When bullies led by Ned Beatty cosplaying as Wolverine kill your family in a drunken stupor the only thing to do is get your revenge with your homemade Monster truck! Rolling Vengeance is new to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
Rolling Vengeance is the type of film that will work for many who love B-movie action films from the 1980s. It’s the type of action film that mid-way through has a montage set to a song by a band with a name like Striker or Ejection. A film that thinks women are disposable story fodder for either murder or rape or both. A film that thinks its working in shorthand but in reality its just lazy storytelling.
You’ve seen and heard the plot time and time before. Tiny Doyle (Beatty) and his five sons run a bar and car dealership that gives them the excuse to act like the ripe idiots they are. When they’re not drinking themselves into a stupor they’re recklessly driving on the road causing havoc. The only person strong and dumb enough to stand up to them is Big Joe Russo (Lawrence Dane), who begins a war with Doyle and his sons and leads to the death of Russo’s family – all but his son Joey Russo (Don Michael Paul). When the law fails them, Joey takes the monster truck he’s been quietly working on (yes, quietly) and turns it into a death machine to exact his vengeance.
I love these kinds of films. Ned Beatty plays the exact same role in one of my favorites White Lighting. This one does not live up in the pantheon of road revenge films. That falls squarely on the clunky and plot-hole filled script by Michael Thomas Montgomery. What could have been a great film about corruption and criminals getting revenge is just a lazy exercise in uninspired action set pieces. This is the type of film that can’t even bother to give us real reasons that the Doyles are despicable – its literally just “drunks!”, “murder!” and “rape!” is about all the film has to shout at you. Even when these things do happen the film has no sort of compass of compassion or showing the aftereffects. These are all just excuses for our “hero” to complete his monster truck and begin to wreak havoc.
That havoc is nothing to write home about. The car carnage is about as inspired as a kid playing with his toys in the backyard. There isn’t an inventive bone in this film’s body. Everything is relegated to the truck running over the bad guys. That’s it. The truck appears a few times faces off against everyone and then … done.
Rolling Vengeance could have been something truly deranged and worthy of the car vengeance subgenre. As it is, the film is an awesome poster in search of a movie.
Note: the film features a scene of sexual assault.
The Transfer
The transfer is an excellent representation of the 35mm image of the production. There isn’t a scratch or blemish during the runtime. The image is clean with a nice active grain structure throughout. The result is a Blu-ray that closely hues to the filmic origins.
The Extras
They include the following;
Audio Commentary by Paul Corupe of Canuxploitation.com and Film Historian Jason Pichonsky
Interview with Actor Lawrence Dane
Theatrical Trailer
The Audio Commentary by Paul Corupe of Canuxploitation.com and Film Historian Jason Pichonsky begins with their assessment that this is the “best monster truck movie”. Some of the other details include the production details – time, location, etc. that the film was produced under; a discussion of actor Barkley Hope; why Jack Daniels was given a special credit at the end of the film; the work of screenwriter Michael Thomas Montgomery – and a larger issue that he took to court for another screenplay earlier in his career; a discussion of star Don Michael Paul – including his turn to screenwriting with his first produced script Harley Davidson and the Marbrolo Man and Eye of the Tiger (the movie); a discussion of the Eye of the Tiger story and how similar is hues to Rolling Vengeance and discussion of those plot points; the early scripts for Rolling Vengeance and how different they were than the final production; a discussion about Canadian actor Lawrence Dane – including both personal and professional history, including a discussion of Rituals; a larger discussion of the monster trucks in the film, a history of them (including the infamous Bigfoot), when they begin to gain popularity; and much more. Corupe and Pichonsky take us on an entertaining deep dive into making this particular film and wonderful side tangents with the creatives behind the making of the film.
Interview with Actor Lawrence Dane (9:45) – in this all-new interview with the actor, Dane begins with his early life in Canada. Some of the details include what he loves about acting, writing, producing and directing; working with Ned Beatty on Rolling Vengeance; if he drove the trucks in the film; and much more.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Rolling Vengeance (1:52); Mad Max (2:09); The Final Option (1:47); Black Moon Rising (1:30); Stone Cold (1:35)
The Final Thought
Rolling Vengeance is an uninspired Canuxploitation action film with a Monster Truck at the center of it. Fans of the film will delight in this new Blu-ray. Others will be baffled.
When bullies led by Ned Beatty cosplaying as Wolverine kill your family in a drunken stupor the only thing to do is get your revenge with your homemade Monster truck! Rolling Vengeance is new to Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
Rolling Vengeance is the type of film that will work for many who love B-movie action films from the 1980s. It’s the type of action film that mid-way through has a montage set to a song by a band with a name like Striker or Ejection. A film that thinks women are disposable story fodder for either murder or rape or both. A film that thinks its working in shorthand but in reality its just lazy storytelling.
You’ve seen and heard the plot time and time before. Tiny Doyle (Beatty) and his five sons run a bar and car dealership that gives them the excuse to act like the ripe idiots they are. When they’re not drinking themselves into a stupor they’re recklessly driving on the road causing havoc. The only person strong and dumb enough to stand up to them is Big Joe Russo (Lawrence Dane), who begins a war with Doyle and his sons and leads to the death of Russo’s family – all but his son Joey Russo (Don Michael Paul). When the law fails them, Joey takes the monster truck he’s been quietly working on (yes, quietly) and turns it into a death machine to exact his vengeance.
I love these kinds of films. Ned Beatty plays the exact same role in one of my favorites White Lighting. This one does not live up in the pantheon of road revenge films. That falls squarely on the clunky and plot-hole filled script by Michael Thomas Montgomery. What could have been a great film about corruption and criminals getting revenge is just a lazy exercise in uninspired action set pieces. This is the type of film that can’t even bother to give us real reasons that the Doyles are despicable – its literally just “drunks!”, “murder!” and “rape!” is about all the film has to shout at you. Even when these things do happen the film has no sort of compass of compassion or showing the aftereffects. These are all just excuses for our “hero” to complete his monster truck and begin to wreak havoc.
That havoc is nothing to write home about. The car carnage is about as inspired as a kid playing with his toys in the backyard. There isn’t an inventive bone in this film’s body. Everything is relegated to the truck running over the bad guys. That’s it. The truck appears a few times faces off against everyone and then … done.
Rolling Vengeance could have been something truly deranged and worthy of the car vengeance subgenre. As it is, the film is an awesome poster in search of a movie.
Note: the film features a scene of sexual assault.
The Transfer
The transfer is an excellent representation of the 35mm image of the production. There isn’t a scratch or blemish during the runtime. The image is clean with a nice active grain structure throughout. The result is a Blu-ray that closely hues to the filmic origins.
The Extras
They include the following;
The Audio Commentary by Paul Corupe of Canuxploitation.com and Film Historian Jason Pichonsky begins with their assessment that this is the “best monster truck movie”. Some of the other details include the production details – time, location, etc. that the film was produced under; a discussion of actor Barkley Hope; why Jack Daniels was given a special credit at the end of the film; the work of screenwriter Michael Thomas Montgomery – and a larger issue that he took to court for another screenplay earlier in his career; a discussion of star Don Michael Paul – including his turn to screenwriting with his first produced script Harley Davidson and the Marbrolo Man and Eye of the Tiger (the movie); a discussion of the Eye of the Tiger story and how similar is hues to Rolling Vengeance and discussion of those plot points; the early scripts for Rolling Vengeance and how different they were than the final production; a discussion about Canadian actor Lawrence Dane – including both personal and professional history, including a discussion of Rituals; a larger discussion of the monster trucks in the film, a history of them (including the infamous Bigfoot), when they begin to gain popularity; and much more. Corupe and Pichonsky take us on an entertaining deep dive into making this particular film and wonderful side tangents with the creatives behind the making of the film.
Interview with Actor Lawrence Dane (9:45) – in this all-new interview with the actor, Dane begins with his early life in Canada. Some of the details include what he loves about acting, writing, producing and directing; working with Ned Beatty on Rolling Vengeance; if he drove the trucks in the film; and much more.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Rolling Vengeance (1:52); Mad Max (2:09); The Final Option (1:47); Black Moon Rising (1:30); Stone Cold (1:35)
The Final Thought
Rolling Vengeance is an uninspired Canuxploitation action film with a Monster Truck at the center of it. Fans of the film will delight in this new Blu-ray. Others will be baffled.
Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray edition of Rolling Vengeance is out now
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