Sometimes even movies released into regular circulation from the major studios fall through the cracks. This is definitely one of those. Tommy Lee Jones as the industrial spy is as cool and calm as he's ever been. Linda Hamilton is as good as she's ever been and Richard Jaekel turns in another steady performance. The plot is clever and tight enough to satisfy most and the directing by Harley Cockliss (whatever happened to him? This seems to be his only outing) is tight and well paced. The first twenty to thirty minutes of the film were surprisingly good. The story opened briskly, there was some very sharp dialogue (some of it written by John Carpenter, who had originally been hired to direct), and one solid (and underrated) car chase between Jones and Linda Hamilton. This is just a good action thriller, and it has one of the best fist-fight scenes ever.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

****SPOILERS**** A slim trim & durable Tommy Lee Jones is ex-US government contractor Sam Quint who's given an assignment he can't refuse by top CIA/NAS agent Johnson, played by Big Bad Bubba Smith, to retrieve a computer disc the government needs in a corporate/mob conspiracy case. It's the disc that's needed to put big time tax evader and corporate criminal Marvin Ringer, Lee Ving, behind bars. Being an expert break in artist Quit get his hands on the computer disc but when things get hot, with Winger & his hoods bearing down on him, hides it in a parked car for safe-keeping. It turns out that the car named the "Black Moon" is an experimental model of a super automobile being tested for NASA to be the car of the future going at speeds of 300 MPH.Before Quint can retrieve the disc "Black Moon" is carjacked, with a number of other cars, from a parking lot by members of the Ed Ryland, Robert Vaughn, car theft ring leaving Quint high and dry and facing the mad as hell Johnson. It's Agent Johnson who give Quint three days to retrieve the disc as well as car or he can forget celebrating his 40th, Quint was 39 at the time, birthday! The film has Qunit soon hook up with Ryland's top car driver Nina, Linda Hamilton, who hijacked the "Black Moon" who wants to get out of the car stealing business. That's in Ryland activities, including contract murder, that can end up with her being either behind bars for life of murdered by his top hit-man & enforcer the creepy looking "Strangler Luis", Nick Cassavetes, if she ever turns evidence against him.*****SPOILERS**** Chased and brutally beaten up by Ringer and his gang Quint after, in pulling a gun he's been hiding under a car , dispatching most of them gets down to business in finding where the "Black Moon" is being stored. And with the help of the car's designer electronic expert Earl Windom played by the always youthful looking, it's hard to believe that at the time he's just five years away from collecting social security, Richard Jaeckel plans to break into the impregnable storage garage where the "Black Moon" is being kept and takes off with it as Nina does the driving! Tommy Lee Jones and Linda Hamilton make a great combo in the action scenes in the film but as lovers they fall flat on their faces. You never for once get the impression that both of them have any other feelings for each other then in getting revenge on their tormentors, Ringer & Ryland, and using each other to achieve that. But you can't overlook the action sequences in the movie that were top-notch and of course the near fatal beating Quint took from Ringer's hoods that he miraculously survived to live another day. That's when Quint was to turn the tables on Ringer, by giving him a 1st class work-over, at the end of the film.

Black Moon Rising starts in Nevada in Las Vegas where professional thief for hire Sam Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) is on a job for the US Government, Quint has been hired to break into the Dollar Corporation headquarters & steal certain tax records on a tape that will implicate the company in tax evasion & other criminal activities. Quint breaks into the Dollar Corporation building but sets off the alarms, Quint manages to steal the tape & escape but head of security Marvin Ringer (Lee Ving) & his guards are hot on his tail. Needing to get back to Los Angeles to deliver the tape Quint stops off at a gas station & hides the tape inside a futuristic car capable of speeds in excess of 300mph called the Black Moon that is being driven to Los Angeles to show potential investors, however things become complicated when the Black moon is stolen by car thief Nina (Linda Hamilton) who works for mobster Ed Ryland (Robert Vaughn). On the run from his Government employers, Marvin & his men Quint must get the car & tape back the hard way...Directed by Harley Cokliss this supposed hi-tech action thriller was probably made because of screenwriter John Carpenter's new found success with films such as Halloween (1978) & The Fog (1980), Black Moon Rising was in fact Carpenter's first script that he ever sold but it remained unmade until he had several hits under his belt & although the finished film apparently has little resemblance to his original script (Qunit was going to be a Vietnam Vet for instance) he also takes an executive producer credit here as well. Although often billed as a hi-tech thriller & even named after the hi-tech car the Black Moon the script surprisingly ignores the super futuristic car for the majority & has it sit idly in Ryland's compound doing absolutely nothing until the final fifteen minutes. Between the start & end it's a fairly plodding thriller as Quint plans a daring raid on Ryland's tower's to steal the car back as well as the subplot about the race to get the stolen tape back & an expected blossoming romance between leading man Tommy Lee Jones & leading lady Linda Hamilton. At almost 100 minutes long the pace is decent enough & there are a few entertaining set-pieces but the lack of Black Moon super car action doesn't help, also the script is rather predictable with all the heroes & villains identified early on. There aren't any twist's or turns or major revelations the way the plot unfolds & for a thriller that is sort of lazy. The character's are alright, Quint is a likable enough hero although strangely he never gets to meet the main villain Ryland. A few poorly written subplots muddy things a bit, the associate that Ryland has killed, the car stealing racket goes nowhere, the two tower's & Ryland's plans are briefly mentioned but never developed neither are Quint's relationship to Marvin or Iron John & the death of the deaf guy is barely mentioned again after it happened.Maybe the popularity of the TV series Knight Rider (1982-1986) also helped get Black Moon Rising into production & made, the sleek looking black car isn't a million miles off Kitt in appearance although I don't get why it doesn't have any doors & any driver's & passenger's have to climb in through a hole in the roof! Also it has a turbo mode that makes flames shoot from the exhaust, would flames shooting from the exhaust really make any practical difference in terms of speed? Or maybe the makers just thought it looked cool. The Black Moon car is very 80's actually & quite angular & clumsy looking with a red 'go faster' stripe that runs right around it's body. There are a few decent action set-pieces including a car chase through Los Angeles, a scene in which Quint uses a rope to get from one high rise tower to another from the roof, various other car stunts & some good fights & brawl's. There's not much violence & the sex scene is quite tame.Probably shot on a fairly decent budget the production values are nice enough, the special effects are good as is the stunt work. The acting is alright too, apparently Jeff Bridges, Don Johnson, Tom Berenger & Richard Dean Anderson were all considered for the leading role that eventually went to Oscar winning actor Tommy Lee Jones who at the time was an unknown. Fresh from The Terminator (1984) Linda Hamilton puts in a good performance here actually.Black Moon Rising is an entertaining enough way to pass 100 odd minutes, it looks a little dated & the lack of action involving the Black Moon car is surprising but it has it moments without ever being brilliant.

I saw this in the theatre when it came out and remembered it fondly. I purchased a used DVD for five bucks and took it home and watched it. I knew I was in trouble when the opening screen said "strat movie" that' s supposed to be "start movie". It was pan and scan which I hate and looked like a direct transfer from video tape. It was some brand X Japanese company's version. The movie definitely had a TV feel to it. I'd forgotten that John Carpenter had a hand in it. The Black Moon of the title is an experimental super car which becomes a stash for Tommy Lee Jones' thief's ill-gotten tape of info purloined on behalf of the Gov. Linda Hamilton's character, looking a lot like Joan Crawford in some shots, steals the Black Moon along with a group of other cars for Robert(I'm The Man from Uncle, dammit!)Vaughn's Mr. Big. Tommy and Linda team up to get the car/tape back amidst hitandruns, beatings,hankypanky,and high-speed chases. I'm sorry but it just wasn't as good as I had remembered. The car itself was pretty cool and Tommy is always fun to watch. I see that there is a better version out now in widescreen so get that one and avoid the no frills cheapy. It's worth a look.