Director Hal Needham
Starring Brian Bloom, Brian Krause, Ami Dolenz, John Schneider & Richard Belzer
Rated TV-PG
Score 1/6
Assigned to deliver a prototype car to a press conference for the Governor, things are complicated by a fraudulent Bandit who ends up stealing Bandit’s rig AND the prototype. Now Bandit has to find out who’s out to ruin his life and recover the car before the Governor’s career is crucified by Big Bob on his radio show and while avoiding a determined Sheriff Buford Enright.
Second of the four spin off “Bandit” TV movies. Bandit: Bandit Bandit originally aired on March 13, 1994 and the entire series of movies aired from January 30 until April 10, 1994.
In the series of TV movies Brian Bloom stars as a younger version of Bo “the Bandit” Darville, the character originated by Burt Reynolds and The car featured in this series is a Dodge Stealth, while the Smokey and the Bandit films introduced two generations of the Pontiac Trans Am. The fact that Bandit was driving something other than a Trans Am didn’t seem right.
Bandit: Bandit Bandit is an example of ‘why the heck did you have to make this movie?’ and I assume the answer to that question was because Hal Needham probably owned the rights to the characters. I just didn’t like Brian Bloom’s performance in this as ‘Bandit’ most of the time he came across as an imbecile and virtually none of the charm that Reynolds gave the role in 1977 and Brian Krause (who four years later would go on to play Leo Wyatt in charmed) seemed just as bad in his role as Lynn. Now I enjoyed Richard Belzer’s performance as Big Bob and there was something poetic in a charming sort of way by that John Schneider was cast in a starring role considering that he talked his way on to the set of the original movie and managed to get cast as an extra. But that really wasn’t enough to save the movie, Bandit: Bandit Bandit failed to replicate the sense of humour of the original movie. By the time the credits rolled on I was left wondering ‘why the heck did I watch this?’.
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