Tank Girl (1995)
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In a drought-ravaged Australia, a defiant antiheroine must fight an oppressive corporation to secure the world's remaining water.
The story
In the year 2033, following a comet strike and a decade-long global drought, the corporation Water & Power monopolizes the remaining water supply. Rebecca 'Tank Girl' Buck is a member of a commune in the Australian outback that operates the last independent water well. When W&P troops attack the commune, they kill Tank Girl's boyfriend and capture her and her friend Sam. Tank Girl is enslaved and tortured by the corporation's leader, Kesslee. She eventually joins forces with Jet Girl, a talented jet mechanic, to resist the corporation's oppression and rescue her friend.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2033, a comet strike has caused a global drought, leaving the corporation Water & Power (W&P) in control of all water. Rebecca 'Tank Girl' Buck, a commune member, is captured by W&P after her boyfriend is killed. She is enslaved and tortured by Kesslee, the head of W&P. Tank Girl eventually escapes with Jet Girl, a mechanic. The girls team up with the Rippers, genetically modified supersoldiers created by Johnny Prophet. They navigate a desert wasteland, infiltrating a sex club called Liquid Silver to rescue Sam, who is being held there. The girls and the Rippers eventually infiltrate W&P headquarters. During the battle, Deetee sacrifices himself to damage the generator. Tank Girl kills Kesslee and rescues Sam from a water pipe. The film ends with an animated sequence of water flowing freely as Tank Girl drives down rapids.
- First release year
- 1995
- Runtime (minutes)
- 104
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Rachel Talalay
- Writers
- Tedi Sarafian · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Lori Petty · Tank Girl; Naomi Watts · Jet Girl; Ice-T · T-Saint; Malcolm McDowell · Kesslee; Ann Cusack · Sub Girl; Iggy Pop · Rat Face; Ann Magnuson · The Madame; Jeff Kober · Booga
- Genres
- post-apocalyptic; science fiction; action; comedy
- Themes
- antiestablishment; feminism; postfeminism; western generic
- Tone and mood
- manic; over-the-top; punk
- Premise and plot tags
- post-apocalyptic; dystopian; water scarcity; superheroine
- Source material / true-story basis
- British comics series created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin
- Content notes
- violence; sexual references
- Reception
- The film was a financial failure and received mixed reviews from critics, though it has since become a cult classic and is noted for its feminist themes.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 45% · review count: 47; Metacritic · score: 46 · scale: 100 · review count: 23; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A to F
- Production trivia
- The Rippers' makeup and prosthetics were created by Stan Winston's studio, who cut their prices in half to meet the budget.; The main tank was a modified M5A1 Stuart purchased from the government of Peru.; The film was shot in White Sands, New Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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