TruckTurner

Truck Turner (1974)

This is another bit of 70s cinema that I can’t believe I’ve missed until now. The legendary Isaac Hayes plays Mack “Truck” Turner, an ex-football star turned bounty hunter. After an opening where we get to see how much of a bad ass Truck is the movie gets to the meat of the story. Turner and his partner go after a particularly nasty pimp that has skipped bail. When the pimp ends up dead after a shootout his woman, Dorinda (played by Nichelle Nichols), puts the hit out on Turner. Before you know it he has every hood, pimp, and hit man in town gunning for him. This leads to some killing and a whole lot of action.

And that is the best part about Truck Turner, the action. As much as I love Exploitation movies I’ll be the first to admit that many of them have pacing and story issues. But here the story is very tight, with just enough character development to make you care about what happens to them during the action sequences. Don’t get me wrong the writing here is brilliant. There is a bit early on with a cat and Truck’s last clean shirt that establishes the character better than pages of dialogue could ever do. To me that is an example of a well-written movie. Speaking of the dialogue it is, for lack of a better word, very cool. There are some very quotable lines that had me laughing, especially between the Truck character and his partner Jerry. Of course the dialogue is only as good as the actors and the cast is damn good. Again Nichelle Nichols is having a blast chewing up some scenery as Dorinda. Yaphette Koto does a good job as the villain Harvard Blue (his scene at Gator’s funeral is killer!). But the real pleasure here is Hayes as Truck Turner. I’m shocked after watching this that he didn’t get more chances to carry a movie. It is a damn shame.

In addition to being a well-written and acted movie Truck Turner also boasts some really great action sequences. From a killer bar fight, to several nicely choreographed and shot gunfights the movie is a real joy to watch. I really enjoyed the last big shootout in the hospital between Truck and Harvard Blue. It would also be wrong of me to not mention the music. In addition to doing a great job as an actor, Hayes wrote some great music for this movie. It is a great score that not only puts you in the mood for the movie, but also makes the experience even better.

Truck Turner is one of the best Blaxsploitation movies that I’ve ever seen. If you are a fan of 70s cinema, or just love a good action movie you need to go and check this one out. It really doesn’t get much better than this.

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer