Customer Reviews

Original Gangstas

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The reason to watch this movie is the reunion for those of us who remember the protagonists from the era of blaxploitation films in which we were introduced to them/ Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, reconvene to take back their home town of Gary, Indiana from several well organized and terribly violent street gangs.

Also appearing in almost cameo roles are Ron O'Neal ("Superfly") and Richard Roundtree (the original John Shaft). Seeing them all together is a treat, but left me wondering why this quintet did not get more screen time all together. It is particularly pleasing to see Brown and Grier, who, as one of the expert reviewers noted, have aged very very well. However, the re-ignition of their former relationship is tepid and seemingly forced. By contrast, it has nowhere near the intensity seen when barely restrained Brown confronts a gang leader about the murder of his son.

I agree that the simplistic plot and the consistent (and predictable) violence keep this from being one of the great films of our time. Those who remember the first time seeing these individuals in character now some thirty years ago will enjoy seeing them all together again, and that makes this disc worthwhile.

What a collection of stars you'll never see again! Superfly, Foxy Brown, Black Caesar, football star Jim Brown and Shaft. It's the Superfriends of Blaxploitation films! Yes, it's violent and the plot is basic. Don't expect to be intellectully stimulated, however this film will entertain you. The action is great and so are the one liners! This is a must see for any fan of the genre. Don't know what to rent tonight? Rent ORIGINAL GANGSTAS!

You couldn't ask for too much more of a black all star cast than this. You've got Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Ron O'neal and Richard Roundtree battling modern day gangs. They're kicking butt and taking names later. Paul Winfield and Isabel Sanford did pretty good as well in one of their last performances in movies. May their souls rest in peace. This is a good one to have in your collection.

Love this film. Enjoy seeing all the "Black Explotation" heros. I consider it a must have for any collection.

I really wanted this movie to be great. I really felt that it had the potential. And you know, it started out pretty good. But the longer the movie goes the weaker it got. It was almost like they started with half a script and when theu got to the end of that they just winged the rest.

The premise of the film is that a gang called the rebels had pretty much taken over the streets of this urban Indiania neighborhood. They are extremely bad and horrifically violent and refuse to let anyone get in their way. One citizen see's one of the gang kill a high school basketball star and calls the cops. The gang retailiates by trashing his store, beating him up, shooting him, and leaving him for dead. Enter John Bookman.

Bookman (Fred Williamson) is the son of the shop owner, an ex-NFL football star, and, it turns out, the original leader of the rebels some 30 years ago. He returns home to find a war zone. After failing to start a dialog with the gang with the help of the local preacher (Paul Winfield) he turns to his old comrads-in-arms to try and take back the streets.

Joined by his best friend from the gang days (Jim Brown), who has his own demons to over come (the son he never knew had just been killed by the gang) they begin to orchestrate a neighborhood revolt. Joining them is Brown's old girlfriend and the mother of his son (Pam Grier), and a couple of ex-gang members (Richard Roundtree, Ron O'Neal).

Here is where the problems begin for this movie. After this great set-up it starts to deteriorate into just pure violence. A previous reviewer says this movie has a "deep message." What's the message, that you have to become as vicious and brutal as the gang you're trying to stop? We see people being executed with a bullet to the brain, burned, having their necks snapped, knifed, beaten with baseball bats, and just gunned down in a all-out hail of gunfire. As the heroes continue their onslaught we see that in the end, they really are no less violent and brutal as the gang. In the final scenes we find Williamson & Brown in a fight with the two current gang leaders while a rival gang looks on. Once they dispose of the hoodlums finally the police, missing completely during the firefight, show up. What started out good ended silly. What a shame.

I would recommend this only to those who are either into Blaxploitation movies or if you have about 100 minutes to kill. Not bad but just could have been SO much better

This movie took me back to my younger days. It was packed with action, with a deep message. I really injoyed the movie and I watch it all the time.

I personally think that this is one of or if not the best film that Fred Williamson has done. I liked the fight scenes that were very well put together and each fight scene had a bit of realism to it.

Williamson is John Bookman, a former hood who made it to the big time with his smooth football skills. But when the gang that he had created/founded back in his hometown starts shooting at members of his family - including his father - he returns to his old turf, meets with his old partners in crime and walks into an all-out street war to clean up his neighborhood to its rightful state of justice! Now it is old school versus new school in this action packed kick-ass flick.

A veteran cast make this update of the blaxploitation genre worth watching. Fred Williamson (Black Caeser), Jim Brown (Slaughter), Pam Grier (Coffy/Foxy Brown), Richard Roundtree (Shaft) and Ron O' Neal (Superfly) join forces to combat the newer, younger version of the same gang they formed twenty years prior.

Fred Williamson(Black Ceasar, From Dusk Till Dawn) is John Bookman and he returns home after his father is shot up by a gang called the rebels, a gang he formed back in his day, led by Spyro and Damien..two ruthless thugs who changed the gang from what it used to be, the rebels think they own the streets. well Bookman and co. join forces to try to stop them. an allstar cast including Jim Brown(Mars Attacks,Salughter) Ron O'Neal(Superfly), Pam Grier(Ghost Of Mars, Foxy Brown, Jackie Brown), Paul Winfield(Mars Attacks, The Terminator), Richard Roundtree(Antitrust, Shaft, Corky Romando) and many more. takes its toll on the 70's black films but is too much uninspired with wooden performances and a lack of, anything...was expecting much more

Original Gangstas: Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier. Williamson is John Bookman, former football pro turned coach, who comes back to his old hometown to find it overrun by gangs. The last straw is when Bookman's dad is assaulted and his grocery store vandalized. Grier is the mom of a basketball prodigy slain by the Rebels, one of three major gangs in the city. Brown is Bookman's best friend who comes back to bury his son. In a touch of irony, the gangs are the modern day incarnation of the crews started by Bookman & his friends decades ago. But whereas the original intent was to be a teen militia of sorts, the modern crews-mostly people well over 21-- are about nothing but victimizing their neighborhood.

Filmed entirely on location in Gary, Indiana, the film uses many city landmarks to illustrate the decay that has taken place. The film rightly postulates that the abrupt downsizing of the US Steel mill in the late 60's started an economic domino effect that the city has yet to recover from. Abandoned storefronts still abound, while neighborhoods are peppered with derelict houses and other rag-tag buildings.
Supporting roles are offered by Robert Forster as a police detective, and Ron O'Neal & Richard Roundtree as longtime residents who join the effort to take the city back.

Williamson and his contemporaries first came to prominence in the black action movie trend of the 70's. Some of his real life was slipped into the script: Williamson was a Northwestern football star before turning pro; also, according to the star the film was inspired from an encounter he had while visiting his mother, who still lives in Gary.

Fred and the actors of his generation deserve better from the Hollywood industry-- folks like Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have used them in a handful of contemporary films, but they should have the status of a Clint Eastwood or Burt Reynolds..