You know, I was really-Really-REALLY (!!) hoping that Born Losers was going to be a helluva lot better than it was.
Yes. I'm very hip to the fact that this "product-of-its-time" (1967) was, in fact, an independent endeavor and filmed on a mere $360,000 budget - But, all the same, it basically wimped out about 70% of the time with its bargain-basement everything (from acting to dialogue to violence to philosophy).
Co-written by its ambitious director and star, Tom Laughlin, apparently this film's underlying message was supposed to be geared to promoting peace, tolerance and understanding. (Spare me!)
But, the truth is, there was very-very little (if any) of that sort of stuff in this one's "bad-ass" story where our hero (of mixed race), Billy Jack (Laughlin), inescapably spent more time karate-kicking his malicious opponents into submission rather than doing any legitimate promoting of some starry-eyed, hippie-dippie philosophy.
With shades of 1954's "The Wild One" hanging, like a tired cliché, over much of the action, Born Losers focuses in on the belligerent, in-your-face activities of the swastika-waving "Born To Lose" biker bad-boys who get their thrills terrorizing the folks of sunny Big Rock, California, and raping their virginal daughters for an added emphasis on entertainment.
Naturally, our peace-lovin' hero, Billy Jack gets his toes stepped on once too often by these "Born To Lose" kids and that, in turn, provokes an inevitable climax of pure kick-ass retribution.
This film predates "Easy Rider" by 2 years. It actually spawned 4 equally tiresome sequels and earned close to 10 times its budget ($360,000) in just the first year of its release.
Personally, I found Born Losers to be only marginally entertaining. But, hey, perhaps after guzzling down a few beers, you, yourself, may actually find it to be quite otherwise.
Yes. I'm very hip to the fact that this "product-of-its-time" (1967) was, in fact, an independent endeavor and filmed on a mere $360,000 budget - But, all the same, it basically wimped out about 70% of the time with its bargain-basement everything (from acting to dialogue to violence to philosophy).
Co-written by its ambitious director and star, Tom Laughlin, apparently this film's underlying message was supposed to be geared to promoting peace, tolerance and understanding. (Spare me!)
But, the truth is, there was very-very little (if any) of that sort of stuff in this one's "bad-ass" story where our hero (of mixed race), Billy Jack (Laughlin), inescapably spent more time karate-kicking his malicious opponents into submission rather than doing any legitimate promoting of some starry-eyed, hippie-dippie philosophy.
With shades of 1954's "The Wild One" hanging, like a tired cliché, over much of the action, Born Losers focuses in on the belligerent, in-your-face activities of the swastika-waving "Born To Lose" biker bad-boys who get their thrills terrorizing the folks of sunny Big Rock, California, and raping their virginal daughters for an added emphasis on entertainment.
Naturally, our peace-lovin' hero, Billy Jack gets his toes stepped on once too often by these "Born To Lose" kids and that, in turn, provokes an inevitable climax of pure kick-ass retribution.
This film predates "Easy Rider" by 2 years. It actually spawned 4 equally tiresome sequels and earned close to 10 times its budget ($360,000) in just the first year of its release.
Personally, I found Born Losers to be only marginally entertaining. But, hey, perhaps after guzzling down a few beers, you, yourself, may actually find it to be quite otherwise.