stevenfallonnyc If anyone is wondering if "Vigilante Force" is going to be worth a viewing, just look at three things: 1) Jan Michael-Vincent; 2) Kris Kristofferson, and 3) made in 1976. Now that is the formula for a great time! The plot is simple: Kris and his war buddies are recruited by the town to clean it up, but then rule it with an iron fist (and guns, and even a bazooka). His bro Jan doesn't take kindly to this, and it all leads up the the proverbial Big Showdown.Now, when a film starts off with goofy redneck music while scenes of violence are happening, you know it's the 70's and you know you're in for a good time. There's tons of gunfire and fighting as well as bar brawls and heck, even a rootin' tootin' cockfight.The girls are absolutely gorgeous - Bernadette Peters and Victoria Principal are at their hottest.As for the cast - this is a flick with tons of familiar 70's faces, just when you think you've seen them all, another one pops up. I mean heck, even Dick freaking Miller is in this for a few seconds! And plenty of others you don't know the names of but who you definitely will recognize.Kristofferson is an actor of limited talent, playing every role he gets pretty much the exact same way, but it's all good because he's always fun to watch. Jan is always ready to mix it up, and is also a blast to watch. "Vigilante Force" is definitely a great movie to eat half a pizza to.

Martin Onassis This is a pretty strange movie. It does comes across as an exploitation film with over-the-top violence and unrealistic situations, but unusual for being constructed around rural characters at war with each other, as opposed to an invading 'other'.The movie is an excessive stereotype of Vietnam veterans, in a long line of films that portrayed the vets of that war as dangerous psycopaths. Kris Kristofferson's last line is 'I ain't lost a war yet', as he meets his demise after wreaking a long trail of murder and destruction, including the town's chief of police and his brother's girlfriend in a particularly chilling scene. However, Kristofferson is a good enough actor, and charismatic enough, to carry this villain with a surprising depth. Vincent is clearly the golden boy, but with enough intensity layered over his clean cut goodness. The movie bears some plot resemblance to Winchester 73 where Jimmy Stewart tries to tolerate a criminal brother until being forced to act against him.The movie has b-movie grade action, though the presence of Kristofferson, Vincent, a gorgeous Victoria Principal and Bernadette Peters give it an A-grade lineup.I give it a 7 for being a long lost view into an American psyche of post-Vietnam/pre-Reagan introspection, paranoia, and confusion, and a movie industry that was willing to address such topics at that time.Seen on the THIS channel, a great network that keeps playing lots of old movies of the 70s through 90s, regardless of political bent.

eddierankey771 When this film came out in 1976, Jan-Michael Vincent was at the height of his popularity, though Kris Kristofferson got top billing, Vincent actually steals this movie from Kristofferson. Showing leading man appeal, Vincent shows if given above-average material he could more than carry a movie, though dated, Vigilante Force was a typical blue-collar, mid-70's movie, as previously stated, town police along with Vincent bring in Kristofferson and his buddies to clean-up the town, but then using their power for their own personal gains, Vincent tries to give his brother the benefit of the doubt, until he realizes he now has to drive them out of town or kill them. This movie was probably the peak of Vincent's big screen career, it's hard to believe this movie didn't elevate Vincent to super-star status, though Vincent had a fine run as an actor in the 70's, mainstream appeal evaded Vincent and though he appeared in Burt Reynold's "Hooper" in 1978, by the end of 1979, Vincent's star had fallen and he was relegated to low-budget B movies, eventually turning to T.V. to revive his flagging career.

cfc_can This in my opinion is one of the best action movies of the 1970s. It not only features a great cast but is also loaded with wild shootouts and explosions that are still impressive today. The story is about a Vietnam vet (Kris Kristofferson) being recruited by his brother (Jan-Michael Vincent) to help clean up the criminal element in a small town and what happens when Kris starts taking advantage of his position and becomes as bad as the criminals he was hired to get rid of. It's great seeing Kris play against type. Bernadette Peeters and Victoria Principal both offer great support as the respective ladies of the two male stars. Jan-Michael shows real movie star persona in this film. I don't think Vigilante Force is on video but it occasionally shows up on TV. It's a great flick for guys who like movies.