I have always heard about this movie, even played the video game a few years back, but never got around to seeing it until now. I loved it. Such a great film to close out the end of the 1970’s. And I had no idea Walter Hill directed this. Hill is one of those underrated directors that I’ve always loved but never seems to get the credit he deserves. He directed 48 Hrs with Eddie Murphy a few years after The Warriors and it’s one of the seminal buddy cop movies. He was a producer on Ridley Scott’s Alien also. And that’s not even scratching the surface.
I specifically watched the director’s cut which has this comic book framing device going on. At first, I didn’t think it was working but after about 30 minutes in, I saw what Hill was going for and ended up really liking that. I know the original film didn’t have that in it but so much of this film is like a comic, over the top costumes, ridiculous street gangs, etc. that for me, it actually worked. Maybe having not seen the original version made me less critical and more open to this approach.
Some reviewers complained that this film has no plot which is just crazy. It’s not that there’s a lack of plot, it’s that the plot is so economical and streamlined, that maybe it was too clear for some viewers. On the other hand, I felt like the plot was one of the film’s biggest strengths.
The music is particularly amazing here, recalling John Carpenter-esque synth scores. I also loved that nearly the entire film is set at night, on the wet streets of New York of the era. Great stuff. Highly recommended.