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Wonderful character development!

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Gritty '80s exploitation revenge movie. Fred Williamson plays Nick, a factory worker who was so fed up with criminals getting away with hurting people that he formed his own vigilante group to do what the law couldn't or wouldn't. Robert Forster plays his friend Eddie who wants nothing to do with vigilantism, even after his young son is killed by a street gang led by Puerto Rican tough guy Rico (Willie Colón). Eddie believes the justice system will take care of the men responsible. When it fails to do so, he realizes the only way to get justice is to take the law into his own hands.Movies like this were all over the '70s and '80s, most notably with Charles Bronson's Death Wish series. The point of these movies was to remind us that the cities were overrun by multicultural gangs of rapists and killers. This one isn't quite as visceral and shocking as some of them but it has its moments. Forster's fine but Williamson really steals the show. Nice appearance by Woody Strode as a prison inmate who looks after Forster during his brief prison stay. Carol Lynley plays a well-meaning but ineffectual district attorney. Nice score, particularly in the last half when business picks up. Unlike the Death Wish series, which has some "so bad it's good" qualities beyond the first movie, this one is deadly serious and that works against it in a way. It also meanders in the middle in order to drag out a simple revenge plot. It's worth a look but fans of cheesy guilty pleasure actioners might feel a little disappointed.

Director William Lustig followed up his classic "Maniac" with this equally potent thriller. Robert Forster offers an interesting, low key portrayal of Eddie Marino, a blue collar guy whose wife and son are savagely attacked by loathsome punks. When Eddie realizes that he cannot rely on the "justice" system - including a crooked defense attorney ("Maniac" star Joe Spinell, in an amusing cameo) and an incompetent judge (Vincent Beck), he finally takes a friend, Nick (Fred "The Hammer" Williamson), up on his offer to help clean up the streets. The tone is set up very well right away, as The Hammer addresses us all and delivers a monologue bemoaning the level of crime and violence in the modern world. One can indeed see that he and his associates, Ramon (Joseph Carberry) and Burke (Richard Bright), himself a former cop, don't necessarily ENJOY what they do, but see it as being necessary, stressing the basic human right to not have to live in fear. And Lustig and company pull no punches when it comes to the depravity of our antagonists' crimes, not being afraid to cross the line of what might constitute good taste. At the very least, the movie is decent, reasonably gripping entertainment that explores that oft visited theme of what the average person is capable of doing once they've finally been pushed too far. As in "Maniac", the use of the various NYC locations is excellent, and there are some great chase sequences and scenes of strong violence. The widescreen photography (it's cool that this movie was shot in the Panavision aspect ratio) is impressive; the haunting and catchy main theme by composer Jay Chattaway may very well stick in the viewer's head a while after the movie has ended. The good supporting cast is also a big help, featuring such performers as Rutanya Alda as Eddie's wife Vickie, Don Blakely as despicable lowlife Prago, salsa music legend Willie Colon as gang leader Rico, Carol Lynley as the ineffective district attorney, the awesome Woody Strode as imposing convict Rake, Frank Pesce as drug dealing scum "Blueboy", Peter Savage (to whom the movie is dedicated) as big shot gangster Mr. Stokes, and busy 80's action movie regular Steve James as Patrolman Gibbons. (Keep an eye out for the walk on by Lustig as he exits an elevator.) The Hammer is especially fun to watch in one of his best ever roles; overall, "Vigilante" is good of its kind and packs a pretty mean punch. Seven out of 10.

William Lustig's follow-up to MANIAC concerns a blue-collar worker (Robert Forster) whose wife and child are attacked by a gang of punks (right out of John Carpenter's ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13), with a crooked judge allowing one of them (the one who knifed the wife) off without time served. Instead, Forster is sentenced to 30 days in prison (Rikers, presented as if Hell behind bars) for trying to strangle the judge (and rightfully so) while his co-workers (led by Fred "The Hammer" Williamson) have formed a vigilante trio after the head honcho behind the drugs trafficking to teenagers on his street. When Forster gets out of prison he wants revenge on those who have wronged him, joining up with Williamson and his men.This movie is essentially Lustig's DEATH WISH; Forster stepping into the Bronson Paul Kersey role. Williamson is one cool customer, though, and the New York locations offer flavor, grit, and color heightening the action scenes and adding potency to the subject matter. While not exactly a nightmarish wasteland as the city Bronson must contend with in DEATH WISH III, New York City sure seems dangerous enough through Lustig's lens. Nothing original and Forster, while getting revenge on the main culprits behind his loss (his son is shot-gun blast with the killer chased by Forster in Lustig's own French Connection street car chase, Forster's wife leaving him because of her trauma), doesn't necessarily get as even on the entire group of the Headhunters as Kersey did in DEATH WISH II. The film features plenty of use of blood squibs as one scene shows the Headhunters gang opening fire (with machine guns) on a patrol car, blowing away two policemen, with Williamson shot-gun blasting a wealthy drug supplier masquerading as an Italian businessman. Woody Strode has a cameo as a prisoner in Rikers who saves Forster from a shower room rape, certain to elicit applause—he leaves more of an impression with a few minutes than many do with two hours. Williamson's charisma alone adds value to this movie, even if it does cover familiar ground. Joe Spinell has another memorable supporting part as an oily attorney who seems to be in cahoots with the judge, both willing to use the courts to get scumbags off if they can afford them.

Vigilante (1983) *** (out of 4) Working class Eddie Marino (Robert Forster) has his child killed and wife severely beaten by a group of thugs. He believes in the law so he allows the courts to handle it but the criminal gets off without any time so Eddie joins a vigilante group led by his friend (Fred Williamson) and goes out for revenge. It's funny but when DEATH WISH was released we got countless exploitation films about vigilantes and it must have felt like deja vu when DEATH WISH II made a ton of cash at the box office and then more rips came. I think it's same to say this movie was inspired by the DEATH WISH films but also various Italian crime movies from the 70s. If you're looking for art then I'd recommend staying away from this but if you like "B" exploitation movies and are a fan of the vigilante genre then you should eat this one up. This was Lustig's first movie after MANIAC so I was a little surprised to see how non-violent this thing was. Sure, we've got some blood and some shootings but the movie is pretty tame in terms of the violence and DEATH WISH II is a lot more graphic. The attack sequence here contains one big jump sequence that works extremely well and Lustig's direction handles it perfectly and builds up some nice suspense. Lustig's direction also works perfectly in the scenes inside the courtroom where we're witnessing the bad guy getting away with the crime. The way he gets away with it and how big of a jerk the judge is are both overblown to a point but the emotion is still there and effective. The film isn't one with a message and I don't think it's trying to say anything too deep. We've got a bunch of scumbags and Forster and Williamson are here to kill them. That's pretty much all the film offers and that's more than enough as both actors are good here in their roles. Forster is more laid back and calm but it mixes well with the tougher, more vocal Williamson. The supporting cast includes some familiar faces including Richard Bright (THE GODFATHER), Don Blakely (BRUBAKER) and Joe Spinell as the crooked lawyer. We even get Wood Strode is a very memorable and tough part. The film has a lot of weak points, including some very silly dialogue, but people aren't coming to this film and expecting CITIZEN KANE. They're expecting light entertainment and Lustig and company deliver just that. It's a fun way to kill 90-minutes so fans of the genre should enjoy it.