Act of Vengeance

ACT OF VENGEANCE is a 1986 TV movie, based on the true story of a man who stood up to a coal miner's union in 1969, accusing them of corruption and becoming the new president in the process. Unfortunately, his stand against his former colleagues made him plenty of enemies, some of whom decided to have him eliminated.

For the most part, this film plays out exactly as you'd expected a television movie to. It's not an action film at all - Bronson is more of a political figure than a hero here - but it doesn't really cut it as a thriller or drama either. I appreciate that it's a true story - that's the only thing it has going for it - but as a film it's pretty much a failure, with the story particularly lacking interest.

The story starts out well but around the halfway mark it really starts to plod. There's way too much of the drawn-out, back-and-forth scenes of the would-be assassins attempting to complete their job. Such moments are quickly tiresome as is the unusual way that some of the scenes involving these murky murderers are played for laughs. The worst parts of the movie are a couple of ill-advised and excruciating sex scenes between a youthful Ellen Barkin and the guy playing her husband. The producers do well to cast recognisable and reliable faces in supporting roles (including Wilford Brimley, Ellen Burstyn, Hoyt Axton, Maury Chaykin, and a young Keanu Reeves) but this is nevertheless one of Bronson's worst.