Streets of Fire

Plot synopsis:
The movie opens with the borough of Richmond preparing for the concert of hometown girl turned star Ellen Aim. As the concert begins, bikers in black leathers ride into town.Inside the concert venue, the young and sexy Ellen Aim begins her performance, singing with the pounding of music and the backdrop of a light show. The shadowed figures of the motorcycle gang enter the crowd and push their way towards the stage. They wait there, watching the show, and waiting, unmoving as the crowd around them rolls like an ocean with the music.As the first set ends, the bikers charge the stage and grab Ellen Aim. The band and other members of the crowd fight to save her, but the bikers handle them with brutal efficiency. The gang makes it outside and ride away with a screaming Ellen in tow. It is pandemonium out in the streets.Reva Cody writes her brother Tom to come home. He is recently released from the army and boards a train.Reva is working in her diner when a gang of young preps bust in. Reva tells them to get lost, but they don't take kindly to that, threatening her and her joint. Tom is there. He stands up and takes off his jacket. The gang confronts him. He rather easily and comically punches out their leader and then uses a coat rack to take knock the rest of them out the front window. They scatter, and Tom takes their car. Reva is glad to have him back.Reva tells Tom about Ellen being kidnapped by the Bombers. He is mad that Ellen is dating her manager and that Reva thinks he should rescue her. He stomps off to the bar. There he meets McCoy, a tomboy and former soldier. McCoy asks to bunk with him since she doesn't have a place to stay. Tom offers her his sister's couch.Getting into bed, Tom looks at some old pictures he has of Ellen from when they dated. He thinks about her and changes his mind.The next day Tom finds a buddy who has some guns for him. Tom arrives at the diner to meet with Billy Fish, Ellen's manager and new boyfriend. Billy is a four-eyed geek in a bowtie who thinks money makes him better than everyone else. He has serious doubts about Tom's ability to rescue Ellen. Tom demands 10 grand as payment for the task. Billy is fine with that. Tom insists Billy accompany him because Billy knows his way around the Battery, which is where the Bombers are keeping Ellen. Billy refuses but ultimately relents because he needs Ellen back.McCoy asks to join since she needs the money. Billy tells her to take a walk. Perhaps amused by the obvious contempt the two have for each other, Tom agrees to let McCoy in for 10%. As a former motor pool worker, McCoy gets to drive. They hop in the car and take off for the battery. McCoy and Billy continue to verbally spar during the ride.At the Battery, a band is playing at a biker joint called Torchies while gals in black fishnet stockings dance the bar. The leader of the Bombers, Raven, goes into a room where Ellen is tied to the bed. Raven explains that he will let Ellen go after the two of them "fall in love for a little while." Ellen refuses his advances. He eventually leaves.Tom, McCoy and Billy are approaching Torchies. The plan is for Tom to enter Torchies topside while McCoy goes in the ground floor and makes her way up. Billy is to wait 15 minutes then pick them up. Tom gets into position on the roof across the street while McCoy makes her way inside the bar. McCoy runs into a biker who she talks into taking her upstairs. The biker enthusiastically takes her into a "party room" and then tries to get it on with her. She knocks him out with her pistol. She then busts into a room where the head Bombers, including Raven, are playing cards. She holds them at gunpoint.Tom is watching bikers perform jumps in front of the bar until he sees Ellen tied to a bed inside Torchies. He then starts shooting motorcycles, which burst into flame. When enough chaos ensues, Tom makes his way into Torchies. He quickly finds Ellen and cuts her loose. They run into McCoy and all three take the top way back outside. Billy shows up, and McCoy takes the wheel again as they get away. Tom tells them to meet him at the Grand Station underpass while he allays the Bombers.Tom continues disabling motorcycles and knocking bikers out. He gets on a motorcycle to ride away. Raven confronts him with threats. When Tom reminds Raven that he is armed, Raven tells Tom he can get guns, a lot of them. Raven promises Tom that he will be coming for him and Ellen. Tom rides off.McCoy, Billy and Ellen are waiting at the Grand Station underpass. Billy doesn't want to wait any longer, afraid that bikers or cops could show up. Ellen refuses to leave without Tom, since he rescued her. Billy informs Ellen that Tom is getting paid for his services, and that he isn't acting out of love for her. McCoy badgers Billy over the fact that Tom and Ellen dated.Tom shows up. He tells them they have to get on the move and ditch the car. Ellen asks to speak to him alone. She has a lot to say to him since it has been years since he left for the army. He has nothing to say to her. He is mad at her for shacking with Billy. She is mad at him for taking money to rescue her.They eventually leave, ditch the car, and walk their way through the next borough, which is heavy with people on the streets. One of the people they run into recognizes Ellen Aim and tags along as a big fan. Tom stops a bus trying to make its way through the crowd. The bus if for a band called the Sorels. Tom shows his gun and hijacks the bus. Everyone gets in.The bus is rolling towards the Richmond and everyone is finally getting along when the bus gets stopped by a road block set up by cops. Billy tries to talk and then bribe his way through the cops. It doesn't work. Tom holds the cops at gun point, and then he and McCoy make the entire road block lay in the road so they can discard their weapons. Tom then shoots up the police cars, and they all get back on the bus and take off. Now to be chased by the police, they have to ditch the bus. They do so and run to a train station to catch the train.They all arrive back at the police station in the Richmond. City folk stream into the station to see Ellen. Ellen says she wants to leave town and tells Tom that she hates him for taking money to rescue her.The Bombers' second in command shows up. The police chief goes to talk with Raven. Raven wants Tom Cody, and as long as they give him up, there will be no more trouble.Tom and McCoy are back in Reva's diner. Tom is obviously downcast. McCoy is angry because Tom is self-centered and hasn't given her any credit. She tells Reva that Tom is a jerk and storms off. Reva lights into Tom next for feeling sorry for himself because Ellen ditched him. Reva implies she only wanted Tom to rescue Ellen because Ellen was good for him.The police chief shows up and tells Tom that Raven wants to meet him tomorrow. He tells Tom that he should be on a train out of town tonight, and that if he doesn't leave, he'll arrest him right after arresting Raven.Tom goes to the hotel to visit Ellen and Billy. Billy pays Tom his money. Tom tells Ellen he once thought Ellen was worth rescuing without the money, but not anymore. He throws the money back at Billy and only takes what he promised for McCoy. He leaves. Billy laughs at Tom's stupidity for throwing 9 grand away, but Ellen goes after Tom.They meet outside in the rain and embrace. They are next seen in bed. Ellen advises Tom to leave town and says she will go with him.Tom meets McCoy back at the bar and reconciles with her. He asks her to accompany him and Ellen out of town that night. She agrees. All three are on the train when it comes to a stop. Tom moves to leave. Ellen says it isn't their stop yet. Tom knocks her out with a punch. He tells McCoy to make sure Ellen gets out of town. He goes to return to Richmond, but the returning train is out due to damage caused by the Bombers.Raven arrives with two henchmen as he told the police chief. The chief tells him that Tom and Ellen are gone and that he is under arrest. Raven blows a horn he brought with him and about forty bikers arrive with guns. City folk see the Bombers arrive and come streaming into the street with guns to help the police. Tom arrives just as things look ugly.Raven brought pick-axes of all things for them to fight hand-to-hand with. They fight. Tom eventually disarms Raven and tosses away his pick-axe so they can fight it out with their fists. A bloodied Tom eventually puts Raven down. The city folk point their guns at the Bombers. The Bombers grab Raven and ride out.The movie ends on another Ellen Aim concert. Tom is watching the Sorels, who now open for Ellen, backstage. Billy approaches him and tells him he won't get in the way. Tom tells Billy that he is better for Ellen. Tom finds Ellen. She knows he's leaving. He tells her he'll be there if she needs him again. They kiss, and he departs.Ellen goes onstage to begin her performance. Tom watches her from the entrance of the hall and then leaves near the end of the first song. Tom runs into McCoy who has the car Tom stole from the gang at the beginning of the movie. Tom gets in and they ride away.

Tags: neo noir, cult, violence, flashback, action, entertaining

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