Translating Tank Girl—Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett’s raw, riotous British comic—into a mainstream Hollywood movie was never going to be easy. The original comic was a frenetic collage of satire, surrealism, and anti-authoritarian rage. So how does the 1995 film adaptation hold up for comic fans? And more importantly—how well does Lori Petty embody the anarchic essence of Tank Girl?
Let’s dive into how the performance matched the page, and where it splattered like a busted water pipe in the Outback.
Performance: Chaos in Motion
Lori Petty’s version of Tank Girl is a loud, unfiltered firecracker—and in many ways, that’s exactly what readers of the original comics expected. She leans hard into the rebellious nature of the character, all wisecracks and grins, like a punk Bugs Bunny with a mohawk and an RPG. Petty’s voice, facial expressions, and physical comedy are spot-on tributes to Hewlett’s kinetic art style and Martin’s sharp-tongued scripts.
Petty may not look exactly like the comic’s version of Tank Girl—there’s less grunge grime, more ’90s dayglo—but the spirit is there. And that’s no small feat.
Portrayal vs. the Source Material
The biggest difference between comic and film? Tone and structure. The original Tank Girl comics were chaotic, adult, and gleefully offensive. The film, despite its edgy aesthetic, feels more sanitized and often confused in tone. Hollywood tried to box in a character who thrives without borders.
Yet Lori Petty clearly gets the source material. Her Tank Girl feels like she just burst off the page. She brings the same unpredictability, the same eye-roll at authority, and the same kinetic sass. If only the movie around her had followed suit. The Rippers are toned down, the sexuality is dialed back, and the politics get lost in studio gloss.
Final Thoughts
For readers of the Tank Girl comics, Lori Petty’s performance is a defiant bright spot in an otherwise uneven adaptation. She doesn’t just play the character—she channels the ink-stained, spray-painted heart of Hewlett and Martin’s creation. It might not be the perfect adaptation, but for a comic book heroine this wild, even a half-accurate translation is a win.
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