Just saw this after 30 years. And it didn't bother me that back then I wasn't bothered by this movie. The story has potential to be a great one, but so many inexplicable things kept happening. Like how these guys can go from Midwesterners of no apparent fierceness and suddenly become international level guerillas. The acting wasn't really that awful, I particularly liked Duvall's and Busey's performances, and wasn't turned off by Jake Ryan's performance either, lol. (I did do many double/triple takes, when Jake Ryan throughout looks to be wearing the same red flannel shirt he wore in 16 Candles!!) We have Biff from Back to the Future, and the guy from Top Gun who always had his shirt off (in both Top Gun and this movie!!) I mean, it wasn't bad, it just got a little tedious and ludicrous and I took a smoking break a couple of times, so it clearly didn't keep me on the edge of my seat.

In Columbia two Americans get kidnapped. One is the US ambassador and the other a plumber named Harry Burck ( Mark Harmon ) from a small town in Illinois. They are kidnapped by a drug-lord who wants some of his men released from a US jail. Harry's friends go to Washington to try and get the government to do something about it. They are stone-walled. Desperate they hire a mercenary ( Robert Duvall ) and head for Columbia to Harry's rescue! Daft idea huh? Yep. But our brave American heroes are determined to save their friend! It could have been a nice action-movie, but it's pretty bad acted and executed. Most actors are sleepwalking. Only Duvall and Gary Busey give slightly inspired performances. Can't really blame the actors though for this is terribly bad written with no logic or interesting dialog at all. Waste of time I'd say.

Director Stuart Rosenberg was so dismayed when he surveyed the finished film that he had his name taken off the credits. That should warn you just how bad this cheesy 80s action movie is. But on a certain level, there's a weird, voyeuristic pleasure to be gained from seeing so many good actors struggling with such awful material. Why is a personable leading man like Mark Harmon wasting his time in a badly-written glorified cameo? Why is a rugged, reliable old-timer like Ben Johnson slumming as an embittered father? And - biggest question of the lot - why is a dynamic, Oscar-winning talent as notable as Robert Duvall staining his amazing reputation on such a brainless, gung-ho production? Harry (Harmon) is an American plumber who has just spent several months working in Colombia on an ambitious major water-plant. The day he is due to return home, he is kidnapped by jungle guerillas who say they will only return him safely if some of their colleagues are released by the American authorities. Since the Americans have no intention of meeting the kidnappers' demands, things look pretty bleak for Harry. Harry's brother can't bear the thought of losing his beloved sibling, so he hires a tough mercenary, Shrike (Duvall), and puts together an unlikely rescue team. Their mission, plain and simple: "Let's Get Harry!" Coming hot on the heels of other rescue-in-the-jungle films (like Uncommon Valor, Missing in Action, P.O.W - The Escape, and Rambo), Let's Get Harry tries to be different by going for a South American locale instead of Vietnam. However, the story is utterly terrible, with totally unbelievable characters and situations, and an unhealthy attitude towards non-US citizens (who are here portrayed as corrupt, devious, violent, drug-fuelled and expendable). Other than Duvall, the performances are lazy and amateurish. Some reviewers would argue that I'm missing the point, and that the plot and characters have been intentionally sacrificed in the name of cheesy action - but the action is so intermittent (not to mention poorly filmed) that the film is a failure even on "mindless-adventure-movie" level. All things considered, Let's Get Harry can be summed up in three words: bad, bad bad!

Spoilers!!! HBO sometimes comes out with great films, and this is one of them. 4.8 and that guy's hateful comments towards this movie I totally disagree with. Rent this film, the people who review it give it a bum rap. I was watching it, with my sister's boyfriend Blake. He yelled get the American flag out, and a bunch of other hysterics. I ignored it, I thought that other countries besides the states also have their social problems, which results in Harry's capture. The part Blake did not get is this film has little to do countries, but communities, families, and brothers. Actually, no one in the government was going to save Harry and he was going to die, and Harry's brother, community and friends did something about it. Gary Busey plays a good role as the financier, too bad he ruined a good career. Robert Duvel, plays the dirty, but fair mercenary. Some can do it others make mistakes, we learn about each character's faults; The scene where everyone in this proud mid western town at work hear that one of their own is rescued, and the party they throw touches my heart. Especially when he understands why the family guy tried, and could not do the mission. I believe in family and community, and that is what this movie is about. 8/10