Les casseurs

Get ready for Dukes of Hazard meets Convoy ala Chuck Norris! This movie made me want to see Chuck as a good ol' Duke boy! You gotta love when the guy with the red shirt and blue jean overalls holding the rake says to Chuck, "I'm gonna stick ya!"

This movie doesn't have the big, tough bad guy who may or may not know martial arts that would fight Chuck at the end, but he does take on the lawman that's probably the tougher between the sheriff and the deputy. Calling him tough isn't saying much, though.

Don't call this film a western- it's more southern. Don't miss this movie- you'll get a "kick" out of it! A tip for a good laugh while watching this movie- when Chuck beats the snot out of the lawmen, think of the song, "Bad boys, bad boys, watcha gonna do?" This works even better while watching the lawmen on the Dukes of Hazard in their funniest "crime fighting" moments!

Chuck Norris didn't have a beard or moustache yet in the 70s (and thus no sex-appeal), but he already was a karate-expert. This led to him receiving his first small roles in the first half of the decade, but he slowly became an action hero icon in the second half. This film, together with "Good Guys wear Black" one year later, was the first movie that put Chuck Norris in the spotlights, and admittedly he still looks somewhat nerdy and insecure. In 1977, you wouldn't have guessed that 30-40 years later, this same man would represent pure toughness and macho behavior (or at least in the famous "Chuck Norris" jokes that can be found all over the internet).

In "Breaker! Breaker" Norris depicts an arm-wrestling truck driver searching for his kid brother who went missing with a cargo of frozen dinner meals. He ends up in a hillbilly village named Texas City (ironically located in California) where there apparently exists an entirely different law and justice system. The local judge - and self-declared emperor - Joshua Trimmings determines the laws, and orders his equally corrupt deputies to collect imaginary road taxes from passing truckers and to confiscate their cargos.

"Breaker! Breaker!" feels like a rip-off of Sam Peckinpah's "Convoy", but strangely enough it was released one year earlier. Together with that (overrated) semi-classic and a few others (like the awesome "White Line Fever"), this is part of a typically 70s hype nicknamed "Trucksploitation". Truckers revolting against the authorities, ignoring roadblocks, boosting each other via CB Radio, that sort of stuff. It's an action flick, but not at all violent. Chuck showcases his karate skills against a whole bunch of hillbillies (with pitchforks) and that's it. It's oddly structured with a climax that comes suddenly, and there isn't even a final battle between the hero and the lead villain (only between the hero and an insignificant deputy).

If this movie isn't a career ender, I don't know what is. "Breaker!Breaker!" is laughable at best, but even then, the viewers are left with very few things to laugh at. There is no story line. There is no plot. There is no reason why this movie shouldn't be banished from the earth! The fight scenes are ridiculous (which is uncommon for a Chuck Norris film... I mean, the man worked with BRUCE LEE!). There is one big fight scene that, at some point, gives off a definite homo-erotic-70's-porno "vibe". Not the kind of thing one would expect from Chuck Norris. I commend him for having risen out of the ashes of this heap of trash to become the "Walker: Texas Ranger" that we all know and love today.

Chuck Norris became a American Icon when he reached the top of the Martial Arts world. Winning nearly every competition from East to the West coast, his fame proceeded him into films. There he made several low budget movies which led to his most memorable confrontation with the legendary Bruce Lee. In this film called " Breaker, Breaker " Norris plays John Dawes who's younger brother Billy (Michael Augenstein) a trucker has been arrested, jailed, kidnapped and presumed killed, at the whim of corrupt Judge Joshua Trimmings (George Murdock). The small town sheriff works with the judge to waylay Dawes as he enters the town. Throughout the film one can see Norris in action as he takes on the Sheriff and his henchmen and literally dusts' them. Though there is much to be said for the Martial artist, except for his talent, Norris's acting as well as the rest of the cast is stiff, boring and cardboard. The plot is simple as is the entire premise. Still if you're a Norris fan, this is one for you. If not you can do with this film as the title suggest. **

for a Chuck Norris film,this one isn't that bad.it's one of this earlier ones.it's not his best by any means.but it is a lot of fun to watch.the plot is nothing new.corrupt town town,run by a corrupt judge and corrupt police.older brother sets out to find younger brother who disappears on his first solo trucking run.finds out out he may be somewhere in the corrupt town,either dead or alive.older brother sets out to rescue younger brother and becomes a one man wrecking crew.that's the synopsis in a nutshell.obviously there's lots of martial arts action.and it's actually pretty well done.there aren't a lot of flashy camera tricks to make it look fancy.the acting is adequate for this genre.i've seen much worse in my time.for me,Breaker! Breaker! is a 6/10