One Down, Two to go

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Ralph (Richard Roundtree) and Chuck (Jim Kelly) are two kung fu champions who have set up a tournament to see who is the best.However,they've encountered a problem in the shape of the mob,who are putting pressure on them to rig their tournament.When they instinctively offer resistance,they find themselves the subject of an attack and find themselves relying on pals Cal (Fred Williamson) and J (Jim Brown) to stand up to them and offer retribution.

Throughout the 70s and into the early 80s,the 'blaxploitation' movie was a big thing and enjoyed a huge following as it did it's thing and played a huge part in bringing black culture into mainstream cinema.Two of it's most iconic figures,Jim Kelly,the unforgettable Williams in Enter the Dragon and Shaft himself Richard Roundtree,who added much to the action element of this movement with their baaaad-asssss attitude and hard personas,enjoy prominent billing in this one,but each have only supporting roles and very limited screen-time.

As it is,this movie is carried by two other black players,Jim Brown and Fred Williamson,fairly charismatic guys with a fairly effective rapport and presence between them.

The main problem with the film is the story.It is simplistic as hell and churns on at a robotic pace as the movie rolls on and on.Aside from being one of the lead stars,Williamson also administers directorial duties here and sort of allows his own pet project to meander along at his own comfortable,slumberous pace.The film is simply okay but so nothing special from any other of it's ilk.

Overall,this is,for the most part,a robotic and plodding entry into it's genre.However,if you want to watch a fair bit of 'black attitude' and style,a cool,funky soundtrack,not to mention some okay martial arts here-and-there,this might just fill a hole in your stomach.***

During a martial arts tournament, fighter Chuck and his friend Ralph think there's something crooked going on behind the scenes. Chuck checks it out and discovers match fixing, but for his troubles he's shot. Ralph becomes worried when Chuck disappears, but they meet up and learn that they won't be getting the money they're owned by the tournament organisers, but become actual targets. Chuck is shot again, Ralph is knocked out cold and Chuck's girl gets raped and kidnapped. Before this had happened, Chuck got his gal to ring his buddies Cal and J to come down and help get their money. Their friends are missing, so Cal and J decide to start up their own investigation and get down to business.

Oh yeah, what a bang-up leading cast we got here! Fred "The Hammer" Williamson's laid-back, rough 'n' tumble late blaxpoitation piece goes on to team up influential 70s exploitation figures Jim Brown, Richard Roundtree, Jim Kelly and Fred Williamson. Hell, that's great! Well, you would like to think so, but the script never lets the four interact with each other too often. The straight-forward material isn't anything special and it might rely on its stars' presences, but there's no question about the sheer spirit and exciting raw beatings, shootouts and explosions interwoven into Williamson's rough-around-edges direction. Smothering proceedings is ultra-smooth dialogues packed stinging wisecracks and ripe humour. Roundtree and Kelly seem to be in supporting roles compared the likes of Brown and Williamson. Honestly when the latter two appeared, that's when the wham-bam attitude and hard-ass excitement seemed to break out. The opening ten minutes actually sets-up an authentic martial arts tournament for the film, where these guys are literally busting their guts for prize money. After some slow moments, it does take its time to find its groove. However the funked-up soundtrack is a real highlight and an atmospherically scorching score is filtered in nicely. Pulsating camera-work is lucidly leering and naturally fitting to the stark and gritty look of the film's locations. The four main men are great. A domineering Brown is excellent as the polite, but persuasively forceful J. The sensational Williamson chews it up with pure vigour and charm as Cal. Roundtree paints a macho awe to Ralph and what little time a solid Kelly gets is done with enough aplomb. Peter Dane and Tom Signorelli make for decent scummy villains and their dopey henchmen cop nothing but beatings. Joe Spinell makes for an amusing minor performance as a twitchy promoter who gets a visit by Roundtree. Warrington Winters injects some light humour as the random appearing sheriff, who just doesn't want trouble in the way of gunfire and explosions that seems to follow these men. The feisty Paula Sills and the endearing buxom Laura Loftus play the sweethearts.

Like the tag-line suggests, this blaxpoitation does pack four times the punch with its ass-whopping. Despite some splintered chemistry, there's still plenty there to offer the fans.

One Down, Two to Go (1982) is a movie I recently rewatched on Tubi for the first time in a long time. The storyline follows two police officers whose friend is shot and beat after he discovers a fixed fight tournament. The two cops track him down and also uncover who is behind the fixed fight tournament. Can they crack the case in time to save their friend? This movie is directed by and stars Fred Williamson (The Big Score) and also stars Jim Brown (Dirty Dozen), Jim Kelly (Enter the Dragon), Richard Roundtree (Shaft) and Tom Signorelli (Sleepers). The storyline for this is a bit cliché but fun to watch unfold. I really loved the fights and shootouts, even if at times they're a bit clunky and awkward. The acting and charisma by Williamson, Roundtree, Kelly and Brown are all on display in their unique and entertaining way. Overall this isn't the best blaxploitation film from the 70s but it is worth a viewing. I would score this a solid 6/10.

With this once-in-a-lifetime cast (reuniting the four greatest blaxploitation stars of the early seventies), this picture should be more fun than it is. Someone seems to have drained the life out of these performers; Jim Brown, in particular, comes off very badly (judging only from this movie, you'd come to the conclusion that he can't act). The film is also poorly structured, keeping the stars away from each other (and from any enjoyable interaction) for laaaaarge periods of time. And Williamson must have really had it in for Jim Kelly; he barely gives him 1/5 of the screen time devoted to the other leads, and he features him in only two brief fight scenes (he even loses in one of them!). Cool score, though. (*1/2)

I did not realize that Fred Williams made another flick which consist of the biggest stars of Blaxploitation. but unlike Original Gangsters this movie came out at the height of their careers, which is good because the only reason you would want to see it is because of the black star power.

With a title that sounds like the Sequel to 3 the Hard Way, adding Shaft to the list making 4, the movie starts with marshal arts master, Jim Kelly and Richard Roundtree getting into some trouble with dudes who don't want to pay the money they are owed, and when trouble escalates, they call in their boys Fred the Hammer and Jim Brown to help.

The movie is not much different from 3 the hard way with Jim carrying a big gun and Fred hooking up with some chick. In fact, I mentioned basically every movie these two did in the 1970's.

What's lacking is Jim Kelly's marshal arts. Sure nothing can beat the scene in 3 the hard way where somehow his nice boots are replaced with sneakers out of nowhere and he gets into some hard hitting action, but it would be nice if they tried.

This wouldn't be much of a problem if Shaft was used to his fullest in the film, but he's not. I guess when you got the Hammer in the directors chair, he's got no choice but to make super star Jim Brown more than just his back up, but once Fred is on screen it's his show, make no mistake.

Most of these movies are just like the other, but somehow this movie's quantity is a little under, despite the large talent pool. Try to Avoid.