Class 89

Violence. Drugs. Crumbling turf. Vicious gangs; Charles Bronson ala in Paul Kersey mode would have a field day, but hey this isn't a "Death Wish" film. "3:15" easily ranks up there with the likes of "Class of 1984", "Savage Streets" and "The New Kids" of this 80s wave of violent school gang outings with no-bars hold revenge at its core. Bestowing an outstanding cast; Adam Baldwin (in a perfectly pitched performance) leads the way as Jeff Hanna who use to be in the ruthless street gang "The Cobras", but then he decides to go straight after a confrontation with the leader Cinco (a venomous Danny De La Paz). A year has past, but there's still ill-feeling there. This finally erupts when Cinco blames Hanna for a drug raid at the school which was orchestrated by the principal (a scheming Rene Auberjonois) and led by detective Moran (a neatly sardonic Ed Lauter). Despite the threats Hanna is happy to look the other way, until they threaten to assault his girlfriend (the delightful Deborah Foreman). Then he knows he must take up the offer to finally settle the score.

The plot plays out like a urban western as you have one man finding himself stuck in the middle of something there's no way out of, while without choice taking on the unbelievable odds by standing up, as everyone else just watches on. Standard mechanisms, but on this occasion its very well done, right down to its classic final showdown. Strangely is had me thinking of a very similar film that came out a year later "The Principal", which in the film's climatic showdown between the principal (an excellent James Belushi) and some punks drummed up some striking similarities in how things turn out.

You might call it b-grade, trashy exploitation with a decent looking budget… and you might be right. However its context it isn't trying to simply exploit despite its harsh, brutal details (although it might lie in the shadows to the previously mentioned films' mean-spirited vibe). The pulpy story is a little more thoughtful in its actions and depictions, where the characters have more weight which makes it all the more harrowing and gripping when it unfolds. These are characters trying to prove something (as image becomes an important factor) and just what lengths would they go to do so. Like the frightening expression on Foreman's character's face when she sees Hanna aggressively implode on one of the gang members. That's not saying it doesn't go over-the-top, but these dramatics only enhance the intensity. Director Larry Gross workably keeps the adrenaline levels high, even when it's not trying to be bitingly rough and gusty. It's gritty, edgy but competently staged with a pounding soundtrack to back it up. There are some other interesting faces showing up in the likes of Mario Van Peebles, Wayne Crawford, Scott McGinnis, Gina Gershon and Wings Hauser (who gets even less screen time than the visible boom mike).

3:15 (1986) was one of the many 80's "teenage" gangster/ school violence films (the teenagers are usually in there mid to late 20's). Like most of them they're highly entertaining and are filled with the mandatory hardcore violence and the IL' T & A. This one promises an all out mano y mano, hand to hand combat film and guess what? It delivers. No lame cop out story or phony situations that would later destroy this genre. They promise and the filmmakers deliver. Fun stuff, not to be taken serious. Watch out for Adam Baldwin, Mario Van Peebles and Gina Gershon.

Highly recommended (if you can find a copy).

8 ( as a film)

10 (for it's genre)

My review was written in March 1986 after watching the film at a Times Square screening room.

"3:15" is a weak entry in the trickle of gang rumble films which made some box office noise back when Walter Hill's "The Warriors" was released. Debuting helmer Larry Gross, formerly a screenwriter for Hill, minimizes the action and comes up with a forgettable pic ill-suited to theatrical release. Filmed two years ago, it has been in regional distribution since January.

Adam Baldwin (title roler in "My Bodyguard") is too old to be the high school student here, a former member of the Cobras gang who is now at odds with the Cobras' leader, Danny De La Paz. Crisis comes when a drug bust, organized by cop Ed Lauter, nabs De La Paz and Baldwin refuses to help his former leader. Branded a traitor by most kids at school, Baldwin is also being pressured by principal Rene Auberjonois to fink on his former crony.

On a half-day of school (morning only), Baldwin sets u a final confrontation with De La Paz' gang at, surprise, 3:15 p.m. Showdown is an anticlimax, with only Baldwin's girlfriend Deborah Foreman and a nerd played by Joseph Brutsmancoming to his aid against five armed toughs. Pledges of support to Baldwin from a black gang and an Oriental one amount to nought.

Pic suffers from the absence of action, with fights mainly consisting of kids running down school hallways and stabbing each other. Low budget and weak production values are inferior to a typical telefilm.

Acting is also weak, with Baldwin generating little sympathy in the lead underdog role (he physically towers over the rest of the cast) and Foreman stuck with an inconsistent part, De La Paz is the most impressive performer, upsetting the script's balance since he wins sympathy by virtue of forceful thesping yet is supposed to be the hissable villain. Screenplay skirts over racist conflicts, though the good guys are all white and the bad guys are mainly Chicanos.

People complain about the lack of politeness and respect of today's youth, but then what to say about those darned 80's kids? If you believe those early 80's exploitation movies, all American high schools were breeding grounds for bloody gang wars, drug-dealing, senseless violence, sleaze and mindless vandalism. Of course, they made cheap and grisly exploitation movies about pretty much everything during the early 80's, so I'm not quite sure if they qualify as socially relevant and accurate. These films are, however, guaranteed adrenalin-rushing entertainment! There are the modest cult classics like "Class of 1984" and "Savage Streets", but there definitely also are a couple of well-hidden gems like for example "The New Kids", "Massacre at Central High" and this "3:15". These movies can all be described as much cooler and darker variations on dull stuff like "Stand and Deliver" or "Dangerous Minds". So what if these kids have great intellectual potential? They're scum and only good to destroy each other, yeah!

"3:15" – that title alone I find tremendous – has a pretty solid plot and a downright fantastic opening half hour. The police (led by the marvelously skeptical Lt. Moran) and Principal Horner of the Lincoln High School team up for a large-scaled anti-drug operation, with as a main intention to arrest the members of the feared Cobra gang. The success of the bust is minimal, but the aggressive Cobra leader Cinco wants revenge nevertheless and picks out Jeff Hannah as a scapegoat. Jeff is a former Cobra member who turned his back on drugs and violence, but now Cinco spreads the word throughout the entire school that he turned into a police informant and that he has to pay for that. The ultimate confrontation between Jeff and the Cobras will take place at – you guessed it – 3:15.

The film can rely on good casting choices and an effectively sinister ambiance. The Cobra gang members are convincingly menacing and creepy. They're scum who harass everybody in school and beat up the weaklings. The school surrounding itself is a nicely grim and uncanny location as well. The walls are full of graffiti (a LOT of graffiti), the teachers are corrupt and there are rotten apples left, right and center. The set- up is truly atmospheric and plausible, but "3:15" inevitably also suffers from quite a bit of shortcomings. There are a couple of typically 80's and clichéd redundant interludes, like the romance elaboration and the song with the deeper meaning lyrics illustrating the tension between 3pm and 3:15pm. Some things in the screenplay also don't make 100% sense. For example, you would think that Jeff receives a little help from all his friends and school admirers, like the Afro- American guys in their GI Joe outfits, the Oriental dudes with their martial arts tricks, but in the end nobody moves a muscle. So, yes, admittedly the finale is a bit disappointing in case you are expecting a gigantic high school massacre as well. In spite of not really being known, "3:15" has quite a bit of good and familiar faces in the cast. Adam Baldwin is quite impressive in the lead role, but especially the smaller supportive roles are worth mentioning here in this case. Ed Lauter is terrific as the cynical police captain and Rene Auberjonois is even better as the sleazy school principal. Cult fanatics with a sharp eye will definitely recognize the ravishing Gina Gershon in one of her very first roles (as one of the docile Cobra members' girlfriends) and maybe even notice the small cameo appearance of Wings Hauser as the father of Jeff's goody-two-shoes girlfriend Sherry.

This is a great school outta control flick from the glorious 80's that's right along the lines of SAVAGE STREETS and CLASS OF 1984. it's got all the necessary goods that those type of flicks require to kick ass: plenty of violence, criminal punks, and even some nudity. i'd much rather see a gang movie with the gangsters rockin studs and chains than todays b-rated fake ass rapper bling bling movies. being a punk rocker myself i was stoked to see one of the kids had the Misfits skull on the back of his jacket. one of the girlies has a Motorhead shirt too! Anyway it's got the typical plot (kinda like CLASS OF 1999 minus the killer cyborgs) where gangs and crime rule the streets and the schools and one of the gang members wants out causing a war with his gang. sure it's way cheesy but that's whats so fun about it. Highly recommended along with CLASS OF 1984, SAVAGE STREETS, CLASS OF 1999, and maybe even SUBURBIA(the one from 1983 of course)