Movie 13 - Three the Hard Way (1974)

Three the Hard Way is a blacksploitation flick from 1974 directed by Gordon Parks Jr. Three bad brothers from the biggest inner cities in the US take on a group of white supremists. The music producer from LA is the guns expert. The explosives expert comes from Chicago. And of course the martial arts master is from NYC. In the begining we see each man deal with corrupt white cops in their own city, but they come together when a friend is killed and one man's women is kidnapped by a Nazi clan in modern (1970s) America. Everything escelates to the eventual showdown at the Nazi compound when the three can finally get their revenge.

But was it any good? Honestly, this is not my genre. There's just not enough action for me. So much time is spent standing around trying to look bad ass in some super 70s threads. Don't get me wrong, there were some cool moments, but obviously its a lot of filler leading up to the big fight scene at the end. I will admit that there were some really crazy elements. At one point a trio of women on motorcycles that are the torture experts are called in for a little business and some pleasure too...oh and they only operate topless. Sure. Why not?

I was surprised at first at how Three the Hard Way could have fit in with most 70s action films that seem to get so much praise in retrospect. What I did realize that was the difference was a lot from the language that was used. So much of what is said could not just get bleeped or edited for tv. Some vocabulary is just not part of today's society and stick out like a sore thumb here.

I honestly spent the first half hour of the movie just waiting for Jim Kelly to show up. And then he takes on a dozen NYPD singlehandedly? He is still totally cool and completely kicks ass, but I wasn't nearly as impressed by Jim Brown or Fred Williamson. Especially the explosives expert. While the idea was pretty awesome, it was obvious that they didn't have a big enough budget to take much advantage of him.

Overall though I felt that the film was a bit boring. Like much of what I have seen on the genre, its really about walking around in leisure suits with wide lapels, bell bottoms and very high waistlines talking about how bad ass they are. I prefer less talk and more rock for my action films. I feel like the fact that these are black stories as opposed to the white action films of the era doesn't sum it up for me. For me it is all about the country the film comes from, but that's why I love action out of Hong Kong. The pace is faster and the action is fun and wild. This difference in pacing between Hollywood and Hong Kong is what I really see. I have the same issue with movies like Dirty Harry and Death Wish as I do with blacksploitation like Cleopatra Jones, Shaft and Three the Hard Way.

So am I saying no one should bother with this movie? No, I am just saying that I shouldn't have. If you like American action movies and blacksploitation, than go for it!

Three the Hard Way on imdb