Hunky, stone-faced Tony Young plays Mitch, a Green Beret whose fiancee (a very young Cheryl Ladd, in her feature film debut) is killed in an auto accident early in the picture. Said accident was the result of instigation by a jerk biker named Casey (Michael Haynes, who also co-wrote the story & screenplay), who rides with the gang The Devils. The Devils are led by the charismatic T.J. (William Smith), who is not a one-dimensional villain (at the accident site, his first instinct is to do the right thing) but more of a cocky antagonist. Well, Mitch finally figures out whodunit, and he intends to dish out some justice (NOT revenge) with the help of his fellow servicemen (Peter Brown, singer Marvin Gaye (!), and Michael Stearns).
The great thing about B pictures such as this one is that they rarely reek of pretension; they just set out to entertain the viewer, and do so in style. The movie benefits from an engaging set of heroes and an *equally* engaging group of antagonists (since this picture is rated PG, it's not overly violent or sexual). That may turn off those viewers hoping for something a lot more exploitative. But the movie is fun, and contains some well-executed action scenes, and good use of rural California locations. It gets the ball rolling quickly, and there's rarely a let-up.
Young is well suited to his part, but top-billed Bill Smith is in his element, having done other pictures like this (as has co-star Larry Bishop, who plays pinball fanatic Gabe). Other "names" or otherwise familiar faces in the cast include another singer, Bobby "Boris" Pickett, lovely Kathrine Baumann, and character actor Robert Ridgely. Dan Haggerty appears unbilled, as does director Lee Frost, who plays a motorcycle salesman. Frosts' filmmaking partner, producer Wes Bishop, plays a sheriff.
For a Vietnam War era picture, this *is* a little unusual (but welcome) in portraying the bikers in a fairly negative way, and the military as the heroes. And it's a hoot seeing our heroes bring all their training and weapons expertise to bear, in battle with these nefarious outlaws. It leads to a priceless final sequence that should have the audience chuckling.
Seven out of 10.
The great thing about B pictures such as this one is that they rarely reek of pretension; they just set out to entertain the viewer, and do so in style. The movie benefits from an engaging set of heroes and an *equally* engaging group of antagonists (since this picture is rated PG, it's not overly violent or sexual). That may turn off those viewers hoping for something a lot more exploitative. But the movie is fun, and contains some well-executed action scenes, and good use of rural California locations. It gets the ball rolling quickly, and there's rarely a let-up.
Young is well suited to his part, but top-billed Bill Smith is in his element, having done other pictures like this (as has co-star Larry Bishop, who plays pinball fanatic Gabe). Other "names" or otherwise familiar faces in the cast include another singer, Bobby "Boris" Pickett, lovely Kathrine Baumann, and character actor Robert Ridgely. Dan Haggerty appears unbilled, as does director Lee Frost, who plays a motorcycle salesman. Frosts' filmmaking partner, producer Wes Bishop, plays a sheriff.
For a Vietnam War era picture, this *is* a little unusual (but welcome) in portraying the bikers in a fairly negative way, and the military as the heroes. And it's a hoot seeing our heroes bring all their training and weapons expertise to bear, in battle with these nefarious outlaws. It leads to a priceless final sequence that should have the audience chuckling.
Seven out of 10.