Tank Girl (film)



A 1995 film based on the notorious comic book series Tank Girl, starring Lori Petty as Tank Girl, Naomi Watts as Jet Girl and... rapper Ice T as a mutant kangaroo.

"Tank Girl: The Rippers are a demonic army of bloodthirsty, human-eating, purse-snatchin', mutant creatures."
 * Adrenaline Makeover: Jet Girl.
 * Arson, Murder And Jaywalking

"Tank Girl: Listen up, cause I'm only telling you this once. I'm not bedtime story lady, so pay attention. It's 2033. The world is screwed now. You see, a while ago this humongous comet came crashing into the earth. Bam, total devastation. End of the world as we know it. No celebrities, no cable TV, no water. It hasn't rained in 11 years. Now 20 people gotta squeeze inside the same bathtub - so it ain't all bad."
 * Apocalypse How:


 * Art Shift: The movie is interspersed with images drawn in the comic book style, as well as a few somewhat related animated sequences.
 * Artistic License Astronomy: The impact of a comet somehow destroys so much of the Earth's water that it hasn't rained in 11 years.
 * Bad Boss: Kesslee, Up to Eleven. He kills a loyal minion/doctor because she couldn't repair his face. So, downloading him into a holographic projection of his head is somehow an IMPROVEMENT?!
 * Boyfriend Bluff: Tank Girl pretends that Jet Girl is her girlfriend to get Sgt. Small to leave Jet Girl alone.
 * Bring It: Kesslee's gesture to Tank Girl's tank just before it starts firing at him.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Tank Girl
 * Costume Test Montage: Tank Girl in the Liquid Silver dressing room.
 * Crapsack World: albeit a very wacky one.
 * Crowd Song: Cole Porter's "Let's Do It" in Liquid Silver.
 * Death World: Let's see, an evil Mega Corp with its own Mildly Military Elite Mooks hunting and killing whoever they can find, almost no water, monster killer kangaroos... check, check and check. Granted, it's pretty heavily parodied and subverted by the end.
 * Damsel in Distress: Sam (the 10 year old girl), repeatedly.
 * Evil Is Hammy: Keslee, played by Malcolm McDowell at his hammiest.
 * Executive Meddling: Quite a bit.
 * Famous Last Words:
 * Fan Service
 * Finishing Stomp: Tank Girl to the locator device on Kesslee's wrist.
 * Flatline: Kesslee after his head is cut off.
 * Fluffy Fashion Feathers: The brothel owner's dress with the feathers arranged like Shoulders of Doom.
 * Gentle Giant: Booga.
 * Girl-On-Girl Is Hot: Averted, Sgt. Small is disgusted when Tank Girl and Jet Girl make out.
 * Girls Behind Bars: Tank Girl and Jet Girl.
 * Groin Attack: TG nails a Water & Power trooper with his own gun.
 * Gun in My Pocket
 * A Handful for an Eye: Tank Girl to a Water and Power trooper.
 * Hit You So Hard Your X Will Feel It: The title character tells Kesslee "I'm gonna hit you so hard, your children will be born bruised!"
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: Kesslee's water draining device.
 * Hologram: Kesslee's head after his operation.
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick: Tank Girl is fairly competent on her own, but her sidekick Jet Girl is significantly saner and somewhat more practical, meaning that because of her most of Tank Girl's schemes don't end with her dead.
 * Idiot Ball: Tank Girl deciding to stop for a musical number in Liquid Silver instead of escaping.
 * Interspecies Romance: Human/Mutant-kangaroo-that-was-formerly-a-dog.
 * Laughably Evil: Keslee is a ludicrously hammy batshit crazy Evil Overlord who makes such ridiculous decisions as cutting off his own head and replacing it with a hologram.
 * Let's Split Up, Gang!: Tank Girl and Jet Girl when they enter Liquid Silver.
 * Magic Brakes: After Tank Girl steals the Water & Power truck.
 * Meganekko: Jet Girl.
 * Mismatched Eyes: Tank Girl, seen clearly when she's being lowered into The Pipe.
 * Murderous Thighs: Tank Girl uses this to perform a Neck Snap.
 * Musicalis Interruptus: "Let's Do It" at Liquid Silver.
 * My Little Panzer: The Danger Ball, much to Iggy Pop's surprise.
 * Neck Lift: Tank Girl to Jet Girl twice while inside a tank.
 * Neck Snap: Multiple times by the Rippers and once by Tank Girl.
 * Old Shame: Naomi Watts.
 * Pimped-Out Dress: The brothel owner's dress with the feathers arranged like Shoulders of Doom.
 * Pineapple Surprise: How Tank Girl kills a random mook
 * Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Both Tank Girl and Jet Girl.
 * Quicksand Sucks: Subverted. Those were instead the Rippers' subgates
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The Rippers after is killed.
 * Saharan Shipwreck
 * Sand Is Water: Tank Girl's sand shower.
 * Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Sergeant Small
 * Self-Destructive Charge: during the final battle inside Water and Power.
 * Shadow Discretion Shot: The Rippers in their initial appearances.
 * Shout-Out: to The Wizard of Oz - the bucket of water falling on Kesslee's head and killing him.
 * Shrinking Violet: Jet girl starts out like this. Tank girl quickly slaps it out of her.
 * Smoking Barrel Blowout: Jet Girl after she shoots Sergeant Small.
 * Sorry, I'm Gay
 * Spiteful Spit: Tank Girl to a Water & Power trooper when she's captured.
 * Spontaneous Choreography: During the Crowd Song.
 * Stan Winston: Designed and created the Rippers.
 * Storming the Castle
 * Tank Goodness
 * Tap on the Head: Multiple examples
 * The Dragon: Sergeant Small, to Kesslee.
 * Truth Serum: The Rippers' use of nitrous oxide.
 * Two Words: Obvious Trope: "I got two words for you...Brush your teeth!"
 * Vanity License Plate: The tank has the license plate "TANK" on the back and "KNAT" on the front.
 * We Will Meet Again: Kesslee uses the "This isn't over" variant.
 * What Could Have Been:
 * Posh Spice, Baby Spice and Gwen Stefani each tried out for the role of Tank Girl.
 * At one time or another, Steven Spielberg and James Cameron both expressed interest in directing.
 * Wrench Wench: Jet Girl
 * You Have Failed Me...: Kesslee to Captain Derouche, a subordinate who failed to stop the Rippers.