Plot: What’s it about?
Charles Bronson stars as Vince Majestyk. He’s an Ex-con turned melon farmer who runs into trouble from some of the locals trying to run him out of business and do things their own way. We learn very early on that Majestyk isn’t one who is easily intimidated. He’s able to overpower men and get the upper hand without much effort. The character has only small traces of Paul Kersey from the Death Wish films, but it’s equally as entertaining as those. After Majestyk gets put in jail only for defending himself, the prison bus transferring him as well as a few other prisoners is shot up. It’s not long before Majestyk escapes, along with a hit man Frank Renda (Al Lettieri). Renda’s men are the ones shooting at the bus to try to break him out. It’s clear that Renda isn’t too fond of Majestyk, and ultimately finds himself handcuffed and on the loose under Majestyk’s control. Frank strikes a deal with him in exchange for letting him go, he’ll be rewarded with a large sum of money. Majestyk has plans of his own and eventually Frank escapes Scot-free. Frank very well could let the whole ordeal go and be a free man, however, his arrogance gets the better of him and he seeks revenge on Majestyk.
This marks my third film recently that was penned by Elmore Leonard. It might not be the best or most memorable script, but the story is simple and straightforward. Lettieri also makes for a fine villain. He has a very physically imposing presence that you might find yourself secretly rooting for him. The film has plenty of action and moves along nicely, hardly spending too much time on secondary plot devices. Renda wants to kill Majestyk and he finds himself fighting back. It’s all fairly predictable, but it never stops being entertaining. The climax takes place at a backwoods cabin where the gunfire is kicked up a notch. I do wish there was more of a showdown between Majestyk and Renda, but that’s a minor nitpick in an otherwise solid and entertaining flick. I enjoyed the small town setting and the simplicity of the story. They don’t make a lot of straight up action flicks like this anymore. Fans will definitely want to add this to their collection. For all others, it’s worth checking out for sure. I was also surprised by the amount of violence for a PG film, but I’ve also seen much worse.
Video: How’s it look?
This is a considerable step up from MGM’s old DVD. The transfer now has a clean, polished look to it. To be sure, the film is over 40 years old, but it looks great. Only occasional hiccups emerge, but they’re never overly distracting. The print is clean and colors are nice and bold. The details on the older vehicles can also be seen very clear. I spotted dirt and debris in a few scenes. I feel pleased with the transfer. It’s an AVC encoded image with a 1.85:1 ratio.
Audio: How’s it sound?
We get a solid DTS 2.0 track that serves its purpose. The action comes across nice and strong and vocals were also clear and concise. Since this is only a 2.0 track, don’t expect anything too over-the-top, but it still works nicely.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Theatrical Trailer – I wish more was included, but that’s all she wrote.
