Escape from the Bronx (1983)

Let's be realistic.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The semi-tough, actually rather effeminate Mark Gregory is back as "that delinquent Trash person" in Bronx Warriors 2, which in my opinion bests the original. It's faster-paced, with more action and more dead bodies, and Mark Gregory's acting has even improved.The story gleefully ups the bleakness quotient, with most of the Bronx gangs having retreated into subterranean hideouts as Disinfestation Annihilation Squads raze the blighted neighborhoods to make way for fascistic urban renewal. Anybody who's seen the first Bronx Warriors knows Trash isn't going to put up with that.If you're in the mood for a cheap 80s action flick that delivers the goods, Bronx Warriors 2 has more than enough gun battles, flamethrowers, exploding miniatures, people dying and flying through the air in slow motion, and scatological dialogue to satisfy. Consider watching it as a double feature with C.H.U.D., which shares several of its elements.

Mark Greggory is back as Trash and now it's ten years later and he still lives in the "no mans land" dubbed the Bronx. His gang is no longer with him, but he finds new underground thugs to help him battle a rich politician and his crooked cops that want to demolish whats left of the Bronx.I ask myself, why in the hell would anyone want to stay there for...Well this time we have a new writer and that is probably half of the problem. The great Dardano Sachetti is not on board and Tito Carpi wrote this one. It seemed better produced although it was made less than a year later and with the same producer and Enzo Castrelli still on board as director. They tried making it a better movie and took the cheesiness down a notch and tried to make it more flawless. Doing these cautious edits and attention to detail actually made the movie worse. The flaws are part of what makes a b-movie great.Don't get me wrong the movie was still cheesy, overdubbing was bad, plot had funny bits and there was some over the top BS going on with the story line. I mean from a couple pistol shots blowing up a helicopter to the same locations being re-used but trying to make them different places. Trash looked less in shape and seemed to be a lot less cool here, maybe it was to try to make him more serious now that he is working alone. I just absolutely love Mark's work but this is perhaps his worst acting job.Mark is still good even if this was his worst role(that i have seen). Henry Silva was great as he always is and most of the cast did a great job for this type of film. I didn't care much for Antonio Sabata Sr. He is always hit or miss with me. The music was a lot different but I liked it.What can I say about this, it was a cheesy Italian b-movie action/ post apocalyptic mess. I enjoyed it a lot, but it was trying too hard to learn from the mistakes of the first one and that made it a bit too serious for a film that should never take itself that serious to start with. The directing was okay but the editing needed loads of work. Music was fitting and acting was middle of the road. I didn't care much for how it ended, but I guess it got its point across, and still left room for a sequel...but I am guessing nobody bought it after they saw this one...4/10 stars but I can only recommend it to those who love the cheesy exploitation films as much as I do.

An Italian effort, Escape 2000 leave vast cultural gaps that Americans in general are unlikely to understand.An example is the most mirthful of characters, Toblerone,as played by Italian actor Antonio Sabato. Americans would be considered insane and emotionally unstable to be as mirthful as the wile Toblerone, but it seems that many character actors from Italy portray this happy character type.Further the film takes many stabs at New Mexico, my home state. I can attest that multitudes of people from 'back east' are flocking to places like Rio Rancho and Santa Fe in wholesale droves.The sets are simple and to the point, but the graffiti is 'unAmerican' looking and very tame compared to what can be seen in the Bronx at some places.The hero of the film is portrayed by actor "Mark Gregory" who delivers an uninspired and bland performance. His character development is nil. So poor a hero is the character "Trash" he must subcontract his hero role out to another hero whom in turn must further subcontract the hero role out to his minor son.The major heel is played by Henry Silva whom also delivers a truly sub par performance. He may have out done Mark Gregory in this regard. He delivers his lines in halting parcels, which may be a function of the mechanics of dubbing English onto the Italian the actors were speaking. Silva improved as an actor after this feature which proved that he cannot be counted upon to perform consistently as a feature character.The bad guy stoolies are incompetent to the extreme and like to bellow "Leave the Bronx" and proclaim the virtues of the good housing available in new Mexico. By the end of the movie you'll be saying "Leave the Bronx" to your friends and laughing heartily like Toblerone.

This post-apocalyptic film is a barrage of non-stop action and cheese. A ruthless corporation decides to exterminate inhabitants of the Bronx. In the future. In the year 2000. The said inhabitants from the future, strangely resemble every conceivable type of pop star from the early 1980's; from synth pop futurists to New Wave cheesemongers to heavy metal poodle-permers. Funnily enough, it only appears to be 'the future' in the Bronx - on the streets of Manhattan it clearly seems to be 1983. Confused? You should be; this is after all an 80's Italian sci-fi actioner.Bronx Warriors 2 is full of action and stupidity. It's a lot of fun. It's chock-full of silly characters. The star Mark Gregory makes for a ridiculous hero. Antonio Sabato is hilariously OTT as a character inexplicably called Toblerone. Henry Silva phones in a performance of a man shouting on a phone.You can never truthfully be bored with this movie. It's action from start to finish. And there are some hilarious details to enjoy. For instance, the model of the redeveloped city - in it, not only have they went to the trouble of hilariously depicting the Bronx buildings in crumbling detail but if this is true to scale then the Bronx is only three blocks big! This film would make a great double-bill alongside Bruno Mattei's equally trashy post-apocalyptic movie, Rats (1984). That would be a good night of fun for the Italian Z-Movie aficionado. Ciao!