Jake Speed

While Alien and Star Wars provided low-budget filmmakers with a tough aspirational template, Raiders of the Lost Ark was an even harder act to follow. With its exotic locales and sprawling cast of characters, Spielberg and Lucas' creation didn't lend itself to a quick rip-off. Romancing the Stone managed to successfully recreate the formula to a degree, but most other attempts (Treasure of the Four Crowns, King Solomon's Mines) were obvious also-rans.

1986's Jake Speed tried to rip off Raiders and Romancing the Stone in equal measure, sporting at rough-n-tumble titular hero whose pulp adventures in a popular series of novels turn out to be based on his actual escapades as a hero-for-hire. Taking on a new case involving white slavers selling pretty L.A. girls in the wilds of Africa, Jake (played by producer and co-writer Wayne Crawford) goes toe-to-toe with a colorful Cockney villain (John Hurt) while protecting his client from assorted guns, knives and wildlife.

Director Andrew Lane's film has its heart in the right place and the central conceit of a make-believe hero made real is a darn good one; but the odds - or perhaps the budget - is stacked against it. Shot in Zimbabwe and taking every advantage to "slum down" the local scenery, Jake Speed feels like a movie forced to keep its imagination in check. And lead actor Wayne Crawford cut-and-paste performance of cute one-liners doesn't help (Bruce Willis was an early contender who was cut). The rest of the cast, including Hurt, Dennis Christopher and love interest Karen Kopins, are all up for the challenge though. And as a '80s film that opened against Top Gun, it deserves more than your pity. Who knows, you might even give it a fair share of respect.

Kudos to Arrow for digging this one out of obscurity and blessing it with a new 2K restoration. Extras include a pair of candid interviews with director Andrew Lane and producer William Fay plus new artwork on the reversible sleeve.