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Written by Minister_X
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BRONX WARRIORS
* out of *****
Genres
Action
Sci Fi
1982
Directed by
Enzo G. Castellari
Written by
Elisa Briganti
Enzo G. Castellari
Dardano Sacchetti
Cast  | Skulls=Good
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Vic Morrow .... Hammer
Christopher Connelly .... Hot Dog
Fred Williamson .... The Ogre
Mark Gregory .... Trash
Stefania Girolami Goodwin .... Ann
Ennio Girolami .... Ted Fisher
George Eastman .... Golan
Joshua Sinclair .... Ice (as John Loffredo)
Betty Dessy .... Witch
Rocco Lerro .... Hawk
Massimo Vanni .... Blade
Angelo Ragusa .... Leech
Enzo G. Castellari .... Vice-President
Essentially set in a post-apocalyptic future (1990, as this was filmed in the early '80s), the main characters of this film are Trash (looking like a dying rock star on a motorbike) and Anne (the daughter of a power-hungry arms company - the Manhattan Corporation). The beginning of the film sees Anne running away from the clutches of the company to the 'less bad' area of the Bronx, where she meets Trash and his cronies, who rescue her from a set of roller-skaters (self-proclaimed 'The Zombies'). Anne finds in Trash something to keep her going in life, and Trash latches onto this too. Trash and his gang fight the Manhattan Coporation for all they're worth, and lots of people are killed along the way. What a nightmare.
I began this film with averagely good expectations, and sadly it didn't disappoint. Certainly not a great film, and not amazingly written, there were many elements of previous films such as John Carpenter's Escape From New York - but Bronx Warriors misses something that Escape From New York contained, that in my mind was vital to it's success and enjoyment. There are some redeeming features to Bronx Warriors though, and it has some good visual effects in terms of blood and guts (sadly the fighting scenes themselves are a bit weak though). Some of the violence is also funny for the wrong reasons, namely the cheesy dialogue it is paired with. [Unintentional humour always works for me...ED]
The acting in the film is nothing spectacular either, and the lead, Trash (Mark Gregory) is particularly bland, although looking the part. The actors portraying the Manhattan Corporation figures are also rather bad, but then I did take into account that this film is more about the action than the dramatic performances by the cast, etc. The look of the films is probably the strongest aspect and I was pleased to see a very good transfer on the DVD. Colours reflect the post-apocalyptic nature of the film and range from some fairly bright colours to some depressing and 'earthy' looks and all work well on the whole. Also, importantly, the blood colour looks realistic, which made the violence more 'real' in my mind.
Altogether a mixed bag of sorts, a watchable film but not one that comes recommended, especially given the previous (and better) types of film in this genre. Definitely not one of Enzo G. Castelleri's finest.
Minister X’s reviews also appear on DVD Compare, where they include details of the DVD release. For this review click here. Discuss this article on the forums. (14 posts)
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