Line #21 Film/BandOfTheHand


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_3252.jpeg]]
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3	A 1986 action/drama film produced by Creator/MichaelMann and directed by Creator/PaulMichaelGlaser, focusing on a native American Vietnam veteran named Joe (Creator/StephenLang) who takes a bunch of trouble young adults under his wing as part of a rehabilitation program. In the swamps of the Florida Everglades, they learn to get past their petty differences and lingering gang affiliations and work as a team to survive.
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5	Back in Miami, the group runs afoul the local drug cartel, including street crime boss Cream (Creator/LaurenceFishburne) and his boss, drug kingpin Nestor (Creator/JamesRemar). The group attempts to clean up the community and protect the local residents from Nestor's influence.
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7	A box-office bomb that became more well known for its frequent appearances on Creator/{{HBO}}, the movie has gained a cult following due both to folks nostalgic for the 1980s as well as some surprisingly decent performances in what should have been a negligible action film.
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10	!!Examples:
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12	* TheAggressiveDrugDealer: Nestor is a product of his time, a man that thinks "drug lord" and "war lord" are synonyms (at least on American soil) and tries to kill a bunch of teens just because he doesn't like that their attempt at gentrifying a single building in a neighborhood means people will be a little bit less despondent (and thus needing his drugs) in their lives.
13	* BadBoss: Nestor demonstrates the usual characteristics associated with a crime boss, including paranoia, megalomania and a short fuse, and angrily berates his workers when things don't go his way. To make his point, he sticks a knife through a henchman's hand when he looks at his girlfriend, pinning it the table.
14	* BreakfastClub: Basically ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'' with machine guns. The young adults learn to put aside their differences and work together. Only instead of writing an essay, they attack a drug factory.
15	* CrooksAreBetterArmed: The climactic raid on Nestor's criminal headquarters has the Band (which is armed with Uzis while Nestor's band is armed with a variety of guns) facing off against a pretty great obstacle when it turns out that the building has a ''[[GatlingGood minigun]]'' turret.
16	* HeelFaceTurn: Carlos and Nikki. Even though he was a member of the Band and a survivor of Joe's training, Carlos still feels the lure to return to the world of drug dealing. He and Nikki leave Nestor's operation once they realize how crazy he is and decide to join the Band for good.
17	* IfICantHaveYou: Nestor is furious when Nikki leaves him and orders his men "do whatever you want with her" when they catch her as long as they kill her when they're done.
18	* MachoDisasterExpedition: Invoked by Joe as his experimental "youth recovery program" that creates the Band: pick up a bunch of teen crooks, drag them very deep in the Everglades, and only give them a couple of knives and tell them to figure out how to live off the land (and together).
19	* MagicalNativeAmerican: Joe has some elements of this to his personality, but it's mostly his war veteran status that makes him a formidable opponent.
20	* MentorOccupationalHazard: [[spoiler:Joe gets killed when Cream's men attack the Band's home. The Band, trained as a proficient fire team by Joe, decide to strike back.]]
21	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: As if being a violent, manipulative drug lord who treats his girlfriend like a piece of property wasn't enough, Nestor is also racist and practices voodoo.
22	* PopStarComposer: The theme song, "Band of the Hand (It's Hell Time, Man!)", was written and performed by Music/BobDylan, with backing by Music/TomPetty & the Heartbreakers
23	* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Joe gets killed when Cream's men attack the Band's home. Up until then, the band was just trying to keep their neighborhood clean. Their leader's death motivates them to destroy the drug lord who ordered the hit.]]
24	* TheStoic: Joe has seen plenty of the worst of the world, both in Vietnam and also on the streets of Miami. He remains taciturn but hopeful that the world can change.
25	* TeamHandStack: Joe leads the five protagonists in one, to symbolize that they are all part of each other now, "like fingers on a hand". Later, [[spoiler:after Joe gets killed, they do another one as they prepare to take on Nestor and his men.]]

Context Film / BandOfTheHand