Gunbus (1986) (aka: Sky Bandits) Scott McGinnis, Jeff Osterhage, Miles Anderson, Nicholas Lyndhurst Movie Review

Gunbus (1986)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Scott McGinnis and Jeff Osterhage in Gunbus (1986) (aka: Sky Bandits)

The Cowboys of WWI

Barney (Scott McGinnis) and Luke (Jeff Osterhage) are a couple of small time outlaws who get by robbing banks with the aid of dynamite. But when they get caught in the middle of the night in the act of blowing the doors off of another bank vault they find themselves sent to the battlefields to fight alongside the British during WWI. Being in the thick of it doesn't stop these pals from getting up to mischief be it charming some officer's girls to stealing vehicles including a plane. But their exploits see them at a circus turned into a makeshift airbase where a suicide squadron are recharging before heading off on their dangerous mission to destroy a Zeppelin.

"Gunbus", or "Sky Bandits" as it is also known, starts so well as we have roguish exploits of Barney and Luke as they bicker over how much dynamite to use as they blow up banks often with the fuse burning down in their hands as they bicker. It is a set up which makes you thing that this pair of likeable outlaws would make for a decent Butch & Sundance as they have that sort of comical chemistry and appeal. And even after it starts so well the amusement of seeing them sent to the battlefields as a punishment is just as much fun as they fall in and out of trouble.

Miles Anderson in Gunbus (1986) (aka: Sky Bandits)

The trouble is that after the amusement of the initial setup things then turn daft as we see the two larrikins take to the sky having had about 10 minutes worth of verbal instruction on how to fly. I use the word daft but far fetched would be just as good as the writers seem to toss anything in to the movie they like. It is a shame as the misadventures of two cowboys during WWI would have made for an entertaining 80s movie with this one failing to achieve its potential because of trying too hard to be funny.

Despite this that pairing of Scott McGinnis and Jeff Osterhage work well together as they have this laid back charm which makes them a likeable double act. Plus there are a few recognizable faces in the cast including Nicholas Lyndhurst who whilst only having a small part puts his mark on it.

What this all boils down to is that "Gunbus" is a movie with a decent idea and at times delivers on it. But sadly it is a movie which comes undone thanks to the uncontrolled imagination of its writer taking it off into the realm of being too daft for its own good.


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