Gleaming the Cube (1989)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Graeme Clifford

Writer (WGA):

Michael Tolkin (written by)

Release Date:

13 January 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Skate or Die

Plot:

Brian's adopted brother is killed when he discovers that the shop he works in sends weapons to Vietnam instead of medications...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Police | Vietnamese American | Hanged Boy | Teenager

Cast

Christian Slater	...	Brian Kelly
Steven Bauer	...	Al Lucero
Richard Herd	...	Ed Lawndale
Le Tuan	...	Colonel Trac
Min Luong	...	Tina Trac
Art Chudabala	...	Vinh Kelly
Ed Lauter	...	Mr. Kelly
Micole Mercurio	...	Mrs. Kelly
Peter Kwong	...	Bobby Nguyen
Charles Cyphers	...	Harvey McGill
Max Perlich	...	Yabbo
Tony Hawk	...	Buddy
Tommy Guerrero	...	Sam
Christian Jacobs	...	Gremic
Joe Gosha	...	Nick Oliver

Also Known As:

A Brother's Justice
Skate or Die

Runtime:

100 min | USA:105 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Anaheim, California, USA

Company:

David Foster Productions

Trivia:

Disneyland landmarks the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Mark III ALWEG Monorail, and original Disneyland sign can be seen in the film. Also seen are banners on Anaheim streetlights promoting Disneyland's "State Fair '87" promotion.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: After the skaters are told that they have to head to the intersection of Harbor and Katella, they go into a residential neighborhood. In actuality, Harbor and Katella are major thoroughfares in Anaheim, and the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Katella Avenue is within walking distance of Disneyland.

Quotes:

Gremic: [While in the plane scouting for a pool] Check it out, there's my mom's, there's my dad's house.
Buddy: Hey, there's my Pizza Hut!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Lemon of Troy (#6.24)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

NOWHERE TO RUN

Great 80s film, nothing amazing, but certainly competent in what it does, and not many films like it

One of the first films of its kind that I had seen and is still really entertaining, after I hunted it down on DVD and watched for the first time last night for years. I like the portrayal of the skater guys. It frames their attitude nicely.

Slater's 'I miss you' speech was pretty cringing for me, but apart from that, the film carries itself really well without trying to take itself too seriously, and it comes off better for it.

The Corvette guy was a terrible addition in many ways, but despite being so bad, it was hilarious. One of those scenes where you'd say 'who would do that???' and then... 'who would carry on doing that after this?'... you'll see what I mean...