Juana
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Delight
Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.
The_After_Movie_Diner
OK, listen up, the rest of the people who have reviewed this movie are either blithering idiots or have never watched a B Movie actioner before. Fred 'The Hammer' Williamson directs and stars in this renegade cop versus a drug syndicate movie which has everything you could possibly ever want from one of these kinds of films. There is gun play, fisticuffs, explosions, great one liners, a damn cool soundtrack and a terrific cast having a ton of fun with the subject matter. Is it true that it's low budget, fairly rare, shot on a lower grade film and sort of illogical in places? yes of course, it's an action film made in the early 80s but that's not why you watch a movie like this. You watch it because Fred Williamson is one of the coolest men on the planet, because The Hammer always gets his man, because the cast list reads like a Whos Who of AWESOMENESS, because it's shot on real locations, because it's fun and gritty and, if you need one more reason, because there are full human body explosions in the movie!!The Hammer plays a rough and ready, rule breaking cop who gets suspended after a drug bust gone wrong fails to turn up a million dollars in cash. Now this renegade has to clear his name and stop the bad guys who have a vendetta against him and want their money back. It doesn't disappoint. From the opening scene of Williamson undercover dressed like the smoothest pimp you've ever seen to the explosion filled ending it is a well paced, slick, fun, exciting, funny, action filled movie with a soundtrack that sets it on fire. A fairly bad copy is available on YouTube or you can buy it cheap on Amazon. I would suggest you do so. Yes this film needs to be watched and reviewed as what it is. Although the production value might not stand up against a big studio picture, considering it was probably made for 7% of the budget of say, a Beverly Hills Cop, it's a damn fine film and The Hammer knows how to get bang for his buck on screen.Also, for the other reviewer that said that Black Caesar is the sequel to Hell up in Harlem, it's the other way round. You're on IMDb it would've taken you literally seconds to find that out. Anyway, please ignore everyone else and give this movie a chance. It's kick ass!
Nick Florest
I'm not sure what to vote. This literally showed up in my Netflix suggestions and what I've been doing lately is I've watched these random recommendations while reading the reviews/receptions in their Wikipedia entries... only this is the first time I can't find. There is absolutely nothing on Wikipedia at all about this movie at all.Usually if there's no entry set up something popular, it will at least be mentioned in a relative entry. Not "The Big Score". I checked Nancy Wilson's page, Fred Williamson's page, John Saxon's page and none of them had it listed. Richard Roundtree's entry is the only one that acknowledges it and there it is non-post.That's a sign of how bad it is, which leads to an even bigger mystery:How and why is it on Netflix?
mqp
I saw this movie some years ago. And I've seen many Fred Williamson movies and all I have to say is........"It's a typical Fred Williamson Movie." Most of his movies are cheesy to say the least. If you keep this in mind before viewing the movie, it lessons the blow. I look at his movies as comedy. They are good movies for you and your buddies to get together with some beer and chips and just "rag" on the movies. (Please check out the following Williamson Classics. "Bucktown", "O.G.", "That Man Bolt", Hell up in Harlem...and it's sequel "Black Ceasar".) And also make sure you are drunk and with your friends when watching. However, I must say, the music was pretty decent. It features Jazz greats Ramsey Lewis and Nancy Wilson (who also plays Williamsons women)and R&B greats the Chi-lites.
