As a movie critic who grew up in the ’90s, I vividly remember the eccentric and rebellious spirit that Tank Girl embodied. Having been introduced to the comic during my formative years, I was eagerly awaiting its big screen adaptation – a wait that seemed almost as long as the drought suffered by Earth’s inhabitants in the film.
By 1995, comic book movie adaptations were already underway but were beginning to lose steam. However, Tank Girl stood out as unlike any typical superhero, having first appeared in Deadline magazine in 1988 and subsequently re-emerged in a series of stories published by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint. Unlike traditional comic book action heroes, she was distinct, and negotiations for film rights had been ongoing to bring her to the big screen.
| The year is 2033, and the people of Earth have been suffering through a drought for over a decade. The planet’s water supply is now controlled by megalomaniac businessman Kesslee (Malcolm McDowell), the owner of the Water & Power corporation. But in Australia, at least, there is resistance. If Kesslee wants to take control of the last water well in the Outback, he’ll need to contend with the Rippers – mutant hybrids of human and kangaroo – and Rebecca Buck, alias Tank Girl (Lori Petty): a woman with a tank, a bad attitude, and a determination to rescue the world from the brink of oblivion. Helming the project was director Rachel Talalay whose twp previous films had been in the horror genre including 1991’s ‘Freddy’s Dead’. The title role of the independently minded sparky female had seen Madonna and Courtney Love eyeing up the role. But Madonna was too expensive so Courtney love seemed a no brainer. Unfortunately that’s exactly want happened to her boyfriend Kurt Cobain and she stepped away instead later rejoining the project as music advisor (and the film does have an excellent soundtrack that included Bjork, Devo, L7, Portishead & Joan Jett). Instead the production did an open casting with all manner of wannabe Tank Girls suitably kitted out arriving at auditions in L.A. and London but ultimately it was little more than a promotional gimmick and the producers wanted an actress and that actress would be Lori Petty who had made such an impact with roles in ‘Point Break’ and ‘A League of their Own; opposite Madonna. Joining her would be an eclectic cast that included the bizarrely monikered rapper Ice-T (rumours that fellow rapper Ice Coffee and Iced Bun were also shortlisted remain unfounded) hidden under Stan Winston’s heavy prosthetics as a talking kangaroo along with Malcolm McDowell as the villain of the piece and Aussie actress Naomi Watts at the time a soap opera actress and this was hoped to be her Hollywood break through role for her though it would not really happen until David Lynch’s 1999 film ‘Mulholland Drive’. Tallaly put together a stylish film with Lori Petty ideally cast and using creator Jamie Hewlett’s brilliant illustrations entwined into the fabric of the film. Released on 2nd April 1995 it proved maybe too much of a cult comic character and audiences generally stayed away from the $25m budgeted film with it eventually earning a meagre $4m meaning that a sequel was never going to happen. Which is a pity as the film did capture the anarchic spirit of the comic. Out on limited edition blu-ray the film has a large number of bonus features :
It’s bit of a mixed bag with the commentary by Tallaly and Petty being the standout of all the features. The feminist analysis, though undoubtedly accurate, is not really the sort of thing fans might want as its all too obvious but the archival interviews are good but what this really misses is any inout from Jamie Hewlett who created the character and was involved in the writing the script too. It’s a pity as his insight into the process of getting his creation to the screen would have been a must. It seems that his career with Damon Albarn’s comic book band Gorillaz is all consuming. |
Tank Girl limited edition blu-ray is released on 25th November 2024
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2024-11-23 03:23