The Trial of Billy Jack

After serving his sentence for involuntary manslaughter, "Billy Jack" (Tom Laughlin) is released from prison and returns to the Freedom School on the Navajo Reservation. However, the residents of the nearby town still hold a great deal of animosity toward both him and the students at the school and the illegal harassment continues unabated. It gets so bad that both the students and Billy Jack retaliate in kind and this only aggravates the situation even worse. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a fairly long and dull movie which featured an incoherent plot, bad acting and equally awful music. That said, while I have no doubt there are some who either identify with this particular era in American history or idolize this motion picture, I honestly found it to be quite boring and very difficult to view to the very end. Again, it was long and dull. Because of that I recommend it only to fans of the series and have rated it accordingly. Below average.

Child abuse, the trampling of Indian rights, prejudice, illegal FBI wire-tapping and subterfuge, television exposes, campus shootings by the National Guard, the Mi Lai massacre, culture clashes, Jungian philosophy, police brutality, government corruption, karate, guns, and a spiritual journey are just some of the subjects explored in this sequel to Billy Jack. Surprisingly, despite the title, this is not a courtroom drama. The film is told in flashback, and the trial is over rather quickly. Instead, it's an angry film that was finished shortly after several of the campus killings (ie, Kent State) and Watergate. Most of the film's events and anti-government sentiment were taken directly from the events of the early 1970's.

The director's commentary on the DVD is very interesting, and my favorite discussion is when Tom and Delores acknowledge they "threw in everything but the kitchen sink." They both wish they had reduced the exposition and some of the plot lines, which would have certainly made it a better film, but they were being true to themselves at the time. Unfortunately, this makes the film too long and too preachy, but I still enjoyed it.

This movie is a painful experience to watch. Tom Laughlin was a talented filmmaker but he allowed his ego to wreck this movie. It's two-plus hours of speechifying kills this movie. Blah, blah, blah, get on with it. It is so "serious" it becomes unwatchable. Between the many speeches Billy Jack actually changes color. He's red, then he's blue. Ridiculous. If this movie was half the length, it would have become a camp classic. But it's way too long to become even that. However, I must admit it is often quite a beautiful movie to look at. Stunning at times. Overall, "The Trial of Billy Jack" is a career killing mess.

Omaha, Nebraska, had the dubious honour of being the city Tom Laughlin chose to have the world premiere for "Trial of Billy Jack". I wish he'd given the honour to any other city but mine. I can't think of a film that was harder to sit through than this one; it seemed to never end. I had seen "Born Losers" and like it immensely. I'd seen the first Billy Jack, and it was okay. These are the only reasons I went to "Trial", and at 17 I guess you don't need any others; I was there on opening night in 1974.

The memory of the unending torment I endured while watching this film still sits in my brain, like a compost heap that never fully decomposes. Words can't express the boredom and agony of seeing this movie; 45 hours of labor with my first child was not as difficult. I should have walked out of the theater, and in fact, while the girl in the wheelchair was giving testimony, I did, leaving my fiance there to suffer by himself. I spent as much time as I could in the restroom, but knew I had to go back and face the rest of the film, if only for his sake. Run, don't walk, away from this piece of torture, if you're ever in the vicinity of a Billy Jack Retrospective, or find it while channel surfing. Your memory center will be glad you did.

it's hard to know where to begin with this movie. I Saw Billy Jack in the theater as a teen. I found this sequel on youtube and watched it. I had to pause it regularly because it was so bad. it really has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Unlike many bad movies that are so bad, they are good, this one is so bad it does not even have that quality. bad script, bad acting, bad directing, bad story line. it's to political to even be political. it's like one of those really horribly made Soviet propaganda movies from the 50's and 60's. so over the top. every character is cartoonish in nature. Usually I like past era films with a political statement but, this one rambles on and on and on. the best part of this movie is, it finally ended. worth watching if you are totally bored. it will get you off the couch to clean the bathroom grout. or, inspire you to do your own dental work on a toothache.