SnoopyStyle Jack Crews (Patrick Swayze) is an ex-con trying to go straight for his family Melanie (Brenda Strong) and daughter Tracy. He's an expert driver and the court took away his license. His boss Cutler offers him a job off the books to pick up a mysterious load from Atlanta. His home is threatened with foreclosure and he decides to take the job. In Atlanta, Red (Meat Loaf) pairs Jack up with Earl (Randy Travis) with Sonny (Gabriel Casseus) and Wes (Brian Kelly) driving behind them. Ford (Charles S. Dutton) and McClaren (Stephen Tobolowsky) are bickering agents from different federal agencies looking to shut down the smuggling ring. The cops are not the only one after them. Red is looking to doublecross them.While I appreciate creating a sense that everybody's coming after Jack, it makes no sense that Red would fight his own men for the load. Red should have replaced the entire crew with his men. He definitely has plenty of men to spare. The cops are tracking the load but nobody is following them. The writing is terribly flawed but there is good trucking action. I like the unusual truck on truck violence but that's about all. Red keeps coming back to annoy me.

brchthethird I honestly wasn't expecting too much from this movie, but for what I got I was entertained and never bored. BLACK DOG is a fairly standard late-90's B-grade action movie, but its colorful characters help it to transcend the genre clichés and make it somewhat memorable. The basic plot is that Jack Crews (Patrick Swayze) is in need of some extra money and agrees to take a truck-driving job transporting some goods. Little does he know that it's some illegal guns, and soon he has people on his trail as he tries to make the delivery.I've never been too much of a Patrick Swayze fan, mostly because I don't think he can act that well. He has some charisma, for sure, but the only movie I've really enjoyed him in prior to this was ROAD HOUSE. Here, he doesn't get that kind of a role to play, but thankfully the supporting players pick up the slack and make the movie worth watching. Of those cast members, the most entertaining were Meat Loaf as a Bible-quoting madman, and Charles Dutton and Stephen Tobolowsky as a bickering FBI and ATF agent, respectively. Their short scene that opens the film is, in my opinion, the best part and sort of sets the tone for what follows, at least when they're on screen. Randy Travis also has a supporting role, but all they can do with him is make jokes and references to his real-life career as a country singer.In general, the acting was decent for this type of movie. The action, of course, was well-done. By virtue of being produced before Hollywood became obsessed with CGI and shaky-cam, this film features real stunts, real explosions and crisp, clean action sequences done with some flair. Yes, having cars and trucks explode on impact in a collision is ridiculous, but it's also ridiculously entertaining to watch. Most importantly, the truck-driving sequences were filmed in an interesting way, and actually on the highway. Other positives I can think of are a suitably bombastic score and some gentle soundtrack cuts courtesy of Randy Travis. I don't really care for country music, but he's one person I can tolerate.The negative aspects I can mention are all fairly standard for the genre. There's a lot of plot holes, story threads that aren't followed up on (or at least satisfactorily), and of course the premise. Part of this can be chalked up to the run time. At 89 minutes, it is a little light on story and character development, but then again it didn't exactly need to be complex. Overall, this was much more fun than I was anticipating. It's by no means a good movie, but it's pretty entertaining for what it is. When all is said and done, there's a lot worse ways to spend your time. Also, they do explain what the title means, in case you were wondering.

lost-in-limbo You get plenty bang for your buck in the on-the-road action joint "Black Dog". Ex-con Jack Crews unwillingly agrees to drive a semi-trailer loaded with illegal weapons from Georgia to New Jersey in order to save his family. While it might be a one-idea action fling, it's got enough gusto and energy making it predictably routine, but still rousing Mack truck ride packed with smashing stunt work that's nothing short than spectacular. Total destruction follows. It's dangerous and it shows (look at the chase through the hills), as the imagery is important due to its simplicity. The script is thick with drama, but this never takes away from the thrills or the build of them. Even though the ending was overly cheery for my liking. Patrick Swayze emit's a natural coolness to his laid-back ex-con character that sure knows how to handle a rig. Then chuck in the villains (hit-men, bikers and FBI) who hound Swayze, where you have the larger-than-life Meat Loaf and the usual twists and turns. Distinguishable, but competently done and very exciting as we get the screeching guitar riffs to remind us that. "That son of a b!tch can drive"

Salazar Yes, it has many a plot hole. Yes, the acting isn't Oscar worthy. And yes, it's a cheesy B-grade movie. But guess what? I like it. "Black Dog" is a silly trucker action/thriller topped off with comedy, both intentional and unintentional, and a really, really cool country music score. The reason why so many people don't like it is simply 'cause they are taking it far too seriously. If you're like me and have had plenty of warning NOT to take "Black Dog" so seriously (thanks to the other IMDb members), then you'll like "Black Dog". In short, DO NOT expect "Black Dog" to be something like "Donnie Darko" and/or "Fight Club". Don't take it seriously and you may just have a rollicking good time, especially if you are a fan of anyone who stars in it.