A dishonorably discharged Vietnam vet soon finds himself homeless and unemployed on the streets of Los Angeles. He gets a job offer from a mobster to wipe out another mob family. Not a thought-provoking premise, but one that could have delivered some action and excitement. But the movie is anything but action-packed and exciting. Our hero doesn't take the mob boss' job offer until more than an hour of the running time has passed! And when he does start delivering business, it's not very compelling - it's as if director Williamson was determined to make all this "action" as slow and boring as the first hour of the movie. The movie looks okay for what was a poverty-row budget, and Williamson in front of the camera has some charisma, but that's nowhere enough to save the movie. And why does the title card of the movie claim the hero is named "Johnny Barrows" when a badge the hero wears in the beginning of the movie states he's named "Johnnie Barrows"?
Review of Mean Johnny Barrows
