The Annihilators

A quartet of men who were buddies during their time in 'Nam reunite in the 80s to avenge a fallen comrade, and clean up the streets of Atlanta. Currently, gangs are running amok, and it's up to our team of heroes to eradicate this criminal scum. The main baddie is a swaggering yet aged punk named Roy Boy Jagger (Paul Koslo, "The Omega Man"), while our title Annihilators are played by the likes of Christopher Stone ("The Howling"), Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs ('Welcome Back, Kotter'), Gerrit Graham ("Used Cars"), and Andy Wood ("Rambo: First Blood Part II").

This oddball cast (also including Dennis Redfield ("Dead & Buried") and Jim Antonio ("Outbreak")) ensures this slight but amusing urban action flick some sort of cult status. It fits quite comfortably into that "vigilantes vs. gangs" genre that was popular in the 80s. ("Death Wish 3" and William Lustigs' "Vigilante" being other notable examples.) It is pretty cheesy, amateurish, and laughable at times, but it still manages to push some buttons, complete with some effectively brutal violence and shots of ladies' breasts.

The actors are fun to watch, with the ever-amusing Graham in fine form as a guy who kisses the accounting profession goodbye in order to kick some gang members' posteriors. Stone is the cool-headed leader of the group, while Wood is established as a weak link given that he's descended into alcoholism. But this viewer would suggest that you watch this one basically for the late, great character actor Koslo, who sports an awesome hairdo, and threatens citizens while stalking the streets with flamethrower in hand. Roy Boy Jagger is simply a priceless character name.

You've likely seen all this before, but there's still fun to be had here provided that you don't take "The Annihilators" seriously at all.

Six out of 10.

One of a fairly long line of generic vigilante action flicks to emerge post Death Wish, this as with most of the others of its ilk, proves to be highly satisfying stuff. The plot which is virtually identical to the earlier and slightly superior Kill Squad, has a group of Nam veterans setting out to avenge the death of one of their friends and cleaning up the streets of the vicious gangs that are terrorising the neighbourhood.

The villains, led by a delightfully OTT Paul Koslo, are all wonderful 80's stereotypes of street thugs and crooks (ah, they just don't make cinematic scum like they used to!)

One thing's for sure; you'll be guaranteed left cheering as each one of the main antagonists in this bite the dust in style at the hands of our heroes. Hell, it's almost enough to make one want to form a posse and kick some criminal butt!

After a former brother-in-arms from Vietnam is killed by a gang of thugs his former platoon leader is recruited to clean up the streets. He summons the rest of the squad and the game is on.

The story is simple and has been done several times before. There is a relatively short first part that takes place in Vietnam to establish the relationship between the soldiers. I really wish they had spent another ten minutes building on this to give the rest of the film a deeper emotional impact. Sure this is a 80s vigilante film, but that doesn't mean we can't have characters we really care about. Does it? The vigilante force also teaches the neighborhood how they can defend themselves in a montage. And who doesn't enjoy a good montage? This montage is mediocre, but that's okay. The Annihilators could easily have been mistaken for the A-Team. They aren't that professional and they are slightly more violent. Other than that they are just the same. In fact there is at least on A-Team episode exactly like this film. One of the highlights in this film is the gang leader. He looks like a shabby Kurt Russell and when he wears that wonderful pink t-shirt you won't exactly tremble with fear. The guy has balls though. At one point he walks around in the middle of the street with a flamethrower yelling that he wants his drugs back. NOW! It's hilarious stuff! How he became a gang leader is anyone's guess. He isn't a very good leader and his minions are even less capable of anything. They are crappy stereotypes, which I suppose is only what one can expect from a movie like this. On the positive side, this only adds to the overall cheese factor.

Now the thing that really annoyed me about The Annihilators is the title. It's called THE ANNIHILATORS! The definition of annihilate in the Oxford dictionary is; to destroy completely. Our vigilante squad frequently just hurt the gang members. Only towards the end do we see a somewhat steady rise in bodies. However, they are still merely shot. At least director Charles E. Sellier Jr. could have had the decency to give us some Peckinpah or Woo style shootings. And even then I doubt they could have called themselves The Annihilators with pride. Now had they taken out the scumbags with rocket launchers, claymore mines or such, the whole affair would have looked a lot different!

I could go on about all the things The Annihilators isn't, but that would be unfair to it. For all its faults The Annihilators provide some entertainment, mostly in the cheese department. Grab some recreational drugs, a pizza and watch with friends.

I think this movie was hilarious simply because of how serious it was. from the heavy-handed acting to the comedically badly choreographed fight scenes, to the outlandish scenario to the completely unrealistic portrayal of city gang violence, this movie made me and my friends laugh our butts off. when Roy Boy shouts "YOU MOTHERRSSSS!!!" we couldn't stop laughing. the front of the box features a team of steroidal, rambo-type Vietnam soldiers wielding flamethrowers and assault rifles, and yet there is only maybe 5 minutes of Vietnam scenes in the movie. not to mention i never witnessed any real annihilation. maybe some destruction, a few murders, some depravity, but no annihilation. no sir. I'm not calling this a good movie. just an unintentionally hilarious time capsule of C-moviedom from the 80's. if you can find it, for god's sakes buy it. it's a good time.

The Annihilators has got to be one of the most inept films I have ever seen. Filled to the brim with everything a bad action flick could ask for, this "film" seems to have the worst of everything going for it. From the dull, mindless plot surrounding a couple of Vietnam vets who decide to take up arms against a street gang (really original) to the "film's" ending, which comprises something like ten minutes of shooting where nobody gets shot, this flick will have you laughing out loud. Of all the films in my collection, this one shall never leave. Pricelessly stupid!