Synopsis
Adventurer/surgeon/rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his band of men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, take on evil alien invaders from the 8th dimension.
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Cast
- Peter WellerBuckaroo Banzai
- John LithgowLord John Whorfin
- Ellen BarkinPenny Priddy
- Jeff GoldblumNew Jersey
- Christopher LloydJohn Bigboote
- Lewis SmithPerfect Tommy
- Rosalind CashJohn Emdall
- Robert ItoProfessor Hikita
- Pepe SernaReno Nevada
- Ronald LaceyPresident Widmark
Recommendations
- 100
RogerEbert.com
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai is your typical sci-fi/action/comedy/rock&roll/kung-fu/political satire/neo-western/guys-on-a-mission extravaganza. - 83
The A.V. Club
Banzai is an occasionally incomprehensible rush of subplots, sight gags, mythology, and bizarre fashion choices, truer to the spirit of classic adventure stories than to the letter. Which may be why people who love the film feel the way they do. Buckaroo Banzai assumes an attitude of poise and purpose in an otherwise awkward universe. - 80
The New York Times
At its best, which it frequently is, it's a lunatic ball, an extremely genial, witty example of what is becoming a movie genre all its own. - 78
Austin Chronicle
Wonderfully fun, albeit markedly chaotic and incoherent. - 75
Miami Herald
The writing is good and the direction rarely flabby, but the real strength of Buckaroo is in a large and enthusiastic cast, led by Peter Weller, who plays the title character with a perfect deadpan. [11 Aug 1984, p.B7] - 70
Time Out London
Richter's comic genre hybrid comes complete with its own mythology, and team of established superheroes, and is curiously appealing. - 60
Newsweek
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the 8th Dimension doesn't play it safe. For that alone you may want to bless its demented little heart. Buckaroo Banzai may not work, but that's the risk of high-wire acts. At least it's up there trying. [20 Aug 1984, p.75] - 50
TV Guide Magazine
Clearly designed as a cult film, this messy trifle is not without its charms. These include the affably weird Goldblum, Lithgow's deliriously overstated mad scientist, and a band of alien invaders who are not emissaries of a vastly superior race, but beer-swilling mediocrities in Hawaiian shirts.
