Bolt - O Homem Relâmpago

"That Man Bolt" is a film situated in that part of videoclubs, far away from new or famous films, and really really far away from classics. I take the box, read the synopsis and look for the cast, no one is known. So, one day I feel very unconscious and rent the film and what is that? A very, very boring film with some pseudo-martial-arts that extende its relaxant effects during two hours. The idea of this film is very, very similar to "Rush Hour 2" (Hong Kong, false money, Las Vegas...) but Jefferson "Hammer" Bolt has nothing to do compared with Jackie Chan martial art style or Chris Tucker sense of humour. Perfectly forgetable.

Fred "The Hammer" Williamson displays plenty of charisma in this goofy but fun globe trotting adventure. The Hammer plays Jefferson Bolt, a hotshot international courier. He's hired by a mysterious British man (Byron Webster) to transport a suitcase full of money from Hong Kong to Mexico City by way of Los Angeles. As fate would have it, a fair amount of the criminal element are eager to get their hands on this booty. Bolt takes on all comers, and blows up lots of stuff real good, and naturally also finds time to make sweet, sweet love to the ladies.

"That Man Bolt" suffers from a convoluted plot, by Charles Eric Johnson and Ranald MacDougall, which may have viewers scratching their heads. But if one can go with the flow, they'll find that this escapist fare kills time agreeably enough. It's an offbeat mixture of blaxploitation, comedy, international intrigue, and martial arts. The filmmakers are wise never to take things too seriously, which does help a great deal. Even when Bolts' lovely lady friend, singer Samantha Nightingale (Teresa Graves, who gets to belt out two numbers), is written out of the action, he seems to get over it without too much problem. The action is competently executed, and the violence won't be too graphic for some in the audience. (You gotta love it when a hood attempts to gun down Bolt and gets a mirror shard in the neck for his troubles.) Accompanying the various goings-on is a wonderfully lively score composed by the great Charles Bernstein.

The Hammer is just as cool as can be, and is well supported by Graves, Webster, Masatoshi Nakamura as a slimy villain, and Jack Ging as Bolts' Las Vegas buddy, a casino owner.

If you're a Hammer fan, you'll be pleased, even if overall the movie is not one of his best.

Seven out of 10.

I stumbled upon the 1973 Blaxploitation movie "That Man Bolt" by random chance here in 2023. I had never actually heard about the movie. And I am not all that keen on the genre in general, but I figured I would sit down and watch this movie since I hadn't already seen it, plus it also had Fred Williamson in the leading role, so that spoke for the movie.

And I will say that I was positively surprised with the outcome of this movie from writers Charles Eric Johnson and Ranald MacDougall, because it was really enjoyable and entertaining. It is actually one of the best Blaxploitation movies that I have seen, not that I have seen all that many though. But I enjoyed the storyline in the movie, because it was well-written and had a good amount of action in it as well. And best of all, it was devoid of all that pointless nudity that tended to be in these movies.

The acting performances in "That Man Bolt" were good, and it sure was enjoyable to watch Fred Williamson running around in Hong Kong.

Despite not being a huge fan of the Blaxploitation genre, then I will say that "That Man Bolt" was quite watchable, and it is actually a movie I will recommend.

My rating of directors Henry Levin and David Lowell Rich's 1973 movie "That Man Bolt" lands on a six out of ten stars.

"Jefferson Bolt" (Fred Williamson) is a courier of special merchandise who has been hired to take a briefcase containing $1 million in cash from Hong Kong to Mexico City with a stop in Los Angeles along the way. However, when he gets to Los Angeles he encounters some hit men waiting for him and tracks these thugs to Las Vegas. Once in Las Vegas he meets up with some friends in order to get some information on those out to get him. Soon one thing leads to another and he discovers that the people behind everything are much more influential and powerful than he thought. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this started out to be a pretty good film. Unfortunately, rather than staying committed to the international intrigue angle which was working quite well the movie began focusing more on Fred Williamson which caused the film to suffer in comparison. Not only was his character much too cocky and reckless but the martial arts scenes involving him were rather second-rate as well. Even so it wasn't a bad movie overall and I give it an average rating.

This is a film that can best be appreciated if you've seen a few blacksploitation (also called 'blaxsploitation') films first. That's because compared to the average film in the genre, it's terrific--perhaps not a great one, but well above average. The only thing you need to remember is that you don't think through a film of this type too much--just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Bolt (Fred Williamson) is an international man of action--and adventurer, tough-guy and beacon for trouble. His job, like that of many blacksploitation heroes, is a bit vague. What we do know is that he's rich, powerful and quite the stud...and NOBODY better mess with him! The film begins with Bolt in jail in Hong Kong. He hasn't really done anything, but some government official (WHICH government and WHICH branch is never clear) has arranged for his arrest. He'll stay in jail unless he agrees to help them with a secret mission. What that mission is, who the baddies are and what happens really isn't particularly important--and the plot is clearly secondary. From the minute he accepts the job until the final frame of the movie, it's Bolt versus EVERYONE! And, like any good action hero of the genre, there's also plenty of hot women, action, killing and martial arts 'fun'.

Among the various blacksploitation stars, Williamson was one of the better ones. The physicality of the role was a natural for the ex-NFL star, he was very handsome and he could act. In many ways, he played a freelance version of James Bond with a slightly less well-defined sense of morality.

Very good stunts, nice international locales and decent acting, this one is cool 'turn off your brain' fun.

This film is rated R for tons of violence and a bit of nudity--and it's probably not a great film for kids or mother-in-law.