User Reviews

Being in the mood for an easy going,Italian Crime film,I was pleased to recently get hold of a near forgotten movie from 1990,which along with hopefully having some thrilling Crime moments,would also give me a chance to take a look at the work of Enzo G. Castellari for the very first time.

The plot:

Ever since having left his war buddies and his long term partner in Jamaica,Hammer has been staying completely focused on taking down the many gangs of Miami.Getting a sight for sore eyes,Hammer is surprised when an old war buddy of his called Greg appears,telling him that he needs to urgently speak to him.Telling him that some serious trouble is starting in Jamaica related to powerful drug gangs the are attempting to "rule" the area's that his war buddies currently reside at,Hammer promise Greg that although he will not go back to Jamaica,he will do everything he can to help out with the problem in Miami.Shortly after leaving Greg,Hammer gets the sickening image of a group of hit men murdering Greg in his car.Angered by having witnessed one of his best friends get brutally killed,Hammer decides that he will go to Jamaica to get revenge for Greg and to also discover the troubles that all of his former war buddies are currently facing.

View on the film:

Kicking off the proceedings with a car chase which ends with both cars hitting dozens of cardboard boxes,writer/director Enzo G. Castellari seems determined to include every done to death,straight to Video Action cliché possible,with Hammerhead never being given a real threat,as Castellari shows him knock down all of the gangsters like a bowling ball.Leaving something very much to be desired in his directing,Castellari does thankfully display a real flair with the films screenplay,as a good last minute twist shows that the drugs sold by the gangs have been right under Hammer's eyes ,(or nose!) and also giving the two main actresses (the cute Melonee Rodgers and the wild Donna Rosea) roles which are strongly connected to the movies plot,as Hammer's far from mere push-over former partner,and an increasingly dangerous looking Femme Fatale make sure the actresses never become left in the tool box,as Hammer gets involved in disappointingly uneventful battles.

Hammer (Greene) is a Cop on the Edge. Back in 'Nam, he and a group of buddies had a small clique known as the Storm Riders. When one of said old buddies, Greg (Moldovan) reaches out to him, seemingly in trouble, Hammer responds, but then Greg is murdered by a mysterious assassin (Zagarino). Now Hammer is a cop over the edge. He chases the man, but he escapes. It's then that Hammer goes on vacation to Jamaica, and proceeds to go on a rampage and cause all sorts of havoc while there. Hammer must fight through corruption, drug dealers, liars, cheaters, and just about every sort of baddie there is. Will he ever make it back to U.S. alive? Find out today! "Wow, there's actually a movie with Daniel Greene, Frank Zagarino and Jeff Moldovan and it's directed by Enzo G. Castellari? That's amazing!" That quote was taken from...us, when we realized the movie Hammer existed. And you thought Fred Williamson was the only Hammer. Well, it turns out Daniel Greene can Hammer it up with the best of them. With his hair lookin' better than ever, Greene puts in a winning lead performance. The greatness of Enzo just proves itself even more with this highly entertaining and enjoyable romp.

The opening chase between Greene and Zagarino is an impressive movie highlight, and they even get a jet ski chase again later. Zagarino is perfectly cast, because he doesn't say anything and he's the slippery bad guy who the audience can readily hate. Plus he has some awesome sunglasses. Weirdly enough, during the first chase scene, on the soundtrack we get the "Sweet Child O' Mine" guitar solo, but it's never credited anywhere. Could it be a possible under-the-radar steal? It does firmly place the movie in 1990, however. Right where movies should be. It was also nice to see Masterblaster (1987) co-stars Moldovan and Donna Rosea reunited in a different movie.

In all fairness, the movie does start to run out of steam just a tad somewhere towards the middle/end, but that's a common thing and very slight in this case. Enzo hits all the right action notes, including the time-honored final warehouse shootout. There really is plenty here for fans to sink their teeth into, and this movie should be more well known.

Featuring the catchy tune "Island Man" by Charlie Cannon, Hammer should satisfy anyone's craving for classic early-90's action.