An outburst in court ironically lands a factory worker in prison while his son's killer walks free in this familiar tale of an upstanding citizen driven to vigilantism out of desperation. Appropriately grim and gritty, 'Vigilante' almost equals director William Lustig's prior 'Maniac' in atmosphere and Jay Chattaway's throbbing synthesiser music score does wonders for setting the mood. The violence is also quite graphic, with certain moments (particularly the son's grisly murder) still shocking by standards today. As a narrative though, the film has several shortfalls. The resemblance to 'Death Wish' is not problematic itself, but the formula is so simplified here that comparisons hurt. There is no gradual progression of Robert Forster's protagonist from passive to active, with being sent to prison offering a simple snap for him to join the local vigilante movement in his area. There are some strange, unresolved subplots too, such as Woody Strobe going out of his way to help Forster in prison. The film could have also benefited from spending more time debating the ethics of vigilantism, which the movie seems to promote as a flawless solution without really focusing on the corruption, red tape and politics that have driven a culture of vigilantism (a single corrupt lawyer and shady judge aside). Never to mind, the film survives fairly well purely on account of convincing performances, uncensored violence and an unshakable grim air. Suffice it to say, it is a hard to film to exit not feeling something, even if it is ambivalence towards an endorsement of vigilantism.

Gritty '80s exploitation revenge movie. Fred Williamson plays Nick, a factory worker who was so fed up with criminals getting away with hurting people that he formed his own vigilante group to do what the law couldn't or wouldn't. Robert Forster plays his friend Eddie who wants nothing to do with vigilantism, even after his young son is killed by a street gang led by Puerto Rican tough guy Rico (Willie Colón). Eddie believes the justice system will take care of the men responsible. When it fails to do so, he realizes the only way to get justice is to take the law into his own hands.Movies like this were all over the '70s and '80s, most notably with Charles Bronson's Death Wish series. The point of these movies was to remind us that the cities were overrun by multicultural gangs of rapists and killers. This one isn't quite as visceral and shocking as some of them but it has its moments. Forster's fine but Williamson really steals the show. Nice appearance by Woody Strode as a prison inmate who looks after Forster during his brief prison stay. Carol Lynley plays a well-meaning but ineffectual district attorney. Nice score, particularly in the last half when business picks up. Unlike the Death Wish series, which has some "so bad it's good" qualities beyond the first movie, this one is deadly serious and that works against it in a way. It also meanders in the middle in order to drag out a simple revenge plot. It's worth a look but fans of cheesy guilty pleasure actioners might feel a little disappointed.

A husband has to take justice in his own hands, reluctantly at first, in the end comes to see the necessity. His wife has been brutalized by nasty gang-bangers in their own home, their little son torn to pieces; so we're made to feel for the necessity, we pore with interest over the ugly world where but for some dumb turn of chance it could happen to us and we'd be helpless to reason our way out of it in much the same way.It's a Death Wish scenario of course, almost a replica. The city must look believably grimy, they do it here. It's from the same filmmaker who had done Maniac a few years prior, he films here the same bleak New York, a meaningless violence roams the streets. The man must look stoic in the face of what he must do without enjoyment, they find one in Forester. The crime, the system that fails to do anything about it, these all upset in the usual way.So it works in a small way, leaving us to think that necessity is some kind of insight, it never is, but sheer determination carries it. The violence we've witnessed haunts and wants an outlet where it takes shape. Fred Williamson delivers a few seething speeches on how this is justice. It's okay.

Robert Forster, normally a very strong character actor, is lost at sea here cast as a New York family man seeking revenge on the thugs who murdered his son and attacked his wife in a home invasion. Scary subject matter exploited for cheapjack thrills in the "Death Wish" vein. It isn't difficult to scoff at these smarmy proceedings: the dialogue is full of howlers, the crime statistics are irrevocably dated, and the supporting characters are ridiculously over-written (particularly a despicable judge who allows an accused murderer to walk right out of the courtroom). Low-rent production is contemptible in its self-righteousness, especially as the violence in our cities has only increased. * from ****