(ThyBlackMan.com) Truck Turner, the film that generally gets overshadowed given what else in the subgenre was released that year. Foxy Brown (which is was a double feature with), Three the Hard Way, and Willie Dynamite to name a few. That said, Isaac Hayes’ fourth film has its fanbase. Hell, 40 years after its release Queen Latifah wanted to do a remake.
Who knows how that would’ve turned out. Shaft 2000 with Samuel L turned out pretty good and did well at the box office and that sequel is getting another next year. So its like “Do it! Make a new Truck Turner!” Of course, that enthusiasm is kind of melted by Superfly from this year. A new Truck Turner could get it done but ehhh. So was Truck Turner even worth checking out? We’re about to find out.
Truck Turner
The story here is pretty straight forward and you would’ve probably seen it multiple times in different films. Mack “Truck” Turner is a former football player who becomes a bounty hunter and works with his partner Jerry Barnes. Now, before I continue the name Mack “Truck” Turner for a character who is a bounty hunter works 100-percent for me. That sounds like a guy who will bulldozer a jumper’s cousin and them’s front door and drag them from under their aunt’s bed. This sounds like a man who doesn’t play and isn’t here for the foolishness.
Hayes as a Turner is like 75-percent of that. He makes the character badass but there are a few times when Turner gets the tables turned on him. So, the story involves two rival pimps: Harvard Blue played by Yaphet Kotto and Gator’s right hand woman, Dorinda by Nichelle Nichols. Yes, Uhura was a madam and didn’t play around either. Actually, this movie was filled with foul-mouthed, surly people.
After Truck kills the pimp known as Gator after he skips bail, Dorinda and Blue team up to deal with Truck. Once out of the picture, the two of them will split Gator’s stable of working girls. Truck proves to be a little too much for them to deal with and things escalate.
Where It Shines
As you can see, this isn’t a film with the deepest story but it didn’t really need it. If made in 2018 or 2019, there would be a degree of exploration into Truck’s childhood and his previous career. It might even be part of a universe with remakes of Foxy Brown and Blackbelt Jones. You know, when I thought about that I was being snide but I would actually watch a shared universe with those three.
Anyway, the film shines in pacing and music. Isaac Hayes did the music and he was knocking it out the park in the 1970s. The pacing is peak action movie. Truck Turner moved things along and had a plot built for speed. Sure there were things that could bog the movie down like Truck dealing with his girlfriend Annie but that weaved into the plot well. He had to worry about her safety after all and they were going through some things. It worked.
The action scenes were alright. I’ll tell you now, I love car chase scenes where a fruit cart or any kind of cart is destroyed. I’m not a fan of carts, wagons, or bicycles and Truck Turner spoke to me on a spiritual level. It also had the car coming off a hill so fast all four tires leave the road trope in the car chase, so that was great too. Everything else was hit-or-miss leaning closer to hit.
Verdict
I enjoyed Truck Turner it was just about everything I’d want in a movie bar martial arts fights. The music was dope, the main cast played their roles very well, and there was car-on-cart violence. I say give it a watch.
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Recommended)
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.