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In the 1970s, Hollywood came out with some "vengeance" movies. Another one that comes to mind is "The Farmer," which I saw with a group of buddies at the (Air Force) base theater.Anyway, while "Rolling Thunder" might be short on military protocol (sloppy salutes and ill-fitting uniforms), it's long on what you would expect from this genre.The bad guys are bad: Dirty rotten scoundrels in need of a shave and full of greed. They hang out in seedy bars and whorehouses and wear filthy shirts and have bad teeth. You get the sense that exterminating them is the right thing to do. William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones are the anti-heroes. Icy cold. resolute and only after the bad guys. They don't lay a finger on a good guy.The film slows down in a couple of parts, as it tries to give some depth to William Devane's character, mainly through his experiences as a POW -- recalled in black and white. I think the same scene was used repeatedly, which probably kept production costs down.It should be noted that Vietnam War veterans were portrayed three different ways in Hollywood: First as deranged soul-less baby-killing whack jobs, then as disturbed whack jobs and finally as troubled men deserving of compassion. William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones are in the middle category (Magnum, P.I., was in the third category).This movie is a lot of fun. My wife hates this film. |