THE GLADIATOR (1986)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *uncanny*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological*

Here's another bit of TV-ephemera whose genesis would probably be more interesting than the work itself. In 1984, Abel Ferrara had directed FEAR CITY, a movie with a vigilante trope loosely like that of this 1986 TV-movie. But THE GLADIATOR is a dull outing, and it doesn't even have the excuse of being a setup for a TV series.

Ken Wahl, about ten years ahead of his success on TV's WISEGUY, plays a car repairman named Rick. He's the sole support of his high-schooler brother Jeff, and insists that Jeff hit the books every night to keep his grades up. But one night, Jeff complains so much about the routine that Rick lets him practice driving Rick's truck on the street. Of course the one night Rick gets permissive is the wrong night. A car comes out of nowhere, slamming into the back of the truck Jeff's driving, and propels the car into oncoming traffic. Rick survives; Jeff does not.

Though the screenplay devotes a lot of time to Rick's grief, there's no insight into the protagonist's particular psychology. But when it's obvious that the cops (represented by Robert Culp) can do nothing about the mystery hit-and-run, eventually Rick armors his truck and outfits it with a grapnel-device that can snare other cars, and goes hunting the killer of his brother, using the radio-handle "The Gladiator."

FWIW, the story, originally by William (THE MIDNIGHT HOUR) Bleich, doesn't present the vigilante as incapable of error. In fact, the only potential romantic interest, a radio-journalist (Nancy Allen), certainly does not become the new hero's Lois Lane, for she,isn't one of the Gladiator's many fans. We see other innocents killed by the never-seen "Death Car Driver" (as he's billed in credits), and we also see that he's outfitted his vehicle with a drill-bit to attack tires. But only at the very end of GLADIATOR does Rick find his quarry-- by sheer luck, at that-- and he and his truck defeat the Death Car in a very underwhelming conclusion. I can't think that even enthusiasts of Ferrara would find much of significance here.