Lightning Jack (1994)

Paul Hogan plays Lightning Jack Kane, one of the only outlaws to escape when the Younger Gang’s attempt to rob the Junction City bank ends in a hail of gunfire.

During a subsequent bank robbery attempt designed to re-establish his reputation as a feared outlaw, Kane snatches Ben Doyle (Cuba Gooding Jr.) as a hostage.

Instead, he winds up with a bunch of surprises.

The town’s merchants haven’t deposited the day’s proceeds yet and Kane has knocked out the only bank employee who knows the combination to the safe.

As for his hostage, Doyle is mute. And the young black man would rather tag along with Kane than return to a life of disrespect in the town where he lives.

So Lightning Jack does the only logical thing: He decides to turn his hostage into a partner in crime with hopes of winning back the nickname Lightning in the process.

The partnership gets off to a rocky start when Doyle freezes, then shoots himself in the foot during the duos first attempted holdup.

But they’ve gotten more comfortable with one another and more saavy by the time they return to Junction City for another try at that town’s bank.

Paul Hogan as Lightning Jack Kane in Lightning Jack (1994)

Cuba Gooding Jr. as Ben Doyle in Lightning Jack (1994)

Review:

“Crocodile Dundee,” released in 1986, made Paul Hogan a star. Here, he basically takes that character back to the 1800s in a serviceable comedy Western.

Goodling is particularly impressive as his mute sidekick. Beverly D’Angelo plays Lana Castel, Kane’s long-suffering girlfriend, always waiting for the day he’ll decide it’s time for them to ride off into the sunset together.

The film surprisingly dodges the issue of racism. In fact, no one blinks an eye when Kane walks into the bar with his black sidekick and orders up a gal (Kamala Lopez) to teach Ben the art of loving.

According to IMDb, Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens makes an uncredited cameo appearance as the eye-patched outlaw named Dutch Spencer.

Beverly D’Angelo as Lana Castel, the saloon girl hoping for a better life in Lightning Jack (1994)

Kamala Lopez (Kamala Dawson) as Pilar, the whore who talks enough for two people in Lightning Jack (1994)

Directed by:
Simon Wincer

Cast:
Paul Hogan … Lightning Jack Kane
Cuba Gooding Jr. … Ben Doyle
Beverly D’Angelo … Lana Castel
Kamala Lopez … Pilar
as Kamala Dawson
Pat Hingle … Marshal Dan Kurtz
L.Q. Jones … Sheriff
Richard Riehle … Marcus
Frank McRae … Mr. Doyle
Roger Daltrey … John T. Coles
Max Cullen … Bart
Sandy Ward … Judge Curren

Runtime: 98 min.

Pat HIngle as U.S. Marshal Dan Kurtz in Lightning Jack (1994)

L.Q. Jones as the sheriff who jails his old friend Jack Kane in Lightning Jack (1994)

Memorable lines:

Lightning Jack Kane to Ben Doyle: “Australia’s a colony, you see. So if you rob a bank back there, you’re wanted all over the country. But in America, you can rob banks in five different states. You still got another 30. Cross the border and you run free. No worries. Yeah, democracy is a wonderful thing.”

Lightning Jack: “Hey, Mick, you gotta watch this. That’s Comanche Doyle.”
Mick: “He don’t look like no Indian.”
Lightning Jack: “Ain’t. They call him Comanche because after he guns a man down, he cuts out his tongue. He’s got a dozen of them on a string, around his neck.”

Cuba Gooding Jr. as Ben Doyle and Paul Hogan as Jack Kane rob a bank in Lightning Jack (1994)

Paul Hogan as Jake Kane, providing Ben Doyle with a lesson in the art of being an outlaw in Lightning Jack (1994)