Sergeant Major Zack Carey (James Garner) made the mistake of being chivalrous in Clemmons, GA. He simply couldn't ignore Deputy Euclid (James Cromwell) beating on the local prostitute. But how was he to know that some bruises on a deputy would so deeply offend the sheriff? Well, that it did and Sheriff Buelton (G.D. Spradlin) is not a very forgiving or even reasonable man.

Sheriff Buelton wanted Carey's hide and when he couldn't get it he had to devise another method of payback. So, he went about planting marijuana in Carey's son's locker. In the small county of Clemmons, GA where the sheriff calls all the shots, that equaled a ticket to jail and whatever else Buelton wanted to do to Billy (C. Thomas Howell).

Carey realized he was defeated and was ready to pay the piper but his wife, LaDonna (Shirley Jones) opted for another resolution. Ole Buelton didn't like the wife's resolution so he fast tracked Billy right to a work labor camp where his safety was a complete toss up.

By this time Sergeant Major Carey had had enough and it was time to get tough. Time to break out the Sherman Tank.

This was a cool movie. At times it was serious and at times it was light. It seemed like whenever real shooting was taking place it was a bit light. They didn't want to kill anybody. When it came to Boss Hogg aka Sheriff Buelton getting his just desserts then it was serious. There was nothing light about his heavy-handed, backwards, racist, and redneck approach to the law. He made a perfect antagonist. He was so easy to hate and root against it made Carey's plight that much more appealing. It was hard to know what year all of this was taking place the sheriff was so confident, reckless, and dismissive of the law. He was the law and well beyond arrests and charges. It was like he ran Georgia!

The trouble Carey was dragged into because he had a heart for a hooker didn't even add up. It was like he rekindled the North v. the South. The moral of the story--what the seasoned rapper E-40 once preached:

Don't save a ho'.

The next thing you know your sons is in prison on some false charges and you're trying to drive a tank across state lines.

Tank is a film about Sergeant Major James Garner an army lifer assigned to what will probably be his last post, somewhere in an unnamed fort in the State of Alabama. He's moved on the post with wife Shirley Jones and younger son C. Thomas Howell. Garner and Jones's older son was killed a short while back in an accident and they're still grieving. Also moving on the post is Garner's pride and joy, a World War II vintage Sherman tank which he has reassembled and he's the only man in the US Army with his own personal Tank.

One night while visiting one of the local bars he sees one of the hookers, Jenilee Harrison being beaten by a sheriff's deputy James Cromwell. It bothers him and Garner takes matters in his own hands. But assaulting an Alabama deputy sheriff in his own town is normally not a good idea. As Sergeant Dorian Harewood of the Provost Marshal's office tells Garner, the sheriff G.D.Spradlin is a 'mean cracker'.

Spradlin bides his time and then frames Howell on a drug charge. After exhausting the legal means Garner resorts to the illegal and puts his career and pension at risk, but becomes one popular dude.

One of the best things Tank has going for it is the real chemistry between, Garner, Jones and Howell. You don't think of them as players, they become a real family on the screen. You also see Garner going about his daily routine on the post and you note that this is a man in whose hands the country's defense is in. As long as we do produce men like Garner for our Armed Services, the country's in good hands.

Tank was shot on several army bases and has an authentic army look about it. In fact all the players and their are several familiar ones really do convey themselves as soldiers. Garner and Mess Sergeant John Hancock have a really humorous confrontation and Hancock for example is someone you really do think of as an army mess sergeant not just an actor playing one.

Tank gives Garner and Jones roles that fit their age bracket perfectly, they are two of the best roles both of those players have had in their later years. Tank is good family entertainment with something for all ages of moviegoers.

Command Sergeant Major Zack Carey (James Garner) takes up a new post at an Army base. He brings along his wife (Shirley Jones),his son Billy (C. Thomas Howell),and his Sherman tank. The Army lifer is looking to finish up after this posting to retire early despite the promise of a promotion. All he wants is to buy a boat and spend more time with his remaining son. By day, he's whipping his men into shape. By night, he's drinking at the local bars. One night, he gets into a fight with corrupt local deputy sheriff Euclid Baker (James Cromwell) who was slapping around prostitute Sarah (Jenilee Harrison). Corrupt sheriff Cyrus Buelton (G. D. Spradlin) has no jurisdiction on the Army base so the cops plant drugs on Billy and have him arrested.

This is a forgettable 80's flick most notable for an inanimate object. There is limited tension. It's all generally bland. You know what could be better with the inciting incident. The movie could inject more personal stakes by having a racist deputy harass his black Army comrade. It would attack him personally and morally. As it stands, it's morally defensible to hit the deputy but it's more reasonable to protect Sarah without striking back. Another way to do this is for Sarah to tell him about the corrupt town and Zack to take up the cause. At the end of the day, the most compelling aspect of this movie is a tank destroying stuff. Everything else is a bland forgettable drama.