Slaughter's Big Rip Off (1973)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

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

This sequel to the original Jim Brown "Slaughter" vehicle is similarly bad ass entertainment, with big Jim showing off plenty of cool as always. The story is pretty entertaining, too, and the supporting cast has to be seen to be appreciated. There's a fair amount of violence to enjoy, and a bit of sex, too - even some full frontal nudity courtesy of the delectable Judith Brown.Slaughter is now being hunted by mafioso types who want to get back at him for his activities in the first film. Among those types are the smooth Duncan (none other than Ed McMahon) and his racist thug-for-hire Kirk (Don Stroud). Determined police detective Reynolds (Brock Peters) soon ropes Slaughter into stealing important documents from Duncan - to be precise, a list of people who've received payoffs."Slaughter's Big Rip-Off" isn't wall to wall action, but it is enjoyable, particularly for seeing Mr. McMahon in a film of this type. He's fun to watch, as is Stroud as the kind of bad guy whom you'll love to hate. There's a bunch of familiar faces in the supporting cast, among them Gloria Hendry as Marcia, Slaughter's gal pal, Dick Anthony Williams as flamboyant pimp Joe Creole (a pimp who's also talented in the art of safecracking), Art Metrano as the sleazy Mario Bertoli, Hoke Howell as one of the Parker brothers who make the foolish mistake of not cooperating with Slaughter, Russ Marin as top cop Crowder, the always lovably genial Scatman Crothers (you wish he was in the film longer) as Cleveland, Pamela Des Barres in a sexy bit part, George Gaynes as the ill-fated Warren, and an uncredited Adam Roarke as Harry.The pacing is mostly efficient, the action when it happens is always viscerally effective, and there are some good laughs to be had as well. Just check out the amount of vocalizations during a fight scene with Slaughter and two goons, one of whom happens to be Oriental. You hear them even when people aren't moving their lips.Good if not great entertainment overall, with a very funny wrap-up. It's just a shame that the original James Brown soundtrack got replaced for the DVD; the new score is adequate but hardly inspired.Seven out of 10.

A mob kingpin(Ed McMahon) murders Slaughter's(Jim Brown) associates and he seeks to get even.Duncan(McMahon)puts a hit out on Slaughter, but his friends get shot instead while the gunner flew over his party in a Spearman. Duncan goes to his reliable trigger man(mechanic), Kirk(Don Stroud)to clean up the mess left in the wake of this failed hit. But, Slaughter isn't about to go down without a fight.Plot's simple as that. A revenge actioner where big Jim Brown takes out a mobster's goons as Kirk targets him for extermination. Duncan is in bed with the chief of police(..and other city officials) and Slaughter must secure a list with his name on it for detective Reynolds(Brock Peters).Fans of Jim Brown and blaxploitation should enjoy this, but the plot itself really isn't anything to write home about. Brown, built like a mack truck, makes both black and white women swoon and kicks a lot of ass..a tailor made vehicle designed specifically to make him look cool while defeating those who wish to kill him. Dick Anthony Williams steals the film as a sneering pimp, Joe Creole, who also has a reputation as a safe cracker and is enlisted by Slaughter to lift the list from a safe in Duncan's mansion. Stroud inhibits the usual heavy role of Kirk, a ruthless, cold-blooded henchman who has obviously eliminated a lot of Duncan's competition.The yummy Judith M Brown has a minor role as a former squeeze of Slaughter's who negotiates with him over information regarding those he is after in return for sexual favors(..and, we get to see her fabulous nude body as she disrobes for Slaughter, who didn't need too much coaxing). Gloria Hendry(Live and Let Die) is Slaughter's girlfriend, Marcia, her life soon threatened as Kirk desires the list for his boss. Hoke Howell has a funny cameo as a plane mechanic who, at first, doesn't give out the name of the person who hired the Spearman which flew over gunning down Slaughter's friends. Scatman Crothers stops by as an old friend of Slaughter who leads him to Creole as a favor in regards to finding someone available for opening Duncan's safe.Preposterous sequence where Slaughter somehow survives a car's plunging into the ocean after driving off a cliff, and how he's able to move about freely despite the powerful connections of Duncan is a major logical problem(..you'd think Duncan would have gunmen throughout the city with Slaughter encountering them everywhere he goes, but this is not the case). Plus, the whole opening sequence doesn't properly set the stage for the revenge of the movie(..shouldn't we get to know Slaughter's comrades a bit before they are murdered?). It does deliver the violence, though, as Slaughter lives up to his name, blowing away quite a many of Duncan's men, with blood all over the place. Brown's sheer charisma and presence are of major importance as the plot itself doesn't exactly do him any favors. It's too bad the film doesn't use McMahon more because he is fun to watch as the mafioso with those big shades and ugly suits.

The movie itself is pretty good - but only the ORIGINAL version with the awesome soundtrack by James Brown. For the dvd release, the studio was too cheap to buy the rights to original music, so they replaced it with new, generic sounding funk music! And they didn't even change the credits or the packaging to reflect that! That's a pretty big slap in the face to the father of funk himself, so that's why I say avoid this DVD at all costs.

This meandering tale of mob revenge is simply not very interesting, even with Ed McMahon in a ripe role as the chief heavy. Jim Brown kicks ass effectively, Gloria Hendry proves again that she can bring life to even the poorest roles, and Brock Peters is decent as The Cop Who Plays By the Book. It's still dull and badly constructed, and even the print shown on cable is now emasculated of its original James Brown score.