Black Moon Rising

Plot synopsis:
Sam Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) is a former thief hired by the FBI to steal a computer disk which contains incriminating evidence against The Lucky Dollar Corporation of Las Vegas. After stealing the disk, Quint is pursued by Marvin Ringer (Lee Ving), another former thief and acquaintance who works for the company. At the same time, a prototype vehicle called the Black Moon, which can reach speeds of 325 MPH and runs on tap water, is being tested in the desert by Earl Windom (Richard Jaeckel). Quint and Windom later cross paths at a gas station, where Quint hides the disk in the back bumper of the Black Moon. Windom is hauling the Black Moon to Los Angeles, and Quint, still being pursued by Ringer and his men, follows Windom and his team there.
Now in LA, Quint meets with FBI agent Johnson (Bubba Smith), and he demands double pay and a clean passport because he is now dealing with Ringer. Afterward, Quint tracks down Windom and the Black Moon at a posh restaurant, where Windom is negotiating a deal to sell the prototype to a car manufacturer. Before Quint can get to the disk, a group of auto thieves, led by Nina (Linda Hamilton), steals all of the cars in the parking lot, including the Black Moon off of its trailer. Quint gives chase, and tracks the cars to an office tower, but loses them in the parking garage. Inside the garage, Quint is seen on the security cameras, but nobody recognizes him. Back at the restaurant, Quint meets Johnson again. Johnson says he needs the disk in three days or the government's case against The Lucky Dollar will be thrown out of court. He also tells Quint that if he fails to deliver the disk, he won't get paid. Quint then goes to Windom and his team and asks for their help in getting the car back, but they refuse, insisting that they go to the police first.
After getting the blueprints for the towers from city hall, Quint begins staking them out. The Nyland Towers are a pair of office buildings built by Ed Nyland (Robert Vaughn), who is also the head of the stolen car syndicate. The basement of the towers is a large chop shop, and Nyland keeps the best cars for himself and sells the rest. He scolds Nina for stealing a car he can't possibly resell nor does he want it, but he also won't allow Nina to keep it for herself. After seeing Nina leave the towers, Quint follows her to a nightclub. At the club, they meet and go to her apartment. They have sex, then he tells her that he wants the funny looking car back and he wants her to help. She doesn't say no, but doesn't say yes either. Later, Windom and his team go to the towers to look for evidence to give to the police. Nyland's goons kill one of the team members, so they go back to Quint and offer their assistance. Meanwhile, Ringer has tracked down Quint, and he and his men attack him, demanding the return of the disk. Quint is able to kill two of the henchmen, but Ringer gets away.
The next day, Nina is summoned by Nyland. He shows her the tape of Quint outside of the garage, and she says she doesn't know him. He then shows her a tape of them having sex. He calls her a traitor and has her locked in a closet, to be dealt with later. Meanwhile, Quint and Windom determine that since the chop shop entrance is impenetrable from the garage, the best way to get in is through the unfinished, unsecured second tower. While Windom knocks out the security cameras, Quint goes up the empty tower, crosses over to the other one, and heads down. While descending down a ventilation shaft, he discovers Nina in the locked closet and gets her out. She then agrees to help Quint steal the Black Moon. After knocking out a guard and stealing his uniform, Quint and Nina enter the chop shop and take the Black Moon. Nyland has since learned that Nina is no longer locked up and sees her in the garage. Windom is on the other side of the garage door and blows a hole in it with C-4, but emergency bars drop down to cover the hole in the door before Quint and Nina can escape and are trapped.
Quint drives the Black Moon into the freight elevator, which takes them to Nyland's office. During the chase on that floor, Nina activates the turbo boost that makes the car go 325 MPH. The car then shoots towards a window, hitting and killing Nyland instantly. The car then goes through the window and flies into the unoccupied building. Just as they think they are safe and Quint gets the disk out from the bumper, Ringer shows up and takes the disk. He and Quint start fighting just as Agent Johnson shows up. After a brutal fistfight, Quint knocks out Ringer and takes back the disk and gives it to Johnson. Quint then takes his money from him and says he is officially retired from working with the FBI. Windom then shows up and is grateful his car is still in one piece, but wonders how they will get it down. The movie ends back at Nina's apartment, where Quint asks her if she is happy she stole the Black Moon. After she says yes, he says that he is too.

Tags: revenge, cruelty, murder, violence

Review:
Quint also falls in love with a young woman named Nina (Linda Hamilton) who just so happened to steal the car that has the discs in it.
The supportive cast is topped off by Robert Vaughn, playing his usual villian role, while Richard Jaeckel, Lee Ving, William Sandersen, Nick Cassavettes and Keenan Wynn occasionally steal the scene.
Black Moon Rising is a fun filled little action film, which I liked..
Great film that takes me back to the '80s in a good way.I agree with the positive reviews already posted and fondly remember "Black Moon Rising" projected on the giant screen at the Virgina Theater in Champaign, IL.
I was driving the same car at the time and it has always been my favorite vehicle.Considering the participation of John Carpenter and Roger Corman it really is a "good little film" as everyone seem to call it.
Small budgets, great stories and terrific acting in films that actually improve with age.Any film with Tommy Lee Jones is worth a look and Linda Hamilton is always a looker.
I guess this is another version of her TV show, "Beauty and The Beast."Okay, I don't mean to be that nasty because Jones is a terrific actor and usually a lot of fun to watch, especially when he's chasing bad guys.This film really had a Class B-type of feel to it despite the presence of those two actors, along with Robert Vaughn and Richard Jaekel....and a very cool car called "Black Moon."The best thing about the movie was that it was fast-moving, meaning it was interesting enough not to get bored.
Tommy-Lee Jones is excellent in the lead role and it's nice to see him in a younger incarnation, getting involved in all the gritty events.All in all, a good, hidden gem of a film.
"Black Moon Rising" is a formulaic and predictable but nevertheless entertaining and fast-paced thriller based on a story originally written by no less than John Carpenter.
Tommy Lee Jones, on the other, rarely looked cooler than here in his role as super-thief Sam Quint.
"Black Moon Rising" is a prototypic example of an action movie in which one little handling (like hiding a tape in the truck of a car) snowballs into a gigantic avalanche of clichéd but even so enjoyable situations until a grotesque finale is inevitable.
The story opened briskly, there was some very sharp dialogue (some of it written by John Carpenter, who had originally been hired to direct), and one solid (and underrated) car chase between Jones and Linda Hamilton.
It had caught my eye with that awesome looking car on the front, along with the hilarious Supervan!And even though it was the eighties, where video stores were a little more lax on ratings, it was still something I never really jumped at hiring.Moving on 25 years and as both a fan of eighties movies, and as an independent film director, I have been going back to those films of my childhood that I was never lucky enough to see!I recently picked up Black Moon Rising in my local Poundland, and couldn't wait to get it on screen.
Action, twists, plenty of stars and some chuckles help fill out this adventure thriller that is worth the watch!In my opinion - Anti-hero Quick (Mr Jones) pulls off his role of a professional thief with such calm and coolness rarely seen in today's cinema.
Anti-heroine of the hour, Linda Hamilton, squeezes as much of her big hair and cheekbones out of every scene, jumping in on the action as much as her co-star does as the ultimate car thief who falls for her victim.BMR hardly drags anywhere in its running time, with the excitement kicking off from the get-go mixing car chases with tense escapes, dark murders with great stunt work leading to a fun end showdown that ties it all up nicely!Black Moon Rising is well worth the watch and still entertains almost 30 years later....
Great '80s Fun. The FBI hires professional thief Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) to steal some data tapes.
But then the Black Moon is stolen by a car thief (Linda Hamilton) working for big bad guy Ryland (Robert Vaughn).
A movie with Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Hamilton can't be too bad.
Former high-tech thief turned government agent Sam Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) must find a means of retrieving a stolen super-car named the Black Moon, which has hidden inside of her a data tape the FBI desperately wants, from a skyscraper/fortress run by a criminal mastermind named Ryland (Robert Vaughn), who has an whole underground operation dedicated to the redistribution of stolen vehicles and is more than willing to resort to murder in order to protect himself and his organization.
Quint's only link to the inside may be one of Ryland's own car thieves, a spirited young woman named Nina (played by Linda Hamilton), if Quint can convince her to help?
Never before have I witnessed such an outstanding cast in such a by the numbers action thriller, a movie that essentially owes its plot, believe it or not based on a story by John Carpenter, more to "Knight Rider" than anything else.
Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) is an unflappable thief who is hired by the FBI agent Johnson (Bubba Smith) to steal data from the Lucky Dollar Corporation.
Nina (Linda Hamilton) leads a car theft ring and steals the prototype Black Moon.
Solid caper/thriller with Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Hamilton.
In "Black Moon Rising" (1986) Tommy Lee Jones plays a professional thief hired by the FBI to apprehend a data tape to incriminate a questionable company.
Oddly enough, once he gets the tape he's forced to hide it on a prototype supercar, which is stolen by a woman (Linda Hamilton) who works for a professional car-theft ring led by a character played by Robert Vaughn.
Richard Jaeckel plays the inventor of the supercar and Bubba Smith an intimidating FBI official.While the film was written and produced by John Carpenter and features the stars noted above, the budget was limited, which is evident in a few areas.
Nothing new in this generic and almost lifeless picture who owns its good moments thankful to the charismatic Tommy Lee Jones, who plays the thief hired by the FBI to steal vital information about a corrupt company.
It all complicates when he's followed by the company's security after stealing the info which was hidden in a supersonic new car, object of desire of another thief (Linda Hamilton) who works for another corrupt company, commanded by a powerful businessman (Robert Vaughn).
It offers moderate action sequences that aren't vivid in the memory for too long - the car chases have their qualities while the fight scenes seem a little exaggerated with everyone fighting karate style instead of a more street level kind of fight, something in which we would believe more if seeing characters like those (robbers and security staff members) doing it.
Made before Tommy Lee Jones was a household name, but after Linda Hamilton had endured her first encounter against The Terminator, Black Moon Rising is a simplistic action flick of little consequence.
Seems like a good plan, until ace car thief Nina (Hamilton) shows up and steals the racing car for her boss Ryland (Robert Vaughn).
In another John Carpenter's story this low budge movie have an unbelieving plot,but somehow works as entertainment if you forget some ridiculous scenes like a car jumping between two twin skyscrapers,Tommy Lee Jones in great shape and Linda Hamilton is gorgeous as young car's thief and always a pleasure to see back on screen the great Richard Jaeckel and Robert Vaughn...great action scenes!!
Though I'd never heard of it, this has some pretty big names in it: Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Hamilton, and Robert Vaughn and some lesser names with familiar faces: Bubba Smith, William Sanderson and Keenan Wynn.Unfortunately, the three stars do not put in star performances.
It's OK, though I wouldn't bother to watch it again, and will be passing off the copy I own.The VHS I bought of this (for $1.00) is a "Collector's Edition" "Gold Series."  It includes: Coming Attractions (1:55 Min.) [the trailer for Black Moon Rising], FEATURE FILM (Original Version) (100 Min.) [pan and scan], Interview with Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Hamilton (7:13 Min.), "Car Theft" Segment (2:15 Min.), and "Fuel of the Future" Segment (2:20 Min.).
Saw "Black Moon" (German title) recently on TV and remembered the days when Synthpop was the hype and a lot of action movies featured one or more futuristic car.
For the sake of the 80's (my favourite decade...) and the fact that there was nothing else worth changing the channel, I had forced myself to watch this flick all the way long although I knew that I wasn't too impressed even back in 1986: story's too thin, the roles too schematic (can it be a recommendation if Bubba Smith has the most remarkable roleplaying?), and even the car (which was originally dubbed as "Concorde" AFAIK) is somehow looking ridiculous, yesterday as well as today.
With exception of the car jumping from tower to tower, this film offers really nothing for the fan of action and horsepowers.Oh...before I forget it, there is a certain scene which is unwillingly funny: when Tommy Lee Jones is riding the car, it seems that he's not particulary enjoying it - in fact, he's looking like he's suffering from a severe case of lumbago while being squashed inside this can of a car.2/10 (for the sake of the 80's).
Truly one of the worst films of the 80s...although just about any film with robert vaughn as the baddie..pretty much goes that way.the first half of this film is an utter bore...the second half is...well lets say...watchable..but the whole Film stinks.I couldnt believe that in the 80s, they tried to turn tommy lee jones into an action hero...he is a great character actor.....but as an action hero...he's a turn off.And what in gods name was the late keenan wynn doing in this....Ive always liked wynn...But this was a bad end to a good career...Even his character was intolerable...and all he is doing is dying in a bed.The Script is cretinous to say the very least...for instance..after tommy lee jones makes a smartass remark to his Boss Bubba smith...smith kicks him in the gut and says..."Dont mess with the Law"....Puhllleassseee.The 80s were a bad time for Films...Cause 70 percent of them stunk....this is a true example of One....A film that had potential..and completely blew it..At least in the 90s...people made more effort to do good films...
Tommy Lee Jones is a better action hero than most because he actually knows how to show a bit of emotion on his face, which is not a common attribute for some of his rivals on the screen.
<br>The most laughable scene is the chase-scene, which must have appeared too slow to the producer, so the film was speeded up-- including the inside-the-car scenes of both Jones and Hamilton driving-- their elbows pumping ridiculously fast up and down, as they are attempting to appear to be driving.
As the tape and that were hot, where Ving and his cronies were on Jones's trail, after nearly taking him out in a burst of gunfire at the film's start, Jones had stuffed the items in the pouch of this awesome looking car, the Black Moon, hence his dilemma.
Somewhat silly actioner here as Tommy Lee Jones (yessss) in all his mid 80's glory, goes against Linda Hamilton (whaaaaa?) and yes, Robert Vaughn to retrieve a tape he stored in a VEHICLE FROM THE FUTURE!
A very smooth, calculative if unfathomable cult heist feature penned by John Carpenter and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Hamilton and Robert Vaughn.
The story follows that of a professional thief on his last job, which's hired to steal an important tape for the feds but this is compromised when he hides it in the back of a super-high-charged car to only see it get stolen by a highly organised grand theft auto ring.
With a screenplay partially written by John Carpenter (Halloween), a cast that includes Tommy Lee Jones in the lead, and a dream car called the Black Moon that travels up to 350 miles per hour, one should feel entitled to see a pretty good movie here.
Carpenter fans and other completest will want to check this out, understandably, but the rest of us will have to find points of interest in Jones's sharpened wits and supporting performances by Linda Hamilton, Lee Ving, and Richard Jaeckel.
In hindsight though, the car (the Black Moon of the title) looks rather silly, but the film itself is rather good.SPOILER WARNINGS: Tommy Lee Jones (before he was REALLY famous) plays Sam Quint.
Tommy Lee Jones is great as lovable rogue Quint as are Linda Hamilton as Nina and Lee Ving (CLUE) as the ruthless Ringer.
As said before, the Black Moon is rather stupid looking, but it proves itself in a car chase around LA (which comes rather early in the film).
The film has a ridiculous ending car chase which has the Black Moon going from one window off a building and into another windowed building.
The Black Moon of the title is an experimental super car which becomes a stash for Tommy Lee Jones' thief's ill-gotten tape of info purloined on behalf of the Gov. Linda Hamilton's character, looking a lot like Joan Crawford in some shots, steals the Black Moon along with a group of other cars for Robert(I'm The Man from Uncle, dammit!)Vaughn's Mr. Big.
****SPOILERS**** A slim trim & durable Tommy Lee Jones is ex-US government contractor Sam Quint who's given an assignment he can't refuse by top CIA/NAS agent Johnson, played by Big Bad Bubba Smith, to retrieve a computer disc the government needs in a corporate/mob conspiracy case.
The film has Qunit soon hook up with Ryland's top car driver Nina, Linda Hamilton, who hijacked the "Black Moon" who wants to get out of the car stealing business.
That's in Ryland activities, including contract murder, that can end up with her being either behind bars for life of murdered by his top hit-man & enforcer the creepy looking "Strangler Luis", Nick Cassavetes, if she ever turns evidence against him.*****SPOILERS**** Chased and brutally beaten up by Ringer and his gang Quint after, in pulling a gun he's been hiding under a car , dispatching most of them gets down to business in finding where the "Black Moon" is being stored.
And with the help of the car's designer electronic expert Earl Windom played by the always youthful looking, it's hard to believe that at the time he's just five years away from collecting social security, Richard Jaeckel plans to break into the impregnable storage garage where the "Black Moon" is being kept and takes off with it as Nina does the driving!
Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Hamilton make a great combo in the action scenes in the film but as lovers they fall flat on their faces.
Master thief Sam Quint (Tommy Lee Jones in peak rough'n'tumble craggy form) is hired by the government to steal data from a shady organization.
The Black Moon gets ripped off by sassy ace automobile booster Nina (a winning performance by the insanely foxy Linda Hamilton), who works for a stolen car ring run by the ruthless Ed Ryland (a nicely slimy Robert Vaughn).
Ya just gotta look, even though you know the images will haunt you.See this movie if you want to see Tommy Lee have a good scene now and then.See this movie if you think an action movie should be full of pudgy old men.See this movie if you think women shouldn't be so emotional.See this movie if you think big-time industrial bad guys should only pack one gun for three guys.
Black Moon Rising starts in Nevada in Las Vegas where professional thief for hire Sam Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) is on a job for the US Government, Quint has been hired to break into the Dollar Corporation headquarters & steal certain tax records on a tape that will implicate the company in tax evasion & other criminal activities.
On the run from his Government employers, Marvin & his men Quint must get the car & tape back the hard way...Directed by Harley Cokliss this supposed hi-tech action thriller was probably made because of screenwriter John Carpenter's new found success with films such as Halloween (1978) & The Fog (1980), Black Moon Rising was in fact Carpenter's first script that he ever sold but it remained unmade until he had several hits under his belt & although the finished film apparently has little resemblance to his original script (Qunit was going to be a Vietnam Vet for instance) he also takes an executive producer credit here as well.
Between the start & end it's a fairly plodding thriller as Quint plans a daring raid on Ryland's tower's to steal the car back as well as the subplot about the race to get the stolen tape back & an expected blossoming romance between leading man Tommy Lee Jones & leading lady Linda Hamilton.
At almost 100 minutes long the pace is decent enough & there are a few entertaining set-pieces but the lack of Black Moon super car action doesn't help, also the script is rather predictable with all the heroes & villains identified early on.
There are a few decent action set-pieces including a car chase through Los Angeles, a scene in which Quint uses a rope to get from one high rise tower to another from the roof, various other car stunts & some good fights & brawl's.
Fresh from The Terminator (1984) Linda Hamilton puts in a good performance here actually.Black Moon Rising is an entertaining enough way to pass 100 odd minutes, it looks a little dated & the lack of action involving the Black Moon car is surprising but it has it moments without ever being brilliant.