User Reviews

This is a better than average so-called "blaxploitation" film about a bounty hunter named Truck Turner (Isaac Hayes). When he and his partner are trying to bring in a pimp after he jumped bail, the pimp tries to shoot Turner and Turner has no choice but to shoot him. However, he never anticipated that the pimp's woman (Nichelle Nichols) was a total psycho and she put a contract out on Turner. The rest of the film consists of various hoods (most notably Yahpet Kotto) trying to kill Turner.

This is a pretty exciting film and is well directed, written and acted--making this very unusual for the genre. Most blaxploitation films have horrible production values and are best seen as "guilty pleasures"--this film stands well on its own and doesn't suffer from many of the clichés you'd normally find in one of these films.

One of the more interesting reasons to see the movie is to see Nichols in a non-Star Trek role. Here, she is 100% different from Lt. Uruhu, as she's a very filthy mouthed and angry lady indeed!! She's intensely nasty--and one of the most despicable women you'd ever see in a blaxploitation film! While this film is far from high art and not exactly subtle, if you are looking for a 1970s Black-American themed action picture, it's hard to do much better than this one.

I've always loved Blaxploitation films but don't know them all, and I recently found Truck Turner by complete chance. I LOVED it, Turner is such a bad-ass! He would kick Dirty Harry's and Shaft's asses big time! The film itself is also technically quite interesting, both in the direction, cinematography and editing; I loved the camera on Blue's face when he's about to die, or the shots that make Turner appear taller or his gun appear gigantic. The movie is also very funny at times, maybe more than it was actually intended: the vocabulary, several one-liners and the way the main characters bully anyone in the way just cracked me up. Hayes' music is also great, as usual.

Great fun, great performances, great flick overall. A must-see for any who loves Blaxploitation. I wish I could see more of him; Turner deserved one or several sequels.

A bounty hunter, Mack Truck Turner(Isaac Hayes)has a contract out on him by Dorinda(Nichelle Nichols, in a role bound to shock folks who know her as Ohura on STAR TREK), the vengeance seeking broad whose pimp daddy was murdered by him in self defense. Her fellow pimps across the city decide to take her up on that offer, but they aren't so lucky because Truck is hard to kill, and smarter than all of them(..that plus these hoodlums are all lousy shots because once they have aim, fire, and miss, Truck's taking them out). Harvard Blue(Yaphet Kotto), a sadistic pimp with quite a reputation, offers Dorinda his services for most of her prostitution business and hires assassins to target Truck, seriously hurting his boss and killing his bounty hunter partner. Soon Blue and his cronies themselves become the prey and Trucker the predator with a lot of dead bodies left after the dust settles.

Tailor made vehicle for Isaac Hayes, getting a terrific role as a nearly unstoppable bad ass with an unglamorous career chasing down pedophiles, rapists, junkies and pimps(..along with Alan Weeks as his partner Jerry)for bond claimer Nate Dinwiddie(Sam Laws). I LOVED how the camera lens stretches the nose of Truck's gun giving the weapon a very intimidating look you just know is gonna cause some damage to the scum shot at.

What a great cast of black actors! Yaphet Kotto is as intense and charismatic as Hayes, and what a finale in the hospital! Nichols as the vehement head hunter wanting Turner's death sure surprises(..just watch the scene where she scolds her whores who challenge her credibility as a proper pimp madame or how Nichols insults her male colleagues demeaning their manhood out of fear regarding Truck)in how she conducts herself towards those she has contempt for. I'd hate to not mention Weeks as Turner's buddy and fellow hunter whose life is constantly threatened due to the dangerous job(..and being associated with Turner)..he has some of the best lines and delivers them with pitch perfect accuracy. And Annazette Chase as Annie, Turner's thief girlfriend who can not seem to stay out of prison(..very amusing sequence has Turner setting the poor girl up for shoplifting out of fear for her safety!). Other amusing cameos from Scatman Crothers(..as a retired pimp with a hairpiece!), John Carpenter vet Charles Cyphers(..as a drunk!)and Dick Miller as a lawyer who often pays for Turner and Jerry's services.

Lots of attitude, "colorful"(..often hilarious)street language, the gritty environment of New York City, and extreme graphic violence featuring plenty of bullets & blood. Solid entry in the blacksploitation genre.

Truck is a bounty hunter who gets a job to track down a guy named Gator.

When he and his partner find him, a chase ensues and Gator is killed. This makes Gator's woman, Dorinda, very angry and she puts a hit on Truck.

The man who agrees to kill Truck is named Blue. The question is whether Truck can survive with Blue and his gang on his trail....

This movie is the pinnacle of seventies exploitation cinema. It wears it's tongue firmly in cheek, and although the third act is decidedly dark compared to the first two, it's constantly funny, and has been referenced with it's connotation and sharp dialogue ever since.

Saying that the film is laugh out loud funny isn't criticising the film, but when Turner is chasing Gator, and Gator hit's every object in sight, it's hard not to find the film funny.

This sort of film could never be made now, thanks to the derogatory way that women are treated, and of course the use of one word, but in this case, people could argue that it was a term of endearment. Hayes is fantastic as the titular character, and there is some brutal camera-work, especially the initial punch up and the point of view of Kottos demise.

It's very easy to watch, story is simple as is narrative, and it's a breezy, fun film while it lasts.

You'll never look at "Star Trek's" Nichelle Nichols the same way again after seeing her as the madam of a stable of girls taking over the empire of pimp Paul Harris after bounty hunter Isaac Hayes kills him, sending out Yaphet Kotto to kill Hayes for vengeance. For a hot tempered pimp who beats his women, Harris certainly gets a colorful funeral, and the outfits alone there are worthy of a 70's revival fashion parade along with the hairstyles and jewelry. Nichols is just as nasty tempered and powerfully rotten as the male villains and sneers her lines with humor and chilling hatred.

Hysterically, Kotto visits Hayes and his girlfriend (Annazette Chase) wearing a whole suit in the same print as Chase's top, covered by a plain blazer. Those who try to hit Hayes get the worst, but the city of Philadelphia becomes a waterfront shooting gallery, with Hayes on his own destroying an entire bar when he first gets the assignment to bring in Harris live or dead. Violent but frequently funny, this is an amusing time capsule that is definitely dated but delightfully silly. Great character actors like Scatman Crothers (dressed to the nines), Dick Miller and Stan Shaw add to the fun.