Customer Reviews

I the Jury [VHS]

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
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For Mature Adults Only! Contains male nudity and full frontal female nudity. Scenes of orgy and sexual situations. Rated "R".
Based upon the novel by Mickey Spillane.
Armand Assante is "Mike Hammer", a private detective in new York City. There is a killer on the loose. He has already killed a one-arm cop in his home. Then each furthur victim has some connection to the first victim. Mike Hammer is close on the trail and meets some sexy women along the way. This case is so dangerous he can't even trust his friends on the force.
Armand Assante really made this film for me.
Also in the cast: Laurene Landon, Judson Scott, Julia Barr, Barbara Carrera, Alan King, Geoffrey Lewis, Paul Sorvino, Lee Anne Harris and Lynette Harris.

This is a 1980's updating of the classic 50's pulp novel by the great Mickey Spillane and it has its fair share of violence and sex -and is not recommended for those who find such elements unacceptable .
The script is by Larry Cohen -who was originally slated to direct but was removed from the project after shooting began .His script has little to do with the original book and if you want a movie that follows the Spillane plot then you need to go back to the original .
Mike Hammer goes hunting for the guys who killed his old army buddy and in so doing finds himself up to his ears in a complex plot involving the Syndicate , the CIA and mind control techniques being used to create robot assassins .There is also a sex clinic stirred into the plot along the way .
The story is frankly untidy and sprawling and the movie would have best been served by adhering to the pure lines of the original novel rather than pursuing then modish ideas and plot devices .The movie is thus incoherent at times and it seems as if some quite large chunks of plot exposition were jettisoned in order to make room for more action sequences
Ignore the confused and disjointed plot however and there are some good things about I, The Jury -the action scenes are well handled ,there is the odd sharp and cynical line and the acting especially from Armand Assante as Hammer is good .
Its not a bad movie but given the talent involved it could and should have been a lot better .Watchable -if you are stuck for something better to do

This is pretty much a 1982 by-the-numbers rehash of both the Mickey Spillane 1947 novel and the 1953 film of the same name. Here, though, Mike Hammer's secretary Velda not only carries a gun but can use it as well as her boss. And here as well, unlike the 1953 Hollywood Code restrictions that kept film directors from showing all the naughty bits, director Richard Heffron can display Armand Assante's Hammer and Barbara Carrera's sexy Caroline Bennett going at it with wild abandon.

This movie moves through its Spillane-juiced plot fairly effortlessly. Assante is fine, Paul Sorvino is appropriately tight-lipped as Pat Chambers, Mike Hammer's police force contact, and the women all flagrantly disobey women's lib edicts of equal status and respect by submitting (either immediately or eventually) to Hammer's virile presence.

Spillane was known, when he started out, as the number one purveyor of pure pulp in detective fiction--i.e., overt sex and violence. Heffron's film gives a few sly winks at this; the director realizes that juxtaposing some of the writer's themes with '80s mentality fits and doesn't fit, both at the same time. This paradox mostly works because nobody watching the film has to think much about anything at all--it IS pure pulp. Hammer is subjected to the pain of seeing the corpse of his best friend and to some gritty torture, later in the film, and this all adds to the juicy pulpy ride.

Not great, but not bad. An evening's diversion for those of you who don't mind a slightly sarcastic "return" to the mores of the '50s couched in '80s 'hipness'.

No doubt he was compared to Pacino at the time, but Assante IS Mike Hammer. His tough as nails attitude that he brings to the role is mesmerizing. The opening title sequence, with music by Bill Conti was very well done. I also think that the filmakers were hoping this would be the first of many sequels or chapters ( much like James Bond 007 ). Sadly, this was the only one starring Assante. I would have loved to have seen a series of Mike Hammer adventures on the big screen, but we were instead jilted into the awful TV Series starring Stacey Keach. I, the Jury, remains a first class thriller. The plot is complicated, but Assante steals the show as the womanizing PI. If this movie were made today, it would be unrecognizable. The gratuitious nudity would easily offend today's feminists so that would be cut. Then there's the graphic violence which would be too much for today's overly sensitive audiences. I,the Jury, is filled with politically incorrect scenes and roles, but that's what makes it great to watch today. The supporting cast is also wonderful to watch: Paul Sorvino as the police Captain, Alan King as the Mafioso boss, and Barbara Carerra as the Sex Clinic doctor. The action is swift, the music is first class, and the women are goregous. Assante delivers on all levels and the direction is as sharp as the dialog. If you can handle the pace of this mystery-thriller and the no-holds- barred Mickey Spillane, then buy this one today. ( Not on DVD yet-Only VHS )

I'm a fan of Assante and this film is very period and maybe dated by some people's standards. Personal feel is this is a must watch. The film captures the Mike Hammer character well though I do feel Stacy Keach was the best and Assante's portrayal gave him an interesting Italian feel. Great visuals from wardobe, to feel of the city, to the eye candy.

If you are a fan of the Miami Vice TV series I think you will like this.

This flick starts with a pre-opening credits teaser along the lines of the James bond films. Armand Assante, a forceful, charismatic actor grabs your attention and for the most part keeps it. The absolutely gorgeous Barbara Carrera makes a stunning femme fatale. Not a bad update of Spilanes first Mike Hammer book. It even retains the famous final line. Much truer to the hard-boiled private eye then the watered down tv version of the 80's.

While I have to admit that I find this movie -- in a goofy way -- rather entertaining, Spillane it is not. Still, Assante makes a short swaggering Mike Hammer, Judson Scott as one of the more bizaare villains in movie history, Barbara Carrera and the killer ending like the book.