Synopsis
Sylvester Stallone stars as hard-luck big-rig trucker Lincoln Hawk and takes us under the glaring Las Vegas lights for all the boisterous action of the World Armwrestling Championship. Relying on wits and willpower, Hawk tries to rebuild his life by capturing the first-place prize money, and the love of the son he abandoned years earlier into the keeping of his rich, ruthless father-in-law.
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Cast
- Sylvester StalloneLincoln Hawk
- Robert LoggiaJason Cutler
- Susan BlakelyChristina Hawk
- Rick ZumwaltBob "Bull" Hurley
- David MendenhallMichael Cutler/Michael Hawk
- Chris McCartyTim Salanger
- Terry FunkRuker
- Bob BeattieAnnouncer
- Allan GrafCollins
- Magic SchwarzSmasher
Recommendations
- 60
Variety
Stallone is sincere and soulful as a father who messed up pretty bad and just wants his kid back, Mendenhall is a likable tyke, and justice is served in the end. - 50
The New York Times
One of Mr. Stallone's more muddled efforts but by no means a flop on the order of F.I.S.T. or Rhinestone. - 50
Washington Post
From the ongoing search to find new arenas in which Sylvester Stallone, against overwhelming odds, triumphs through exercise of the manly virtues, comes Over the Top, a movie about arm-wrestling. What's next? Crab soccer? - 50
Chicago Tribune
Over the Top is pretty much like all of the other successful Stallone films, which probably means that it will be a success, too. In fact, it`s considerably better than the ragged, recycled Rocky IV, though it lacks the wild excesses that made Rambo and Cobra campily entertaining. - 50
Tampa Bay Times
While the movie's technical aspects are first-rate and Stallone manages more than a monosyllabic performance, Over the Top can't overcome its sense of deja vu or provide any reason for Hawk's suitability as a parent. [14 Feb 1987, p.5B] - 50
The Associated Press
This predictable family drama leads up to an equally predictable battle of goliaths who fight with one arm only. Over the Top boasts one distinction: it is the first major movie about arm-wrestling. Don't look for a cycle to follow. [23 Mar 1987] - 50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
When it gets right down to the climactic business at hand and arm, even the imposing skills of a Golan are put to a rigorous test. For, despite its obvious delights, armwrestling just can't compare to 10 bloody rounds from a pair of vigorous maulers or a brace of chattering machine-guns. [17 Feb 1987] - 40
The A.V. Club
With Over The Top, Stallone had clearly exploited the Rocky formula once too often and audiences rebelled against its condescending family melodrama and heavy-handed working-class trappings.
