Band of the Hand

Miami Vice producer Michael Mann is the executive producer of this movie. Paul Michael Glaser, who has directed several episodes of that show, is at the helm on this film. As a result, that Vice feeling is everywhere in Band: plot and character development yielding to scenic Miami, violence and music. [15 Apr 1986, p.B4]

Although the first hour of BAND OF THE HAND is fairly engrossing as we watch the rowdy, explosive teens slowly discover self-worth, respect for others, and teamwork under the stern guidance of Lang, the rest of the film dissolves into a teenage DIRTY DOZEN that seems to condone and encourage vigilantism. Major conceptual problems aside, BAND OF THE HAND does feature a solid performance by Lang. Read full review

The rest is mainly whack, splat and kaboom, with fast cuts to a rock beat. Miami vise. Read full review

Band of the Hand is a formula 1986 revenge thriller, and, though it hooks you frequently into its thin plot, it never gets far past formula. It’s a bad movie with saving graces-- Dylan’s song among them--which is better than a bad movie that just lies there and rots. Read full review

Michael Mann (Miami Vice) produced this exercise in fascist chic, and it plays like a TV pilot filled out with a few cusswords and strokes of excess violence. Read full review

Band of the Hand does not lack humorous moments. Unfortunately, most of these occur in the first half of the movie as the young criminals play out their primitive conflicts. But this able group of young actors has been given the difficult and insurmountable task of breathing life into a film that cannot decide if it is an after-school television special or a ''Miami Vice'' episode. Read full review