Jake Speed
Tags: murder, sadist

Plot synopsis:
In Paris, a girl named Maureen Winston (Becca C. Ashley) is abducted by two evil-looking men. While her family prays for her safe return, Maureen's father heaps guilt on her sister Margaret (Karen Kopins), since she convinced her to go see the world. However, Margaret's grandfather (Leon Ames) has an idea: call for Jake Speed (Wayne Crawford) to go and rescue her. One problem exists: Jake Speed is a character in a series of 1940s-style pulp fiction novels.
However, Jake Speed does exist, as Margaret finds out, when he leaves a note for her to meet him and his sidekick, Desmond Floyd (Dennis Christopher), in a tough Paris bar. The novels, as Margaret finds out, are based on Jake and Des's real-life adventures, and they work for nothing, seeing action and excitement (and another novel) as their reward.
Jake reveals that Maureen was kidnapped by white slavers, and is being held in an African country. Jake, Des, and Margaret fly to the nation, which is in the middle of a civil war, to rescue her. Many twists and turns later, Jake's archenemy, the evil, perverted, murderous Englishman Sid (John Hurt), is revealed to be behind the ring, and soon, Margaret becomes a part of it. Jake and Des must now rescue both Maureen and Margaret, stop Sid, and help the girls get out in one piece, while dealing with warring factions, pits of lions, and machine gun-firing helicopters.

Review: The first thing I have to say is that I own Jake Speed.
The film begins with Margaret (Karen Kopins) trying to find her sister.
Along comes Jake Speed (Wayne Crawford), telling her exactly where her sister is and making an offer to find her.
Jake Speed is a hero.
He doesn't work for money because he just wants to help and have a good adventure.
His partner (Dennis Christopher) follows him around and writes their adventures into novels.
This film is a great adventure.
Crawford is perfect as Jake Speed and throws out some one-liners that you'll never forget.
Kopins and Christopher are also good as the girl and the sidekick, respectively.
John Hurt, the guy who's stomach blew up in Alien, plays the devilish, pervertish villian which just adds to the fun.
"Jake Speed" was NEVER meant to evoke "Indiana Jones" in any way shape or form.
This film is both a satire and an homage to the great pulp-fiction adventures of the cheap paperback literature series....ala` "Doc Savage",and the more contemporary exponents such as "The Destroyer" and other similar adventure series.
I enjoyed this movie as a kid when it came out, and to this day still do.
A simple story involving the search for a kidnapped girl and an adventurer literally straight out of paperback lore.
Wayne Crawford stars as the main character Jake Speed.
According to 'Jake Speed' they are based on real people, living out the adventures they write about and publish.
But if you're looking for a surprisingly fun ride through the B-movie jungle, try "Jake Speed".A little thin at times, but its one-liners and the location more then make up for this.
John Hurt(God love him), seems to be having fun doing his role as the ultra evil white slaver.
The nemesis of Crawfords, Jake Speed.
He adds a dimension to the film that only a pro like Hurt could provide.
Crawford and Dennis Christopher( Jakes sidekick) are a good team,although you do wonder why they both put up with each other.However ,together both Crawford and Christopher portray a team that is just so much fun that, if you can get over yourself for a moment, you may find yourself acting like a kid again at the situations and the inherent suspense they provide.The delicious Karen Kopins does a great job as the damsel in distress that is more concerned about the motives of her rescuer then her tormentor.I have yet to find a movie that is as much fun without getting preachy,or bogging down the movie by trying too hard.
So lets remember that sometimes, movies are for fun.Not social commentary or attempting to sway an audience politically.
But just for the sheer fun of being alive and living in a time when our hero's live in a celluloid dimension..
Wayne Crawford stars as Jake Speed a fictional hero character from paperback novels, but Margaret finds out that he's actually real when he offers to find her missing young sister who was abducted in Paris by a white slavery ring located in South Africa.
"Jake Speed" is a low-budget b-grade comic book fantasy adventure caper where the pages simply come to life in a sprawling caper of impulsive thrills, laughs, mayhem and energetic performances.
The adventures that Jake Speed goes on are what his novels are all about.
Crawford is likable as the rugged Jake Speed and as well as his resourceful partner Des played perfectly delivered by Dennis Christopher.
This film is harmless escapist fun.
Most people (36) gave this movie a 10 and those who don't are being too critical or maybe expected something else.
I just got it on DVD and 20 years later it still does not disappoint, having plenty of action, drama, romance, and even comedy.
You can watch this movie with your wife/gf and you will both enjoy it lots.
The premise is that of a paperback book hero, like Doc. Savage, really existing and helping people fight evil so he can write the story is almost true to life here.
The actor Jake Speed is also a director, producer and writer of many films.
In THIS film Jake Speed (the character) is an Indiana Jones adventurer type, he usually uses his head to get out of sticky situations but will sometimes resorts to brute firepower (yay!,and sheer dumb luck too!).
Keep an eye out for his one "James Bond" hi-tech equipment, the ultimate road warrior SUV dropping out of the sky.The heroine is the very beautiful young love interest from the early Jim Carey vampire movie "Once Bitten" and here she is a little older and still a knockout even compared to her teenage blonde little sister.The bad guys are "real bad" men and are the worst lowlife villainous scum you love to hate.
The ending is just perfect and can stand alone or invite a sequel, sadly never made - but you can just imagine what would happen next!You have to see this movie just because it will entertain and amuse you and that's worth the price of a ticket..
"Jake Speed" is a fine movie with a wonderful message.
It has a Z-grade cast (Although I've always admired the work of Karen Kopins, who has the straight-laced good looks of Sandra Bullock).But with all this going against it, "Jake Speed" really is inspiring, thanks to a charming script by Wayne Crawford(who plays the title role) and Andrew Lane.Why do I find it so inspiring?
Because it says to me "Hey, why not try to be a good person."The story is essentially a "stranger in a strange land" premise, that is good-and-heroic Jake Speed is placed in the real world where bad things happen to good people.
Jake Speed is the patron saint of optimism in a dirty, mean and evil world.
It's because of this that "Jake Speed" really needed to be a hit.
It has a great message that should have gotten out to Hollywood and then to the rest of the world.Imagine a movie industry that really pushed itself to portray good and decent people.
I'm not saying that we should be watching the Waltons in every theater at the cineplex, but that it would be nice if more movies such as "Jake Speed" would get a chance.
("Due South," a TV show about a Canadian Mountie, is a good comparison of what can be done to brighten up American entertainment.)Sure, "Jake Speed" has violence, blood and guns, but the overall message is that if you try hard enough to be a good person, you'll beat the forces of evil every time.
One of my favorite films for a number of years was "Last Action Hero"; unfortunately, Arnold Schwarznegger decided to spoil my fun by becoming a corrupt scumbag politician; so now I can't bear any film he may had a hand in.The Adventures of Jake Speed actually toys with some themes similar to those in Last...Hero; so I was pleased to find it on DVD, so I could watch these themes played out so well.Despite the "plot-within-the-plot" involving white slavery during an African nation's civil war, this is not an action movie.
The plot that the "plot-within-a-plot" is within, is actually about a question that the film has no intention to resolve: Is Jake Speed a real person that is helping the heroine save her sister from the white-slave trader; or is he actually a fictional character (which means that the heroine has somehow entered the universe that really only exists in a series of pulp novels)?
I suggest that this is not all that clearly defined in the film, and that Wayne Crawford and Andrew Lane are perfectly aware of this.
The film thus becomes a presentation of what audiences may want from such a fictional "adventure-story" universe.
And the pacing does sag on occasion.But I really like these characters, and I enjoy the adventure they live, however silly.
And I just find fascinating the idea that this adventure is actually taking place in a novel.Holds up under multiple viewings -m good show!.
No, but it is a fun little film.Unlike other people's comments, I do not think that this film intended to pretend that it was Indiana Jones; it was meant to entertain in the genre of fictional hero with human frailties, and in that respect Jake Speed succeeds.
No one wants to believe he exists, and he has an over-the-top archenemy, played to the hilt by John Hurt.
Karen Kopins does fine as the "heroine" who just wants to get her sister back from white slavers and finds herself caught up in the strange world of a hero whose books are based upon his real-life adventures.
And Dennis Christopher tries to hold the adventure together while dealing with Jake's ego and Karen's disbelief.For escapist fun without the need to invest mentally or emotionally, Jake Speed fits the bill..
The Adventures of Jake Speed..
Jake Speed (1986) was an amusing parody of Indiana Jones and other adventurer films that were popular during the eighties.
Wayne Crawford stars as Jake Speed, an adventurer who's always battling evil doers wherever he goes.
With his assistant Desmond Floyd (Dennis Christopher) they globe trot looking for some action (and some decent story lines).
The duo meet a young woman named Margaret (Karen Kopins) who's sister has been kidnapped by an evil white slaver trader (John Hurt).
Can she find and convince Jake and Desmond to help her rescue her sibling?A sappy and cheesy film that doesn't pretend to be something that it's not.
That's if you enjoy movies that like to have fun and for those who don't take everything at face value.Recommended..
But quite possibly the most overlooked role of all time was John Hurt who played a great bad guy in V for vendetta and for how great he was there (in my opinion) plays the greatest bad guy off all time.The lines were written so perfectly and he delivered them in a way that should have won every best bad guy ever award.
Because people don't take the movie for what it is.
A FUN action flick with ultimate good vs.
And the greatest shotgun of any movie ( even the Expendibels shotgun pales)How many movies 20 years later try to show the horrors of civil war in Africa ( like 3 ?) There is more going on in this story than people see.
I really wish this movie, the cast, the acting, the plight of Africa and the helpless citizens.Remember my words an amazing hero and the greatest bad guy ever portrayed on screen.
Jake Speed is a film that attracted a minor cult following in the mid 1980s in the VHS market.
It tanked in the US box office and the publicity for the film compared Jake Speed with James Bond with a straight face!This laughably bad B film starts with two young women being chased in Paris who are then taken to Africa by white slave traders, a ring operated by Sid (John Hurt.) The sister of one of the kidnapped girls Margaret (Karen Kopins) gets into contact with pulp fiction hero Jake Speed (Wayne Crawford) to rescue her sister.
Margaret knows nothing about Speed and he seems to act more like a slacker with no plan leaving Margaret dubious about him.This is a low budget movie despite some location shooting in several countries.
My father loved trash like that and it rubbed off to my sister and I.Jake Speed is trash like that.
It spoofs trash like that it's, well, it's brilliant.In fact, it does for the pulp action hero what "El Diablo" did for the pulp western hero...And at the same time it is pure adventure......you have to love it......that is unless you are the type that has to have everything absolutely serious and only read stories about murdering your family with an axe, turning into a beetle, and only if they are penned by suicidal novelists.If that is the case you are going to hate this movie...But if you are the discerning gentleman or lady that has a respectable library...and a Kindle full of Sabatini with a password guaranteeing that no one will ever know your childlike love for high adventure...Then "Jake Speed" is bound to be one of your favorite films.Not Everything has to be "Citizen Kane" you know...these are movies, they are made for one singular reason...to entertain..
more like Jake "let's just relax".
Don't let the name of this film deceive you, In reality Jake Speed the character is quite possibly the laziest action hero ever known to film.
When Jake Speed is not saving virgin girls from evil madmen, which he is often not, he's seriously relaxing.
Perhaps this adds to his charm, but in my opinion an action hero is not suppose to "chill out" whenever he gets the chance.
Anyhow, this movie is basically worthless, the writing is sub par and the action, when there is some, is very lame.
(The machine guns on the jeep weren't bad, but that's about it) So, if you're in the mood to watch a movie that is a cure for insomnia, then this piece is perfect for you - It has a hero that not only puts himself to sleep, but also his audience..
Jake Speed?
Jake Speed?
More like Jake Slow.
A boring adventure with poor pacing and unimpressive set pieces is rescued somewhat by the beautiful Karen Kopins and John Hurt's scenery chewing villain.
Oh, and a pre-X Files Mark Snow provides a film score too good for this joke of a picture.
About as close as this comes to providing exciting action is a car chase.
This movie just doesn't work, despite having an amusing premise (those pulp action heroes actually being real).
It's really sad seeing Dennis Christopher (BREAKING AWAY) being wasted in movies like this..
Perhaps without the presence of John Hurt, it could be tolerated as a kid-film.
Jake Speed is no adventure guy!.
So what's the big fuss out of making an INDIANA JONES wannabe when you have an actor who's cast as a fictional dude from adventure storybooks who doesn't want to go out on an adventure???
Whoever wrote the script for JAKE SPEED was probably fired, but for whatever reasons possible, this movie greatly lacks in excitement!
This has got to bare no resemblance to INDIANA JONES or other action-adventure thrills containing cliffhangers and narrow escapes, and JAKE SPEED was promoted that way using clever propaganda to make me and several others interested in it!
Jake Speed is 80's Coolness!.
Jake Speed is a fantastic 80's action flick....the fun 80's.It's a hero story with danger, suspense and well, some love.What makes Jake Speed stand out, well nothing.
Jake is the over the top hero or is he just an illusion made up by money grabbing individuals.
Jake Speed is a film that lacks one thing  a charismatic lead.
Although it's genesis probably can be traced back to the success of the Indiana Jones trilogy  the film actually plays a little more like 'Romancing the Stone' albeit in reverse.
It's not an author of romantic adventure fiction being led on an adventure by a character very much like one of her creations it is an adventure fiction character (who happens to chronicle his own adventures) leading an ordinary woman on one of his adventures.When a young woman goes missing in Paris, her sister Margaret (played by the appealing Karin Kopins) gets embroiled with pulp hero Jake Speed (Wayne Crawford) and his sidekick Dennis (Dennis Christopher) who both turn out to be real and very flawed individuals in an adventure that takes them into the heart of a civil war torn African state and ultimately into the clutches of two brothers the deliciously evil Sid (John Hurt) and his ridiculously camp sibling Maurice (Roy London).
That's the plot  it's not labyrinthine and it's not complicated but the story that it tells doesn't require great depth.The action sequences are appealing to begin with and it's certainly true that the heroic trio are put through their paces (whether caught in battles between government and rebel forces or being dropped into a pit full of lions) and there are certainly some quite funny lines.
However the film does seem to struggle to find an ending and unfortunately the action sequences that are quite appealing to begin with go nowhere and ultimately become a bit bland and irksome.
This, however, may not have been such an issue if it was possible to like Jake Speed but due to Wayne Crawford's performance it becomes harder to really care what happens.
Now I don't know if he was stretching himself a little thin as he was also the producer and writer of the movie or whether he's simply not a good actor (as I haven't seen him in much else) but he never really convinces as a roguish mixture of Doc Savage, Indiana Jones and Jack Colton.This is a shame because most of the other characters play their roles well  Karen Kopins is funny and convincing and her character shares some nice banter with Jake (unfortunately it never convinces).
Dennis Christopher is perfect as the archetypal sidekick and John Hurt plays the part with camp relish  almost as if he were in a sixties episode of Batman.
Sid is no Moriarty (he is presented as Jake's nemesis from a number of his previous adventures / books) but he is always fun to watch.Jake Speed tries to channel the same fun B movie spirit as 'Night of the Comet' (a film produced by Crawford a few years beforehand) and almost succeeds but misses  which is a shame because Jake would have been good to watch in a few more adventures and may have been served better by a television series.I would recommend this out of curiosity appeal but ultimately it leaves a bitter taste because most of the elements were there to make something genuinely good.