winner Takes It All,” but all the arm wrestling action you could ever want in a movie.
‘Over the Top’ Is a Melodramatic Masterpiece
Directed by Menahem Golan, who also helmed 1981’sEnter the Ninjaand the Chuck Norris classic,The Delta Force,Over the Topwas a box office disasterat the time of its release, raking in just $16 million against a budget of $25 million. Critics panned the movie for being nothing more than a “wildly incompetent” piece of celluloid. Nominated for three Golden Raspberry Awards, that should have been the end of it, but in the years since,Over the Tophas managed to rise to cult status, and has become a favorite of many.
Honestly, it’s a melodramatic masterpiece that has everything you want in a good Stallone flick. There’s the underdog lead, a rich and ruthless antagonist, a bratty kid, and enough drama to keep audiences engaged until the arm wrestling takes center stage, and you’re left to wonder: Can Hawk really win? Admittedly, it can be a little heavy-handed at times and offers up too much cheese, but all in all,Over the Topis an entertaining film that – while certainly not Stallone’s best – doesn’t deserve the hate it gets from cinephiles who think they’re too good to enjoy a fun and mindless action drama.
Thankfully,Over the Topis now streaming for free on Tubi, so if you’ve never had the pleasure of checking out this cult classic, now’s your chance. You better hurry, though, as it’s set to exit the platform very soon.
Source:Tubi
Over the Top
