VividSimon
Simply Perfect
ChicRawIdol
A brilliant film that helped define a genre
Kimball
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
jarrodmcdonald-1
I'm watching THE BORN LOSERS, the first Billy Jack movie. What a time capsule! Somewhat naive in its overall philosophy but relatively harmless...and certainly entertaining.Jane Russell's extended cameo is a bit embarrassing. She has an over-the-top scene where she has to hit some cops and push them out the front door of her trailer. Of course, in the real world she would have been arrested on the spot for doing that. I do like all the on-location filming that occurred along some of these southern California coastal communities. Supposedly the place where the biker gang hangs out (in Seal Beach) once belonged to Rudolph Valentino.
AaronCapenBanner
Tom Laughlin directed and stars as Billy Jack, a former Green Beret and jaded Vietnam war veteran who is trying to live peacefully in a small California town that is overrun with a dangerous motorcycle gang that terrorizes residents. After one motorist is severely beaten, and several young women attacked, Billy takes one of them under his protection, and sets out to defeat the gang, despite being virtually alone. Billy must use his considerable martial arts skills and his rifle to accomplish this. Debut of popular character Billy Jack is mostly a preview of what was to come; film itself is dreary and unappealing. First of four films.
steve-974-698135
If you like Billy Jack, this is for you. Over 2 hours of a leading actress that can't act, a leading man who stands still without expression, and an inane group of men who are supposed to be dangerous because they are slightly bizarre. Sprinkle in ten minutes of Billy kicking big donkey, and you have the formula.Tom Laughlin knew a winner when he saw one and would use the main elements of this film in all of his future Billy Jack movies. In later films, his real-life wife would take over the role of the leading actress that can't act.This is a very low-budget movie. Future Billy Jack against the world movies had a couple more bucks. But true to form, as in all Billy Jack movies, there is no competent acting anywhere.Personally, none of this stuff turns me off of Billy Jack movies. In one movie, I see it for the gas station scene. In another, I want to see Billy put his right foot up against the guy's left ear. In a third, I want to see him shoot it out.For an anti-war pinko, Laughlin sure knows how to create some nice fight scenes. If the man would have moved a few more times per pic, he would have been a major star. But his style is to stand around for most of the movie with a deadpan expression, and then finally kick some butt.The Billy Jack movies are a lot like chitlins, limburger cheese, or kim chee. If you like that stuff, you don't mind the smell.This one stinks to high heaven.But it's a Billy Jack stink.
Michael Morrison
For some reason, I remember this as being the target of jokes and sneers when it was new.Making sure to avoid prejudice, wanting to see it myself and know for sure, I recorded it when it premiered on Turner Classic Movies so I could watch in the right mood.What a pleasant surprise it turned out to be.To the best of my weakening memory, I don't believe I've ever seen Tom Laughlin and now I wonder why.First, he was a really good-looking guy, and he was a very pleasant personality on screen. He should have become a major player.Elizabeth James might not have been the best actress around in the '60s and '70s, but my gosh was she a looker. She had a fit, athletic presence, and just glowed on the screen, and she should also have been a major player.And why isn't there more information about her? She seems a fascinating person.Not such a surprise, but really deserving prominent mention, was Jane Russell's performance.She has not been treated with the respect I think she deserves, having not completely recovered from the "wouldn't you like to tussle with Russell?" PR nonsense from her first movie, "The Outlaw." But she was, frankly, great in this small part. Actually, she had been turning in great performances for a long time, and she has been great because she made the effort to become an actress, and not just coast on her looks.Jeremy Slate was so good in his villainous role, his character was almost admirable, almost likable. The man is a standout in any movie he is in. He's been gone a little more than two years now, and he left a void.Let's be honest: The script could have used a good editor. There were some hokey moments that could have been fixed with just a little effort before production.But all in all, this is a good movie, within the context of what it tried to do and be.Now I look forward to seeing the other "Billy Jack" movies.
