Review of Turk 182! (1985) by Losang S — 09 Feb 2009

I first saw "Turk 182!" (yes, its title really has an exclamation point in it) a few years back, and I thought it was a great movie. Now that I've grown a little since then and matured even more, I wanted to watch it again to see if it was as great as I remembered it.....and it was.

Terry "Turk" Lynch (Robert Urich) is a New York City fireman that was injured while saving a little girl from a burning building. After many pleads for help from Terry's younger brother, James (Timothy Hutton), all the leaders of the city refuse to give Terry the benefits that he needs to live and to recover from his accident.

James Lynch is so upset about his brother not getting what he deserves, that he becomes a hero in his own way, by using graffiti to create certain messages (you'll have to watch the movie to find out what they are and what they mean) all over the city. Whether it's on a living horse, a famous bridge, or a "graffiti proof" train, James sure knows how to use graffiti as an art.

"Turk 182!" doesn't have any spectacular special effects or a tremendously engrossing plot or script, so if you're looking for that, you will be very disappointed. It's just a basic story about a brother trying to give his older brother some due, and to let everybody else know that he is a hero.

For years I've enjoyed watching "Turk 182!," and I'm pretty sure I'll always like it. It baffles me that this film seems to be so invisible to movie fans. It's a great film that deserves more attention than it has gotten so far. If you like great movies, I definitely recommend purchasing "Turk 182!".