Banzai Runner (1987)

"A man with a grudge is one thing, but a cop with a grudge is something else." - Captain

A highway patrolman goes after a speeder gang.
Starring: Dean Stockwell, John Shepherd, Charles Dierkop, Dawn Schneider

Link to IMDB

Officer Billy Baxter is one of the best highway patrolmen in California, working hard to keep the drunks and reckless drivers off the road, but there's one group of speeders he's been trying to catch for years. A bunch of rich men called "runners" always elude him as they race up and down the highway in their powerful sport cars.

Baxter's brother was previously killed by a drunk driver, so his nephew, Beck, lives with him now. The anger and pain from that tragedy fuels Baxter to relentlessly pursue anyone breaking the law on the highway, but he'll never catch the runners in his old patrol car.
What Baxter really wants is a powerful vehicle that can rival the runners, so he goes to his eccentric friend Traven to learn how to drive a turbo injected car.



Baxter's obsession with the untouchable runners and his bad temper on the job ends up forcing his Captain to fire him! Now jobless, going through a divorce and feeling useless, Baxter has no idea what to do next, but that's when the federal drug police offer him an undercover job to infiltrate the rich and powerful runners that might just be trafficking drugs.

Baxter: "Damn, Traven, you're an outlaw."

Traven: "So are you, you just don't know it yet."

Beck                                            Traven

Posing as rich car enthusiasts, Baxter and Beck head to L.A. and start hanging with the runners. There's definitely some shady business going on with these guys, and one man named Syszek is a real sleazy wildcard. As Baxter gets deeper into the runner club, he and Beck are faced with the fact that they'll have to race for their lives if they want to see justice!

Obligatory picture of a car going fast

This is a simple little movie, not doing much that will surprise you, but it remains consistently watchable. There's a lot of soap opera drama that Baxter and Beck have with their girlfriends, but it adds depth to the characters as we see the guys trying to outrace their own inner demons.

Too bad there isn't as much car racing as I expected, because the movie spends a lot of time teasing the fact that Baxter will eventually get his chance to race the runners off the road, both literally and figuratively. 
It works as a cop drama, and there's some laughs at how cheesy everything is, but it doesn't drive head-first into B-movie vehicular craziness like I was hoping.

Be sure not to miss:
- Traven's idea of a fly swatter.
- Syszek is played by Billy Drago, because when you need a sleazy villain you call Drago.

Internet review:
"If only this video was as good as it's cover implies." - Jill-68

Should I watch it?
Good, but not a must see.

Where can I find it?
Here on YouTube.

Banzai Runner gets...