Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

stevenfallonnyc If anyone is wondering if "Vigilante Force" is going to be worth a viewing, just look at three things: 1) Jan Michael-Vincent; 2) Kris Kristofferson, and 3) made in 1976. Now that is the formula for a great time! The plot is simple: Kris and his war buddies are recruited by the town to clean it up, but then rule it with an iron fist (and guns, and even a bazooka). His bro Jan doesn't take kindly to this, and it all leads up the the proverbial Big Showdown.Now, when a film starts off with goofy redneck music while scenes of violence are happening, you know it's the 70's and you know you're in for a good time. There's tons of gunfire and fighting as well as bar brawls and heck, even a rootin' tootin' cockfight.The girls are absolutely gorgeous - Bernadette Peters and Victoria Principal are at their hottest.As for the cast - this is a flick with tons of familiar 70's faces, just when you think you've seen them all, another one pops up. I mean heck, even Dick freaking Miller is in this for a few seconds! And plenty of others you don't know the names of but who you definitely will recognize.Kristofferson is an actor of limited talent, playing every role he gets pretty much the exact same way, but it's all good because he's always fun to watch. Jan is always ready to mix it up, and is also a blast to watch. "Vigilante Force" is definitely a great movie to eat half a pizza to.

Martin Onassis This is a pretty strange movie. It does comes across as an exploitation film with over-the-top violence and unrealistic situations, but unusual for being constructed around rural characters at war with each other, as opposed to an invading 'other'.The movie is an excessive stereotype of Vietnam veterans, in a long line of films that portrayed the vets of that war as dangerous psycopaths. Kris Kristofferson's last line is 'I ain't lost a war yet', as he meets his demise after wreaking a long trail of murder and destruction, including the town's chief of police and his brother's girlfriend in a particularly chilling scene. However, Kristofferson is a good enough actor, and charismatic enough, to carry this villain with a surprising depth. Vincent is clearly the golden boy, but with enough intensity layered over his clean cut goodness. The movie bears some plot resemblance to Winchester 73 where Jimmy Stewart tries to tolerate a criminal brother until being forced to act against him.The movie has b-movie grade action, though the presence of Kristofferson, Vincent, a gorgeous Victoria Principal and Bernadette Peters give it an A-grade lineup.I give it a 7 for being a long lost view into an American psyche of post-Vietnam/pre-Reagan introspection, paranoia, and confusion, and a movie industry that was willing to address such topics at that time.Seen on the THIS channel, a great network that keeps playing lots of old movies of the 70s through 90s, regardless of political bent.

ptb-8 I wonder if this mid 70s drive-in actioner is still on the Bernadette Peters CV? near Sunday IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE? Perhaps MGM saw this and decided she HAD to be in PENNIES FROM HEAVEN....perhaps the Broadway casting office for her recent role in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN designed posters that read: "Bernadette (VIGILANTE FORCE) Peters now on Broadway in Irving Berlin's greatest musical triumph....." it's all as valid as "Stephen Boyd, star of BEN HUR now in his biggest film: JUMBO"............ anyway...In the mid 70s, wasn't Jan Michael Vincent a major star! There was legions of action fans ready to roll up to the drive in and not molest their girlfriends because they would actually watch all the film! VIGILANTE FORCE is quite a brutal 70s action thriller and has some astonishing stunt fights with the added horror of baseball bats as weapons. I personally was really shocked by these wild fights and found them really upsetting. I think today this film deserves re appraisal for capturing the feel of tough nasty rural town lawlessness and drunken lout rule ...and all in a fantastic 70s time. The look of this film alone would get a big willing audience. Today these films don't exist instead we get disgusting mutilation crap like THE DEVILS REJECTS or WOLF CREEK. In the 70s this action drive in movie was a real action movie, a modern western with trucks and Jack Daniel bars and chicks in teeny weeny denim hotpants. Great fun. Occasionally thumping but not horrible. There is an unforgettable early scene in this film where the boys screech to town in their pickup truck and spin into the main street... it is a jamboree of hooter'n and holler'n and dust and yellin and screamin..all in camera crane sweep.. a whole street of wild Friday afternoon drinkin and crashing! What a stunt vista! unforgettable after 30 years...and a great way to establish what we are in for. DUKES OF HAZZARD meets BUCKTOWN. Hell then breaks loose even more...and poor Miss Peters has to dodge the baseball bats while trying to have a relationship. VIGILANTE FORCE was part of a great series of films - often most with JMV as well - like THE STREETFIGHTER, or BITE THE BULLET or WHITE LINE FEVER., BABY BLUE MARINE, BUSTER AND BILLIE, ALL THE BEASTS AND CHILDREN etc...all well worth seeing again for their purity in presentation...as lean as a Republic serial and as compelling. In the 50s there was a film called THE PHENIX CITY STORY made by Allied Artists as a noir drama. It too has similar themes in an urban setting, and is distinguished by it's tough ideology for the time.

cfc_can This in my opinion is one of the best action movies of the 1970s. It not only features a great cast but is also loaded with wild shootouts and explosions that are still impressive today. The story is about a Vietnam vet (Kris Kristofferson) being recruited by his brother (Jan-Michael Vincent) to help clean up the criminal element in a small town and what happens when Kris starts taking advantage of his position and becomes as bad as the criminals he was hired to get rid of. It's great seeing Kris play against type. Bernadette Peeters and Victoria Principal both offer great support as the respective ladies of the two male stars. Jan-Michael shows real movie star persona in this film. I don't think Vigilante Force is on video but it occasionally shows up on TV. It's a great flick for guys who like movies.