Trouble Man (1972)

A Major Disappointment

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Robert Hooks stars as one sharp dressing, pool hustling, coke drinking, lady pleasing, bad-ass private eye in this cool and groovy seventies blaxploitation classic.As the film title suggests, trouble is very much afoot here after our man becomes embroiled in a potential gang war between rival factions, after one side hires him to find out who has been ripping off their low rent gambling dens. Matters become even more complex when our hero subsequently ends up being framed for a murder. None too pleased with being made the scapegoat however, our man subsequently sets out to get revenge which he does.....in violent style!Chock full of snazzy dialogue, cool music, and some fine action sequences, this is great stuff from beginning to blood soaked end. Hooks is especially cool in his role which makes it somewhat of a shame that there were never any sequels produced as for instance other similarly strong black protagonists of the time such as Shaft and Slaughter enjoyed. Oh well, as it stands, our hero in this is equally as memorable. Be sure to check this out.

THE PLOT: Mr T (Hooks) is a bad-ass private eye who decides to enact some revenge when he becomes a victim of a frame-up.THE POSITIVE: For those that enjoy 70's black exploitation this one certainly has all the right ingredients. The plot has some nice twists and it gets played out in a serious fashion instead of adding in the campy humor like other films from this time period and genre tended to do and only ended up watery the story down too much. Hooks is very effective in the lead and literally owns every scene that he is in. Winfield is also fun as the bad guy who is at first very slick, but then as he becomes more paranoid at Hooks coming to get him, starts to have a really big meltdown.THE NEGATIVE: There is just too much reliance on a tired formula that gets played out a little too close to form. Hooks seems to barely even break a sweat as he maneuvers his way through scrapes and close calls with an almost perfect ease. There is just nothing to distinguish this from any of the other black exploitation films of that era. One walks away feeling almost cheated at having to watch something that is so predictable and uninspired. This film ends up being very forgettable despite its slick story and production values.THE LOWDOWN: For connoisseurs of black exploitation only. Others will find it just too formulaic.THE RATING: 5 out of 10.

Back in 1979, Harry Medved brought out a funny and interesting book entitled "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time". Considering that Medved was only 17 at the time and that video and cable were only in their infancy, it was a truly amazing book. Since then, I have tried to see as many of his 50 worst films--and TROUBLE MAN is about #35 for me. However, as was sometimes the case with a few of his selections, TROUBLE MAN wasn't that bad a film. Shallow and violent and not as good as most films of the blaxploitation genre, sure--but not exactly bad.The main character, called "Mr. T" (not THAT Mr. T) is played by Robert Hooks. He doesn't have a huge amount of charisma but he's apparently one bad mutha that drives a Lincoln and lives in a cool pad with lots of mylar wallpaper and 70s do-dads. How he got all this expensive stuff is a bit vague. He describes himself as a private detective but he didn't do much of that in the film--instead making his money through gambling and "fixing things".Paul Winfield and Ralph Waite (the father from the TV show "The Waltons") are gamblers who hire Mr. T to help put a stop to robberies occurring at their dice games. The problem is that this is all a set-up--there are no robberies and it's just a scheme to take over "Mr. Big's" territory. By the way, I love how people are called things like Mr. T and Mr. Big--what great clichés.Well, after being jerked around through most of the film by Winfield and Waite, Mr. T becomes a tad perturbed and goes on a killing spree that is basically brainless entertainment. If you like seeing a bad mutha killing mobsters with his .45 again and again, then you are in for a treat. My problem with the film was that there was practically no depth to the story--little back story and Mr. T was a very wooden character. Compared to films such as COFFEY or even BLACULA, TROUBLE MAN lacked emotional range and substance.Still, even with its many shortcomings, it still was a long way from 50 worst territory. While I am not exactly an expert on blaxploitation, it isn't the worst of the genre. For example, "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" is much worse when it comes to acting and production values...and EVERYTHING!

Supremely suave Robert Hooks plays it cool and easy as Mr. T, an ultra-smooth womanizing pool shark (real-life pool hustler James Earl "Txas Blood" Brown cameos as an arrogant sucker Mr. T beats in a high stakes game), licensed private detective, and fee-lance troubleshooter for hire, one certifiably bad hombre anti-hero and all-around ruthless, cocksure righteous cat. Mr. T's hired by treacherous underworld kingpin Chaly White (the always excellent Paul Winfield) and Chalky's equally pernicious greaseball white partner Pete (an uncharacteristically slimy'n'sleazy Ralph Waite, who's extremely hateful in a rare full-fledged villain role) to foil a stick-up gang that's been ripping off the devilish duo's late night illegal craps games. Mr. T gets framed for murdering the son of one Mr. Big (ubiquitous blaxploitation mainstay Julius Harris, dominating over everybody with scene-swiping self-assurance), a notorious major league inner city player who declares open season on Mr. T's hide. Further complications develop when Mr. Big winds up involved in a ferocious all-or-nothing turf dispute with Chalky and Pete, a vicious war which puts Mr. T in the uncomfortable position of having to evade both the bullying jerk cops and an endless legion of brutish mob goons.Ivan ("The Spook Who Sat by the Door") Dixon's brisk, hard-as-steel direction gives the somewhat standard crime/revenge plot a good, swift kick in the rear, wringing plenty of tension and fiercely violent, gut-tearing action from "Shaft" co-screenwriter John D.F. Black's knotty, cynical script. Said script vividly creates a chilly, chaotic dog-eat-dog world ridden with cold-blooded double crosses and populated by greedy, untrustworthy scuzzwads who'll do anything for money or power. The convoluted, resolutely unsetimental story persuasively states that there's no such thing as either honor or loyalty among thieves. The blackly amoral, mean-spirited, evil-hearted tone will set your nerves on end. The coarse, barbed dialogue really hits the scorching spot, too ("Now get the hell out of my car -- the two of you are *beep*ing up a nice day"). Michael Hugo's slick, expansive cinematography lends the picture a glossy, glittering look while the fabulously funky Marvin Gaye score, boasting a sublimely hip'n'heavenly opening credits theme song, supplies the awesomely happening soul music vibes. (The invaluable Robert O. Ragland served as a technical assistant to the composer.) Controbuting solid secondary turns are Paula Kelly as Mr. T's sexy nightclub singer main squeeze, "WKRP in Cincinnati" TV show regular Gordan Jump as a spineless, sniveling slum lord, and "Sudden Death" 's Felton Perry as an amateur boxer informant. Harsh, tough-minded and morally reprehensible, "Trouble Man" proves to be every bit as irresistibly irrepressible and irresponsible as its titular untouchable character.