ThatManBolt

That Man Bolt (1973)

Fred “the Hammer” Williamson stars as Jefferson Bolt in this killer action/blaxsploitation movie from the early 70s. Bolt makes his living as a courier of valuables. Basically if you want something expensive moved from one place to another you get Bolt to do it for you. This time around he is hired to move a large amount of cash from Hong Kong to L.A. for a mysterious gang of men. He does his job and gets the money there, but then they try and double cross him. It seems what he thought was a legit deal isn’t and him registering the cash with the U.S. government has screwed things up. Bolt takes off to Vegas to figure things out. But after they kill his woman he heads back home to Hong Kong to settle the score with the men or man responsible.

That Man Bolt has to be one of the best blaxsploitation movies that I’ve had the pleasure of watching. Unlike many of the others that I’ve watched That Man Bolt obviously had a decent budget. The action moves from Hong Kong to L.A. to Las Vegas, so the locations alone make this a unique entry into the subgenre. But it just isn’t the budget that makes this movie stand out. The story is paced nicely and keeps the action coming rapidly. And just so everyone knows this is an action movie. If you are expecting to see some character study or “deep” meaning to the dialogue then this is the wrong movie. This movie is about Bolt kicking some butt and delivering some great one-liners. Honestly the movie succeeds on both of these fronts with ease. We slide from one fight sequence to another as Bolt takes on everyone from the Mob to Ninja like assassins! Heck throw in a cool car chase and a commando assault and you have an action movie that isn’t afraid to deliver the goods.

Again Williamson (who I think is a good actor) isn’t asked to do much acting, but he is perfectly cast for the physical demands of the role. The guy was a professional athlete and is able to pull of the action sequences with obvious ease. The always fun to watch Paul Mantee (Day of the Animals) is a blast in the movie as is Teresa Graves who plays Bolt’s love interest. But much like Williamson they are asked to do very little acting. Though they do look good doing what little the movie asks them to. The camera work is top notch, which is great considering the great locations that I’ve already mentioned. Whether they were shooting in Hong Kong or Las Vegas the filmmakers made sure they captured it onscreen. The action is well choreographed, especially the martial arts. There is nothing more annoying to me than a movie that tries to use karate or kung fu and completely botches it. I’m thinking of a particularly bad attempt in a spy movie that was pretty awful (Roger Moore can’t do karate!). That Man Bolt has the star in Williamson that can pull off both the martial arts and a good old-fashioned butt kicking in a men’s room!

Bottom line for me is that it won’t matter if you dig blaxsploitation movies or not. While That Man Bolt might fit into that category, it also stands out equally as a well-executed and fun to watch action movie. I really do recommend everyone pick this one up if they get the chance.

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer