While that is unheard of today, back in the 80's it wasn't so. Movies and popular culture didn't have that PC dogma. While this movie is...a jingoistic ballad for the Reagan era. Tank does have a great antagonist. Even the 80's produced despicable villains who you enjoyed hating. Not one of these overly polite "villains" who kill you with kindness and have the consideration of today's good guys. Garner and Spradlin are not at fault here. Garner's Master Sergeant Carey, and Spradlin's Cyrus Buelton actually gave performances above their salary. Not Oscar worthy, but that's not this kind of material and I think they saw that going in. It's everyone else who just delivers these perky and wooden performances that probably reflect their enthusiasm. Or salary. The "plot" begins with M.Sgt. Carey visiting a bar and chatting it up with a prostitute. Well, Carey's not a local and is unaware of local politics. When the deputy abuses a local pro (who lives in a cliché'd trailer), Carey chivalrously doles out repercussions to him. Well, the next morning, the big hoss sees that he's been dis-respected. Since Euclid has his face marked up, metaphorically, the Sheriff's "face is marked up." Well, that just encourages degenerates to start sassing their hoss.Apparently, Buelton fancies himself a surrogate father who views his subjects as belligerents. And enjoys that. Buelton runs his district like Caligula, Tiberius, Nero, and a 4 foot Napoleon combined! Well, things escalate as Buelton's petty ego demands extortion, and retribution. I love how Buelton; being a Sheriff, doesn't know much about law except what he chooses to know and enforce. Buelton has Carey's son, Billy framed to get to Carey and shows Carey who's the "massa" at a inmate labor farm. In a not-so-veiled threat to inspire compliance from Carey. Well, Carey's wife complicates matters by hiring a lawyer who is promptly incarcerated and Buelton provoked into upping the ante to show Carey he means business. While this story seems far fetched, it's supposed to be based on an incident with Patton. I couldn't see execs green-lighting a project like this today on this scale. But if you like these far fetched 80's films. I recommend writers take note of how a villain is should be portrayed. Tank did succeed in making Buelton so ruthlessly sadistic, that you yearned for Buelton to get his come-uppance. But that's all it succeeded in doing it. The result is far less gratifying. Short story long:What the movie's morality is saying; is that when you play by the rules, and the law doesn't, you have carte blanche to see that you get the justice you deserve. As long as you have ten grand, a wife of suspiciously infinite kindness, and a Sherman Tank at Fort Benning. This is sadistic film-making at it's best.
