Gleaming the Cube was an '80's inside baseball skater slang term for a gnarly ride. The movie revolves around 16 year old Brian Kelly (Christian Slater), a rebellious skater who hangs with his skater buddies. He has a similar aged adopted Vietnamese brother called Vihn (Art Chudabala) who works with a retired Vietnamese army officer Colonel Trac (Le Tuan). Vihn uncovers financial irregularities that leads him to discover a plot to export illegal weapons to Vietnamese rebels under the guise of charitable shipments. The mastermind, local businessman Ed Lawndale (Richard Herd), has Vihn killed for his discovery but Vihn leaves a list of suspicious items that Brian finds. Brian enlists the support of Vihn's coworker (and daughter of Col Trac) Tina (Min Luong). She won't have anything to do with Brian because he dresses like a typical fringe skater dude so he changes to more conventional preppy clothes and cuts his hair and so they begin to date. The movie tells the story of how Brian avenges the murder of his brother and uncovers the illegal weapons shipment plot.
After Slater's big screen debut aged 15 in The Legend of Billie Jean and aged 16 in The Name of the Rose, this was his first lead role only a year later. He apparently had to train for six months skateboarding to do many of the stunts himself. He puts in a very credible performance and in fact his breakthrough role in The Heathers the following year really launched his career. The movie also features leading professional teen skaters at the time such as Tony Hawk and Max Perlich. Along with professional skate doubles for Slater, the movie was laced with some of the most dramatic and cutting edge skate chase and demonstration scenes that really make the movie an '80's iconic classic.
After Slater's big screen debut aged 15 in The Legend of Billie Jean and aged 16 in The Name of the Rose, this was his first lead role only a year later. He apparently had to train for six months skateboarding to do many of the stunts himself. He puts in a very credible performance and in fact his breakthrough role in The Heathers the following year really launched his career. The movie also features leading professional teen skaters at the time such as Tony Hawk and Max Perlich. Along with professional skate doubles for Slater, the movie was laced with some of the most dramatic and cutting edge skate chase and demonstration scenes that really make the movie an '80's iconic classic.