Review of They Live (1988) by Kevin G — 21 Jun 2015

Enjoyable B-movie that while has aged a bit, holds up as an entertaining action flick. Roddy Piper is solid in the lead role, using both his physicality & charsima as a wrestler to great effect (he delivers his classic 'bubble gum' line perfectly).

He's paired excellently with the great Keith David, who gives one of his best character performances while matching Piper physically (they're alley fight remains one of the best ever filmed thanks to shear brutality).

Meg Tilly, though, is lifeless as Holly & never interesting to watch. Behind the camera, Carpenter crafts a fun action film with some interesting social commentary (the world revealed through the glasses is compelling to look at ).

However, it falls apart a bit in the third act, with plot twists that are both contrived & convenient, and never explaining how two construction workers are suddenly experts in military weaponry. Nevertheless, he does barrel towards an unrelenting ending with plenty of black humor (the final shot is laugh out loud hilarious).

Overall, not a classic like "Halloween" or "The Thing" but one of Carpenter's more enjoyable films.