This is very straightforward and rudimentary action-cheese from the 1980's, no more and no less. First, we have 45 minutes of obligatory character introductions, depiction of clichés and mood-setting tableaux. Then, we have a good 45 minutes of crowd-pleasing action sequences that include explosions, ramming, 18-wheel truck stunts and impressive accidents. That's how simple movies can be, and it's great! Charlie Morrison was a Korean War veteran and furthermore notorious heavy truck driver, but that was a long time ago. Now he, his beloved wife Maggie and daredevil grandson Chris unsuccessfully try to exploit a mine in Nevada. Charlie receives a visit from his former army buddy turned government agent George, who hires him to transport a chest of plutonium to Arizona in a specially armored truck named "Thunder" and earn $250.000. During his trip Charlie has to be wary of well-organized terrorists with special tricks and gimmicks up their sleeves (like Volkswagen Beetles with rocket launchers on the roof), but he gets help from his grandson and his nerd friends. At first, I assumed "Thunder Run" would be a delightful and joyous "hillbilly" movie! There are bar sequences where the band plays songs like "Cotton Eye Joe" and "Bullsh*t". The elderly townsfolk dance in the bar while the younger generation are out in the streets organizing illegal street races. Furthermore there's the weird romance between a blond babe (with a really fine bottom) and the world's biggest nerd and the Chevy pick-up with gas injection which predates the similar "The Fast and the Furious" with approximately fifteen years. Later, there's the typical pimping of the truck with explosive gadgets (immensely popularized by "The A-Team") and the introduction of ultra-evil villains. You can clearly tell these guys are pure evil because they either have icky scars in their faces or non-Americans! The finale contains some wondrous action highlights including 65ft long Thunder jumping over a moving train and an exhilarating showdown between trucks. "Thunder Run" is fantastic, monumental 80's guff!
