familiarity breeds a hit....
Added 10/16/2009
all of the stars in this movie you'll recognize from other 70's blaxploitation flicks; fred williamson, jim kelly, richard roundtree, ron o'neal....as well as blacks from television; isabel sanford, paul winfield, etc...basically the og's get back together to take back their town from the young gangstas....the movie has the feel of a 70's blaxploitation film , even though it was made in the mid-90's...it was good to see pam grier, 70's pin up goddess and black actress come back...she's now curvier and 60, but she's still cool...she's just gotten old, like the rest of us....
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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This was one helluva reunion!
Added 7/11/2007
You couldn't ask for too much more of a black all star cast than this. You've got Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Ron O'neal and Richard Roundtree battling modern day gangs. They're kicking butt and taking names later. Paul Winfield and Isabel Sanford did pretty good as well in one of their last performances in movies. May their souls rest in peace. This is a good one to have in your collection.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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A Good Idea but a Weak Storyline
Added 3/31/2007
I really wanted this movie to be great. I really felt that it had the potential. And you know, it started out pretty good. But the longer the movie goes the weaker it got. It was almost like they started with half a script and when theu got to the end of that they just winged the rest.
The premise of the film is that a gang called the rebels had pretty much taken over the streets of this urban Indiania neighborhood. They are extremely bad and horrifically violent and refuse to let anyone get in their way. One citizen see's one of the gang kill a high school basketball star and calls the cops. The gang retailiates by trashing his store, beating him up, shooting him, and leaving him for dead. Enter John Bookman.
Bookman (Fred Williamson) is the son of the shop owner, an ex-NFL football star, and, it turns out, the original leader of the rebels some 30 years ago. He returns home to find a war zone. After failing to start a dialog with the gang with the help of the local preacher (Paul Winfield) he turns to his old comrads-in-arms to try and take back the streets.
Joined by his best friend from the gang days (Jim Brown), who has his own demons to over come (the son he never knew had just been killed by the gang) they begin to orchestrate a neighborhood revolt. Joining them is Brown's old girlfriend and the mother of his son (Pam Grier), and a couple of ex-gang members (Richard Roundtree, Ron O'Neal).
Here is where the problems begin for this movie. After this great set-up it starts to deteriorate into just pure violence. A previous reviewer says this movie has a "deep message." What's the message, that you have to become as vicious and brutal as the gang you're trying to stop? We see people being executed with a bullet to the brain, burned, having their necks snapped, knifed, beaten with baseball bats, and just gunned down in a all-out hail of gunfire. As the heroes continue their onslaught we see that in the end, they really are no less violent and brutal as the gang. In the final scenes we find Williamson & Brown in a fight with the two current gang leaders while a rival gang looks on. Once they dispose of the hoodlums finally the police, missing completely during the firefight, show up. What started out good ended silly. What a shame.
I would recommend this only to those who are either into Blaxploitation movies or if you have about 100 minutes to kill. Not bad but just could have been SO much better
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Origanal Gangstas
Added 2/2/2006
This movie took me back to my younger days. It was packed with action, with a deep message. I really injoyed the movie and I watch it all the time.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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mark twain sam australia WA Perth
Added 1/13/2006
I personally think that this is one of or if not the best film that Fred Williamson has done. I liked the fight scenes that were very well put together and each fight scene had a bit of realism to it.
Williamson is John Bookman, a former hood who made it to the big time with his smooth football skills. But when the gang that he had created/founded back in his hometown starts shooting at members of his family - including his father - he returns to his old turf, meets with his old partners in crime and walks into an all-out street war to clean up his neighborhood to its rightful state of justice! Now it is old school versus new school in this action packed kick-ass flick.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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familiarity breeds a hit....
Added 10/16/2009
all of the stars in this movie you'll recognize from other 70's blaxploitation flicks; fred williamson, jim kelly, richard roundtree, ron o'neal....as well as blacks from television; isabel sanford, paul winfield, etc...basically the og's get back together to take back their town from the young gangstas....the movie has the feel of a 70's blaxploitation film , even though it was made in the mid-90's...it was good to see pam grier, 70's pin up goddess and black actress come back...she's now curvier and 60, but she's still cool...she's just gotten old, like the rest of us....
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
This was one helluva reunion!
Added 7/11/2007
You couldn't ask for too much more of a black all star cast than this. You've got Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Ron O'neal and Richard Roundtree battling modern day gangs. They're kicking butt and taking names later. Paul Winfield and Isabel Sanford did pretty good as well in one of their last performances in movies. May their souls rest in peace. This is a good one to have in your collection.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
A Good Idea but a Weak Storyline
Added 3/31/2007
I really wanted this movie to be great. I really felt that it had the potential. And you know, it started out pretty good. But the longer the movie goes the weaker it got. It was almost like they started with half a script and when theu got to the end of that they just winged the rest.
The premise of the film is that a gang called the rebels had pretty much taken over the streets of this urban Indiania neighborhood. They are extremely bad and horrifically violent and refuse to let anyone get in their way. One citizen see's one of the gang kill a high school basketball star and calls the cops. The gang retailiates by trashing his store, beating him up, shooting him, and leaving him for dead. Enter John Bookman.
Bookman (Fred Williamson) is the son of the shop owner, an ex-NFL football star, and, it turns out, the original leader of the rebels some 30 years ago. He returns home to find a war zone. After failing to start a dialog with the gang with the help of the local preacher (Paul Winfield) he turns to his old comrads-in-arms to try and take back the streets.
Joined by his best friend from the gang days (Jim Brown), who has his own demons to over come (the son he never knew had just been killed by the gang) they begin to orchestrate a neighborhood revolt. Joining them is Brown's old girlfriend and the mother of his son (Pam Grier), and a couple of ex-gang members (Richard Roundtree, Ron O'Neal).
Here is where the problems begin for this movie. After this great set-up it starts to deteriorate into just pure violence. A previous reviewer says this movie has a "deep message." What's the message, that you have to become as vicious and brutal as the gang you're trying to stop? We see people being executed with a bullet to the brain, burned, having their necks snapped, knifed, beaten with baseball bats, and just gunned down in a all-out hail of gunfire. As the heroes continue their onslaught we see that in the end, they really are no less violent and brutal as the gang. In the final scenes we find Williamson & Brown in a fight with the two current gang leaders while a rival gang looks on. Once they dispose of the hoodlums finally the police, missing completely during the firefight, show up. What started out good ended silly. What a shame.
I would recommend this only to those who are either into Blaxploitation movies or if you have about 100 minutes to kill. Not bad but just could have been SO much better
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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