Duelo No Asfalto

I *loved* this film. It's a classic, universal story -- the story of a young man named Joey whose entire family is killed by Ned Beatty's mentally retarded offspring. Unable to cope with his feelings of loss and helplessness, Joey makes a decision we can all sympathize with. He builds a gigantic, flame-spouting tank with 7' tires and proceeds to take revenge on those who have wronged him, as well as their vehicles and buildings.

The vehicle itself is impressive -- it's not just a pickup truck on huge tires, it's a wholly scrap-built "Mad Max" battlewagon. It carries a gigantic retractable drill/metal cutter on its front bumper, apparently scavenged from some gratuitously suggestive metal-rendering machinery. There's a great scene involving the drill, a drainage pipe, and the protaganist's girlfriend that conjures echoes of Tetsuo, the Iron Man.

The thing that surprised me most was the acting. Let me make this clear -- the script is awful, a tissue-thin vehicle intended to carry the film from one scene of gasoline-fueled mayhem to the next. Yet, this cast of mostly unknown actors all rise far above the occasion, adding unexpected dimension to a movie that's really all about the sound of crunching metal and breaking glass. Ned Beatty, the sole recognizable name in the lineup, delivers a stellar performance as an aging greaser and single parent, trying to protect his quasi-legal business interests and his fetal-alcohol-syndrome afflicted bastard children as they are crushed one by one under the wheels of a vengeance-crazed truck driver. Even the weepy girlfriend and the one-day-before-retirement county sherrif are played as low-key, believable characters.

So, there you have it. Rolling Vengeance -- a timeless story of tragedy, family, and monster trucks. See it with someone you love, and a case of cheap beer.

Distraught after the hooligans who killed his mother and sisters avoid conviction thanks to a heartless judge, a young rig driver designs a monster truck to enact revenge in this action film from Canada. The film gets off to a slow start with nearly half the duration elapsing before the trucker designs the machine, but the tension never ceases once it goes into action. The vehicle is a remarkable feat of imagination with flame throwers and a giant drill, plus the wheels of a tractor, and it is startling to watch it crush other cars (like a tank), break through walls and run people over. If all this sounds over-the-top, it is because it is, but no matter, such exaggerations fit in well with the film thematically, which is about a young man reacting in the most extreme way he knows to an adverse situation. Quality supporting turns (from Ned Beatty as the hooligans' father and Lawrence Dane as the protagonist's father) help matters too, and the film has a few acute things to say about the risks of working for scumbags - something that his father tells him is necessary, but something that also leads to the demise of half his family. The film may have worked better with the hooligans being fleshed out in further depth (they are pretty much interchangeable) but no doubt half of the film's audience will come from those in it for the truck, which is indeed great even if it only appears somewhat late.

Even if you are only slightly familiar with revenge movies from the 70s and 80s, then you must know the drill. A gentle, hard-working man sees his beloved family members raped and/or killed by a bunch of ruthless thugs or sneering rednecks. When subsequently the innocent are humiliated in court and the rednecks acquitted due to procedural errors or lack of evidence, the good All-American working class man's mind snaps and he turns into a stone-cold avenger.

Usually, these avenging angels arm themselves to the teeth, but trucker son Joey Russo is more creative. He builds an enormous monster truck from leftover and spare parts and literally waltzes over the redneck family that wronged him!

This "Death Wish on wheels" is very formulaic, like many other reviewers already pointed out, but it offers plenty of fun. It features annoying 80s clichés, including dreadfully romantic interludes/collages guided by sappy music, but also hilarious moments like the crushing of an entire used cars' park. The Doyle redneck family is also one you'll love to hate, with a notably awesome role for Ned Beatty as the yelling, whiskey-drinking and mashed potato throwing patriarch. Lead actor Don Michael Paul is nowadays mainly a director, and the made the very entertaining "Tremors" sequels, for example.

Under the right circumstances it seems anything can be twisted into an exploitation flick, even trucking. Save for that it's less of a major production, and distinctly more coarse and seedy in its violence and writing, this feels like something Patrick Swayze might have made in his prime (think 'Road house' or 'Black dog'). There are no major surprises here: the protagonist and his allies are very sympathetic, while the antagonists are absolutely despicable and we're glad to see them get their just desserts. From start to finish the drama is extra heavy and drawn out for emphasis, and the action sequences may be extra nasty. We get second-tier rock songs in the soundtrack, gratuitous nudity in the camera's eye, and a love scene, because of course. The somewhat cloudy production values and sound design certainly reflect that this is an 80s flick, as do the special effects - above all the specialized vehicle at the core of the film. 'Rolling vengeance' is pretty much exactly what one expects based on the premise, and all that's left is for the viewer to decide whether or not that's something that meets their tastes in cinema.

No, this isn't necessarily anything special. It fits neatly into the same mold of revenge movies and exploitation flicks as countless others; filmmaker Steven Hilliard Stern and screenwriter Michael Thomas Montgomery have nailed the formula to a perfect T. If not for the protagonist's personalized ride, this could be mistaken for any of its kin. Yet for all that, it's also pretty solidly made across the board. Dialogue, scene writing, characters, and the narrative are all written fairly well, with story beats more measured out than I assumed; I disagree with some specific choices that were made, but shots and scenes are orchestrated well. Laszlo George's cinematography, Ron Wisman's editing, and Phil Marshall's original music are all swell as far as I'm concerned. The acting is nothing remarkable, but the cast all fill their roles well, and I've no notes from one player to the next. And the crew turned in fine work all around, including the production design that dresses up splendid filming locations. Perhaps most importantly for a title such as 'Rolling vengeance,' all the stunts, effects, and action sequences are superbly executed, arguably fostering more earnest excitement than one might suppose. The very design of the vehicular centerpiece is rather clever, for that matter - and hey, credit where it's due, in some small part the climax takes a turn I didn't anticipate, and it's executed well.

There's a certain lack of nuance in the writing and direction, to the point that some instances seem especially over the top or out of place. That includes little character moments, particular scenes, or the acting at large at some points, made more glaring one way or another for the fact of the tried and true narrative mold that the feature fits into. But then again, this is a movie about a monster truck vigilante, so dissecting such minutiae is probably well beside the point. All I can say is that it's suitably well made in all regards, and firmly entertaining, even if it's nothing for which to shout praises from rooftops. Among its kin this is possibly even a tad more mindful; take that as you will. There's probably no huge reason to go out of your way for this, but if you do have the chance to watch 'Rolling vengeance' and appreciate the type of fare it represents, it's a decent way to spend ninety minutes.

I hope that most Canadian films aren't as bad as this one. It is about a truck driver whose whole family was killed (not all at once) by a Family of Stereotypical drunk hicks who were for some reason found innocent in court. The truck driver (Instead of doing something easy like shooting them all with a shotgun)constructs a Monster truck from parts that he finds in a junk yard to avenge his family's death. This movie has no satisfaction to offer anyone, unless you like watching the hero's girlfriend get raped by inbred, gravy eating hillbillies.