Vigilante Force - Das Gesetz sind wir

Vigilante Force (1976)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A small town comes under attack from a group of rednecks so a man (Jan-Michael Vincent) decides to talk the Sheriff into letting his Vietnam vet brother (Kris Kristofferson) and his four vet buddies clean things up. The plan starts off good at first but soon the five vets decide to do a few illegal things of their own. VIGILANTE FORCE starts off as a pretty good exploitation flick but it slowly begins to fall apart as the story for some reason switches directions. The beginning of the movie is the type of over-the-top actioneer that you'd expect to see from producer Gene Corman. The start of the movie features a greatest hits package of redneck damage, which includes bar fights, shootings, a stabbing and more violence all of it in drive-in camp fashion. Kristofferson arrives on the scene much like Sam Elliott would in the later cult classic ROAD HOUSE and the movie is still doing good at this part. The actor is very fun in the part and it's entertaining seeing him and his vet buddies walk around putting an end to the trouble. Where the screenplay really lost me was in the second half when they turn these fun guys into coldblooded killers. For the life of me I couldn't understand why they wanted to go this direction but my closest guess is that they wanted the brother versus brother showdown between the two stars. The eventual showdown really doesn't pay off and it also doesn't cool the bad taste left in your mouth from some of the actions that the Kristofferson character does. I won't give any spoilers but some of the murders just make you hate the guy, which completely goes against the feelings they build up early on. Kristofferson is very good in his part as is Vincent as his brother. The supporting cast includes Victoria Principal, Bernadette Peters, Charles Cyphers, Andrew Stevens and John Steadman who is best remembered for Wes Craven's THE HILLS HAVE EYES. As is, the film works good enough in its first half to make it worth viewing but one wishes they had kept up with the fun times instead of doing something different.

Just a few months before "A Star Is Born" was released and made him a box-office name, Kris Kristofferson took on this ungainly role, that of a Vietnam vet who appoints himself judge and executioner in a backwater town run amok. He eliminates anyone (including women) who question his authority, making resident and younger brother Jan-Michael Vincent really sorry he ever asked for his help. Thoughtless and mean-spirited action-thriller from writer-director George Armitage has good location shooting in Simi Valley, CA but an utterly unsympathetic script filled with redneck clichés and ugly violence. Armitage has managed to gather together a most curious supporting cast for the film, including Victoria Principal, Bernadette Peters, Loni Anderson in a bit part, Andrew Stevens, David Doyle, Brad Dexter and Paul Gleason. Unfortunately, the center of the whole thing is Kristofferson, who is despicable throughout. Even viewed as a tacky co-feature or drive-in entry, "Vigilante Force" is a nasty piece of work, and one with a ridiculous climax. * from ****

There is a ton that went wrong with this movie. Haha but the cast kept it alive. Dumb ending as well. About as shallow and thoughtless of a script as you can come by. Haha however again the actors kept it alive.

"Vigilante Force" could have been a good movie. Unfortunately, it's not. What a shame. This movie has a good premise, nice locations and a top-notch cast but its script is a letdown. I think they should have given up on the PG rating and went all out and made a R action movie. If they cranked up the violence, language and maybe had thrown in a little nudity, "Vigilante Force" could have been a movie worth seeing a second time. As it is, it's not. Honorable mention: a dreamy Bernadette Peters, a very dreamy Loni Anderson and a wildly dreamy Victoria Principal.

When this film came out in 1976, Jan-Michael Vincent was at the height of his popularity, though Kris Kristofferson got top billing, Vincent actually steals this movie from Kristofferson. Showing leading man appeal, Vincent shows if given above-average material he could more than carry a movie, though dated, Vigilante Force was a typical blue-collar, mid-70's movie, as previously stated, town police along with Vincent bring in Kristofferson and his buddies to clean-up the town, but then using their power for their own personal gains, Vincent tries to give his brother the benefit of the doubt, until he realizes he now has to drive them out of town or kill them. This movie was probably the peak of Vincent's big screen career, it's hard to believe this movie didn't elevate Vincent to super-star status, though Vincent had a fine run as an actor in the 70's, mainstream appeal evaded Vincent and though he appeared in Burt Reynold's "Hooper" in 1978, by the end of 1979, Vincent's star had fallen and he was relegated to low-budget B movies, eventually turning to T.V. to revive his flagging career.