Tough take-charge lawman Buford Pusser (Bo Svenson ably filling in for Joe Don Baker) gets reelected as sheriff and continues to go after moonshiners as well as the folks who killed his wife.
Director Earl Bellamy keeps the familiar, but engrossing story moving along at a steady pace, makes nice use of the rural Tennessee locations, and stages several exciting action scenes with a reasonable amount of skill. The strong cast of dependable character actors helps a lot: Luke Askew as no-count ringleader Pinky Dobson, John Davis Chandler as sniveling creep Ray Henry, Robert DoQui as feisty deputy Obra Eaker, Bruce Glover as the loyal Grady Coker, Richard Jaeckel as corrupt stock car driver Stud Pudee, and Logan Ramsey as slimy toad John Witter. Brooke Mills as sassy moll Ruby Ann and Angel Tompkins as sultry femme fatale Marganne Stilson provide tasty eye candy while Libby Boone amuses as smitten receptionist Joan Lashley. However, this PG-rated film lacks the hard gritty edge and raw power of the R-rated original, so it doesn't pack the same fierce punch to the gut that the first one did. Instead this movie feels like it was sanitized to appeal to a bigger family audience, but still manages to be entertaining enough to be worth a watch just the same.
Director Earl Bellamy keeps the familiar, but engrossing story moving along at a steady pace, makes nice use of the rural Tennessee locations, and stages several exciting action scenes with a reasonable amount of skill. The strong cast of dependable character actors helps a lot: Luke Askew as no-count ringleader Pinky Dobson, John Davis Chandler as sniveling creep Ray Henry, Robert DoQui as feisty deputy Obra Eaker, Bruce Glover as the loyal Grady Coker, Richard Jaeckel as corrupt stock car driver Stud Pudee, and Logan Ramsey as slimy toad John Witter. Brooke Mills as sassy moll Ruby Ann and Angel Tompkins as sultry femme fatale Marganne Stilson provide tasty eye candy while Libby Boone amuses as smitten receptionist Joan Lashley. However, this PG-rated film lacks the hard gritty edge and raw power of the R-rated original, so it doesn't pack the same fierce punch to the gut that the first one did. Instead this movie feels like it was sanitized to appeal to a bigger family audience, but still manages to be entertaining enough to be worth a watch just the same.