Judging the film away from the merits of expectations or comparisons to other films (not that I can think of any other films to compare this to), Billy Jack really is a rare gem.
9 out of 10 might seem high for a low-budget, not-quite-a-revenge flick like this one, but a lot of it has to do with how this whole film plays out.
The characters aren't quite two-dimensional here; yes, you have the "racist" townsfolk, but there's a bit more to it than that. Not all the townsfolk are actually racist against the multi-cultural, "progressive" school on the outskirts of a Native American reservation (which many see as fostering bad habits and dangerous ways within the youth that attend the school).
The issue is that there's a culture clash, and some people take that to heart more seriously than others... there's also the growing animosity between what certain individuals would like to do on the land (i.e., mustang hunting) and what lone vigilantes and watchful guardians like Billy Jack won't allow them to do.
The tensions build and mount with increasing violence based on a number of issues and fiery confrontations.
The lonesome and often quiet but stern Billy Jack isn't quite blameless when it comes to ratcheting up tensions, but most viewers will probably feel his actions are justified.
What I found most impressive was how Tom Laughlin looked very comfortable and intimidating with his display of martial arts. Had this franchise not been Laughlin's baby, ten years later and I could have easily seen Chuck Norris donning the role of Billy Jack (although, given Norris' politics, I doubt things would have turned out the way they did in this film, as the closest to bucking the system Norris came was with the film Code of Silence).
In any case, Billy Jack has some odd and slow parts here and there (mostly with the improvised theater sections), but the action is handled well (if sparse) and the resolutions and outcomes are fairly realistic.
The main reason I gave this film a 9/10 is because it doesn't go for a traditional Hollywood approach to solving problems. How things play out are the complete opposite of what you would expect from typical Hollywood action films of this nature. It also doesn't attempt to beat you over the head with enforced-sympathetic melodrama in films like John Q, Man on a Ledge, or The Negotiator.
Billy Jack is both understandable and complex. His reasoning isn't unreasonable, and his intentions are admirable. We really don't get heroes quite like this in today's cinema anymore.
I was unaware that this is part of a franchise of films, but the low ratings make me think the other films might best be avoided. In any case, I really liked the avant garde approach to this film, the conflict, and the conflict resolution.
The acting here isn't really typical Hollywood caliber. Only Laughlin and the couple of the villain characters turn in performances that are more traditional. Most of the other performances (with the exception of the sheriff) feel more off the cuff, and somewhat improvisational, especially during the town committee hearing (which I thought actually played up well to the realism of how a situation like that would probably play out, instead of typical over-acting Hollywood theatrics).
It's really a shame we don't get more films like this and more heroes like Billy Jack during this particular era of cinema.
Thankfully, the 1970s and 1980s were filled with believably larger-than-life characters like this, and they really helped pave the way for cementing a certain kind of machismo in the world of cinema during that era.
9 out of 10 might seem high for a low-budget, not-quite-a-revenge flick like this one, but a lot of it has to do with how this whole film plays out.
The characters aren't quite two-dimensional here; yes, you have the "racist" townsfolk, but there's a bit more to it than that. Not all the townsfolk are actually racist against the multi-cultural, "progressive" school on the outskirts of a Native American reservation (which many see as fostering bad habits and dangerous ways within the youth that attend the school).
The issue is that there's a culture clash, and some people take that to heart more seriously than others... there's also the growing animosity between what certain individuals would like to do on the land (i.e., mustang hunting) and what lone vigilantes and watchful guardians like Billy Jack won't allow them to do.
The tensions build and mount with increasing violence based on a number of issues and fiery confrontations.
The lonesome and often quiet but stern Billy Jack isn't quite blameless when it comes to ratcheting up tensions, but most viewers will probably feel his actions are justified.
What I found most impressive was how Tom Laughlin looked very comfortable and intimidating with his display of martial arts. Had this franchise not been Laughlin's baby, ten years later and I could have easily seen Chuck Norris donning the role of Billy Jack (although, given Norris' politics, I doubt things would have turned out the way they did in this film, as the closest to bucking the system Norris came was with the film Code of Silence).
In any case, Billy Jack has some odd and slow parts here and there (mostly with the improvised theater sections), but the action is handled well (if sparse) and the resolutions and outcomes are fairly realistic.
The main reason I gave this film a 9/10 is because it doesn't go for a traditional Hollywood approach to solving problems. How things play out are the complete opposite of what you would expect from typical Hollywood action films of this nature. It also doesn't attempt to beat you over the head with enforced-sympathetic melodrama in films like John Q, Man on a Ledge, or The Negotiator.
Billy Jack is both understandable and complex. His reasoning isn't unreasonable, and his intentions are admirable. We really don't get heroes quite like this in today's cinema anymore.
I was unaware that this is part of a franchise of films, but the low ratings make me think the other films might best be avoided. In any case, I really liked the avant garde approach to this film, the conflict, and the conflict resolution.
The acting here isn't really typical Hollywood caliber. Only Laughlin and the couple of the villain characters turn in performances that are more traditional. Most of the other performances (with the exception of the sheriff) feel more off the cuff, and somewhat improvisational, especially during the town committee hearing (which I thought actually played up well to the realism of how a situation like that would probably play out, instead of typical over-acting Hollywood theatrics).
It's really a shame we don't get more films like this and more heroes like Billy Jack during this particular era of cinema.
Thankfully, the 1970s and 1980s were filled with believably larger-than-life characters like this, and they really helped pave the way for cementing a certain kind of machismo in the world of cinema during that era.