Runtime: 96 minutes
Directed by: Robert
Hartford-Davis
Starring: Jim Brown,
Martin Landau, Brenda Sykes, Luciana Paluzzi, Bruce Glover
From: Columbia
I recently realized I have barely watched any blaxploitation in 2019;
shame on me. At least I picked one which I figured would go right as it
starred Jim Brown, and I was correct.
Naturally, his character is only known as Gunn; he is successful to the point of driving around in a vintage Rolls Royce and owning a club. Unfortunately, his brother gets involved w/ revolutionaries and they think that ripping off the Mob and stealing their ledgers is a good idea. His fate is what you'd expect it to be, so Gunn is looking for revenge. This is typical for the genre: funky clothing, funky music, and a general over the top nature. Martin Landau is the main villain but there are long stretches where he is not present. Instead, the audience sees his underling Bruce Glover trying to find those ledgers, then Gunn trying to track him down. It's always nice seeing Bruce and as I suspected, he does a swell job of being a pretty despicable human being, uttering many racial insults... none of which I will repeat here.
Some aspects could be nitpicked; I won't be playing that game. For me, this was a grand old time where Brown is as much a badass as he typically is on screen, and this B-movie is never boring. Whether it's the dialogue or the action, it was not dull. Some familiar names do appear: baseball great Vida Blue in his one acting role, a cameo from football great Deacon Jones as himself, Brenda Sykes, Bernie Casey, and Luciana Paluzzi in a supporting role. The action was fun and while the location of the ultimate showdown is cliché, at least there is plenty of firepower and there were guffaws from me when one character had some lines OBVIOUSLY dubbed as it did not sound like the actor at all. Anyhow, 2020 I will go more in-depth on exploring this genre, I do promise that.
Naturally, his character is only known as Gunn; he is successful to the point of driving around in a vintage Rolls Royce and owning a club. Unfortunately, his brother gets involved w/ revolutionaries and they think that ripping off the Mob and stealing their ledgers is a good idea. His fate is what you'd expect it to be, so Gunn is looking for revenge. This is typical for the genre: funky clothing, funky music, and a general over the top nature. Martin Landau is the main villain but there are long stretches where he is not present. Instead, the audience sees his underling Bruce Glover trying to find those ledgers, then Gunn trying to track him down. It's always nice seeing Bruce and as I suspected, he does a swell job of being a pretty despicable human being, uttering many racial insults... none of which I will repeat here.
Some aspects could be nitpicked; I won't be playing that game. For me, this was a grand old time where Brown is as much a badass as he typically is on screen, and this B-movie is never boring. Whether it's the dialogue or the action, it was not dull. Some familiar names do appear: baseball great Vida Blue in his one acting role, a cameo from football great Deacon Jones as himself, Brenda Sykes, Bernie Casey, and Luciana Paluzzi in a supporting role. The action was fun and while the location of the ultimate showdown is cliché, at least there is plenty of firepower and there were guffaws from me when one character had some lines OBVIOUSLY dubbed as it did not sound like the actor at all. Anyhow, 2020 I will go more in-depth on exploring this genre, I do promise that.
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