guylyons
If you like simple story action films, which are made to entertain, you will love this. A fine supporting cast, great script, and sensible action scenes. I saw it again a year ago, and it was as fresh as an autumn apple. Bronson does a convincing job of playing a no nonsense, don't tell me what to do farmer. No Melons were hurt in the making of this film.
AaronCapenBanner
Charles Bronson plays watermelon farmer/landowner(and Vietnam veteran) Vince Majestyk, who runs into trouble with organized crime when they threaten his workers, then scare them off, threatening to put Majestyk out of business, which of course he won't take lying down, leading to an escalating one man war that leads to an exciting finale.Charles Bronson is again effective as a wronged man out for revenge, and story is interesting, with good direction by Richard Fleisher, who keeps the film moving at a brisk pace. Certainly an offbeat film(Bronson as watermelon farmer may sound humorous), but it definitely is not played that way!
ferbs54
With the release of "Death Wish" on July 24, 1974, the career of Charles Bronson was re-energized, granting him almost superstar status after over 20 years in the business. This tale of vigilante vengeance, set on the mean streets of NYC, proved so popular with the public that it led to no fewer than four sequels, with ever-diminishing returns, both financial and artistic. Just one week before "Death Wish"'s release, however, another vengeance tale starring Bronson hit the big screens, and that film--"Mr. Majestyk"--though certainly less popular, seminal and influential, was perhaps even more exciting and well done. In the July 17th picture, Bronson stars as Vince Majestyk, a former Vietnam vet (who had received the Silver Star) and current watermelon farmer in the fictitious town of Edna, Colorado. When we first encounter him, it is harvest time, and Majestyk's overriding concern is employing Mexican laborers at $1.40 an hour to harvest his 160-acre spread. Trouble soon looms, however, when Majestyk is put in the slammer after a run-in with a small-time protection-racket thug. While in jail, Majestyk encounters Frank Renda, a Mob hit-man played with growling savagery by Al Lettieri (who many may recall as Sollozzo in 1972's "The Godfather"). And while being transferred by bus to another location, the men are embroiled in a violent attempt by the Mob to free the hit-man; the attempt fails, and when Majestyk tries to turn Renda in himself, he arouses the perpetual wrath of the gunman. Both are ultimately freed, but now Majestyk's hopes of bringing his crop in become increasingly problematic, as both Renda and his goons target both Majestyk and his helpers, as well as his spread, for vengeance....Besides the attack on the prison bus just mentioned, "Mr. Majestyk" features several other extremely well-done action sequences and violent moments. Highlights include the nasty encounter that Majestyk's foreman, Larry Mendoza (Alejandro Rey; not to be confused with Fernando Rey!), has with Renda's goons; the slaying of a cop in a roadside Portosan; and the film's entire final 20 minutes, during which Majestyk and his gal pal, Mexican farm laborer Nancy Chavez (the beautiful Linda Cristal), elude Renda and his thugs during an off-road chase (Majestyk's pickup truck must be the sturdiest such vehicle ever shown on film!), leading to a cat-and-mouse shoot-out at the hit-man's rented lodge. Bronson is simply wonderful in the film, and makes us root for this decent man (a vet, ex-convict through no fault of his own, a divorcée with a 7-year-old daughter, a hard worker, an employer who treats his hires very fairly, a good citizen who turns down a $25,000 bribe from a gangster) throughout. His fine performance is matched by all the supporting players in the film, especially by Lettieri, who is truly menacing as the frothing hit-man hot for revenge. The film's script, by Elmore Leonard, based on his own novel of that same year, is both winning and witty, and the beautiful countryside of Colorado has been nicely captured by DOP Richard H. Kline. Director Richard Fleischer has brought this picture in with a very sure hand, and that, really, should come as no surprise. Fleischer had previously excelled in any number of film genres, directing film noirs ("Armored Car Robbery" and "The Narrow Margin," two of the best noirs ever), sci-fi ("20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," "Fantastic Voyage," "Soylent Green"), horror flicks ("See No Evil," "10 Rillington Place") and historical blockbusters ("The Vikings," "Barabbas," "Tora! Tora! Tora!"), and here demonstrates how very adept he could be at the modern-day action thriller. But the bulk of this film's success must surely reside on Bronson's sturdy shoulders. Though pushing 53 here, he yet proved to be a terrific action performer in this picture. Being shortly preceded by "The Valachi Papers" and "The Mechanic," and soon to be followed by not only "Death Wish," but "Breakheart Pass" and "Hard Times" as well, it is easy to see that Bronson, during the mid-'70s, was on some kind of a genuine renaissance roll. And "Mr. Majestyk" is one of the best of that bunch....
