Vigilante Force
So I'm returning from a long convalescence following some surgery. I suppose the upside would be the painkillers which is why I'm calling this largely uncalled for return "Movies I Watched while doped up on Vicodin". Way back in the mid-seventies I used to go to the movies by myself a lot. I was ten or so and never could really grasp why my hideous neighbor kids didn't wanna go see THE DEVIL'S RAIN, GRIZZLY,KILLER ELITE and VIGILANTE FORCE. Now that I'm older I think it was that their parents didn't want their kids around my schizophrenic mom or drug addicted older brother. So I would get dropped off a lot at either the Oakwood Cinema or it's more exploitation centered bad twin, the West Side. Both were in Gretna, New Orleans. Which gets us to the George Armitage feature, VIGILANTE FORCE. I really felt that last period so I'm gonna pop a couple of pills and will be right back.
So there's a tough town full of red necks and some variation of oil field trash who get drunk,fight and cause big trouble. Jan Michael Vincent lives there with his young daughter and it turns out he has a badass older brother named Kris Kristofferson. His character name doesn't really matter as he's basically Kris Kristofferson. The town business guys decide to hire Viet Nam vet Kris as a cop along with his vet buddies as a Vigilante Force - except they're not really vigilantes. At first they bust some heads and establish some "Earp Brothers" style order. Just typing "Earp Brothers" makes me wanna watch TOMBSTONE. But it turns out they're all criminal lowlifes who start running the gambling/drug/hooker trade and in their spare time are planning the big heist on the Fourth of July. If there's one thing you don't want it's a panic on the Fourth of July. On top of JMV and KK the movies also stars Bernadette Peters for some reason, and the super foxy Victoria Principal. I realize I'm not saying much about the movie, but the plot is fairly simple. It's a WALKING TALL riff with a twist. It's entertaining enough but the real problem with it is that it needed to be R-rated. It's just not sleazy enough what with the lack of titties. But damn does Victoria Principal look hot. There's some nice moments here and there like the band guys dressing up in band uniforms to pull the heist and the cock fight. But when is a cock fight never less than awesome? Thing is there is some message to the picture as they sorta play with the disillusionment of the 'Nam vets and the bond between different types of brothers, but it doesn't go too deep. One moment sticks out when KK kills a woman, it's just so matter of fact and cold that it really sticks with you. The big heist never happens which is a bit of a letdown but that's okay. A decent enough drive in picture all in all.