sanjuro-12

The father of vigilante movies. The quintessential Charles Bronson flick. There have been many attempts in Bronson's career to duplicate the success of this film,("10 to Midnight, "The Evil That Men Do", "Kinjite", The four "Death Wish" sequels, etc) but not one has resonated with the same impact as this cooly calculated chiller. The story is familiar. Bleeding heart liberal turns vigilante after his family is attacked and wife murdered. Despite the disturbing promotion for gun ownership and taking the law into your own hands, the filmmakers did take certain measures to imply Bronson's ill state of mind, as Bronson's character recites old Western movie cliche`s such as "Draw", when cornering a prospective mugger. Or by the film's closing when ineffectual Cop Gardenia orders Bronson to get out of town, Bronson responds, "By Sundown Sheriff?", further illustrating a Man whose sense of reality is blurred by the fantasy of the Old West, where Men protected their homes and families. A little exploitive here and there (Those graphic rape scenes are pretty tough to take), but otherwise a worthwhile venture into the mind of a once simple man pushed too far.

If you're not already a Charles Bronson fan, this film isn't likely to change your mind. But for those of you like their action films with side-burns, bell bottoms and good old fashioned,hard-hitting action, you'll really enjoy this. Bronson does his "Dirty Harry" impression while investigating a strange ring of murders involving ex-vietnam vets and the Mob. Great car chases. The crazy car crack up inside a parking lot is this film's action highlight. One of my favorite Bronson flicks.

A veteran cast make this update of the blaxploitation genre worth watching. Fred Williamson (Black Caesar), Jim Brown (Slaughter), Pam Grier (Coffy/Foxy Brown), Richard Roundtree (Shaft) and Ron O'Neal (Superfly) join forces to combat the newer, younger version of the same gang they formed some twenty years prior. Not enough Roundtree or O'Neal and barely enough action but a decent enough entry. For fans of the genre.