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The Big Score (1983)

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.