Good Guys Wear Black

Rating:
Summary: Norris's first big hit.
Review: This low-budget 'gem' from 1977 (I even remember there being a novelization, got to look for it) was a modest hit and pretty much made Chuck Norris a star. Playing John T. Booker (the way the credit is listed mades me wonder if there would be more John T. Booker movies, alas not to be), Norris is a former CIA commando whose dark past comes back to haunt him when the politician that set him up in a raid turned death trap needs to erase that unpleasent part of history. This is an old school action movie, back when they bothered to have plot and mystery prior to the fist fights and car chases, and it will probably bore many expecting wall to wall kung-fu action. Nothing happens until nearly an hour into the movie, then the pay off begins. Good Guys Wear Black was sold on the strength of one big stunt, Norris (or a double) leaping onto a car and kicking through the windshield to get at the assassin driving. It was impressive then, today it is routine. As I said, it is a low budget movie, one with Southern California locations filling in for Vietnam (sandy trails and eucalyptus trees in Vietnam???) as well as East Coast locations. Pretty giggle inducing. But the movie still works when watched in the context of its era (70s exploitation) and director Ted Post (Hang 'Em High, Magnum Force, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, etc.) keeps the movie professional looking, at least. One shocking bit of trivia, one of the movie's screenwriters is Children of A Lesser God author Mark Medoff. Wow. Recommended only to Norris fans on a nostalgia kick.

Rating:
Summary: not one of Chuck's better efforts
Review: Whew! This one's a stinker. Even if you're a Chuck fan, this one just doesn't measure up. The film is poorly made and put together; sequences in the night in Vietnam are so dark you can hardly see what's going on (but that might have been good...). There's actually not much action; this was supposed to be more of a "drama." If you want a good Chuck movie, stick with Lone Wolf McQuade or An Eye for an Eye.

Rating:
Summary: not one of Chuck's better efforts
Review: Whew! This one's a stinker. Even if you're a Chuck fan, this one just doesn't measure up. The film is poorly made and put together; sequences in the night in Vietnam are so dark you can hardly see what's going on (but that might have been good...). There's actually not much action; this was supposed to be more of a "drama." If you want a good Chuck movie, stick with Lone Wolf McQuade or An Eye for an Eye.