This just aired on the ENCORE ACTION channel recently. This is a very entertaining NYC flick - and pretty action filled considering it is PG! Jan Michael Vincent is at his best as a reluctant action hero who finally has enough of a Puerto-Rican gang in a Italian NYC neighborhood. Jan is one of my favorite actors, and he effortlessly pulls off this character with believability and heart. And looks sexy doing it, too. His love interest is very sweet in this movie, as is the orphan kid he 'adopts' along the way. The bad gang leader is very entertaining - this guy loves hats! the gang looks like they dressed up to partake in Michael Jackson's Beat It Video! Best part of this movie is the Jan-Michael shower scene - that's all I have to say.

Tom Gamble, a young merchant seaman who was suspended for brawling decides to stick it out in a rough New York neighbourhood until he can get his union card and find employment on another ship. Terrorising the area is a Puerto-Rican gang known as "The Souls", which Tommy is doing his best not to get involved with. But soon enough they begin to clash with each other and Tommy is starting to find some allies in a once shell-shocked community.This might look like another very ordinary nitty gritty urban flick of the 70's and 80's fodder, but John Flynn's "Defiance" actually has a emotionally stimulating story to it. This element gives it a real backbone than just being a plain revenge / vigilante film centred just on the violence. It never loses sight of detailing the characters in a very realistic plight. I just watched Flynn's "Rolling Thunder" a couple of week's back and "Defiance" shares that hardboiled approached without wiping away that sincere touch. Flynn's sharp direction is very workable towards the hearty material, capturing the dominantly rough and raw N.Y. setting and letting it move at a brisk pace. The intensity of some certain tit for tat scenes are very well done and the exciting final confrontation between Gamble and the gang's leader Cruz doesn't let you catch a breath with it stinging ferocity. The dynamically funky and uncanny music score by Dominic Frontiere and Ric Waite's jarringly grounded photography also added to the film's unstably edgy and emotionally charged vibe. Thomas Donnelly and Mark Tulin's story is downright solid, without the need to go out big, but keeping it virtually simple and drawing you in with well-grounded characters and compelling situations that somehow feels fresh despite the rancid subject matter. The well-balanced script has a nice humorous edge (although there are couple unintentional moments -- stamping in a garden bed) and the drama of it holds up well with its street talk. Jan Michael Vincent superbly plays his aversely troubled character Tom Gamble like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode when needed. An exemplary Rudy Ramos makes one ultra-stylish thug and is truly fitting of the part as Angel Cruz. Theresa Saldana is wonderfully touching in her performance as Gamble's next-door neighbour. The supporting cast make real headway too. Lenny Montano, Art Carney, Tony Sirico and the lively kicking Danny Aiello are very good in their parts.This diamond in the rough is an extremely focused and poignant picture that delivers on the main goods.

This entertaining but often overlooked film stars Jan-Michael Vincent as a seaman who must temporarily reside on the tough, crime-filled and gang-infested streets of New York, where he is persuaded by fearful residents to join them in their war against "The Souls," a local Puerto Rican gang led by Angel Cruz (played by the underrated Rudy Ramos, who would later work on "Quicksilver" (1985) with Kevin Bacon). "Defiance" was filmed mostly in New York's East Village (specifically on 12th Street between Avenue A and B) at a time when street gangs did in fact control that particular area of Lower Manhattan. This film brings to mind the highly controversial release "The Warriors" (1979), about a group of young fighters framed by a rival gang. Director John Flynn is dead on with the emotional aspect of the film, capturing the heart-wrenching struggle between good and evil, the romance between Tommy (Vincent) and Marsha (Theresa Saldana) and the brutal and poignant deaths of two characters - Whacko (Lenny Montana, who played Luca Brasi in "The Godfather" (1972)) and Abe (Art Carney). Highly recommended for cult film enthusiasts. I would love to see a DVD edition in the near future by MGM/UA (formerly Orion).

Jan Michael Vincent steps into Charles Bronson Territory in this great Exploitation Masterpiece. Vincent plays a merchant Marine who moves to the South Bronx and Ends up mixing it up with a vicious Puerto Rican gang. Led by the Immortal Rudy Ramos who plays the gangleader "Angel" who plays the thug with just the right amount of street punk-aristocratic flair that every street gang leader should exhibit. Ramos & Screenwriter Tom Donnelly would team up in the Kevin Bacon Classic "Quicksilver", where Ramos plays the villainous Gypsy in that one. Unfortunately, the Tom Donnelly/Ramos collaboration dries up by the time Donnelly helms "Blindsided". Getting back to "Defiance", The guy who played Luca Brasse in the Godfather plays an Ex-boxer called Wacko ( Don't ask me who came up with that name.) Art Carney plays a jewish Grocery store Owner....Danny Aielo also> embarrases himself in this one.....And if you look Closely , you'll find the Guy who plays Paulie Walnuts on the Sopranos. If you like this film check out "Quicksilver".