Review of The Warriors (1979) by Kanyanta N — 28 Jul 2013

The Warriors is a nice movie filled to the brim with a unique premise, a unique look at gangs, melee combat in place of your typical gun fights, and great actors to top it off.

The Warriors centers around a gang (The Warriors) that attempts to escape from the wrath of other gangs, after being falsely accused off killing the grandmaster of all gangs- Cyrus, during a gang conclave. They do this by cleverly maneuvering from one city to the next, fighting off, or carefully avoiding, any gang that gets in their way. The plot is unique and very interesting because, most writers would have forced gun play into every action sequence, but not writers David Shaber, Walter Hill and Sol Yurick. I felt their urge to avoid it, and see instead how the gang (The Warriors) could trick their way out of each situation. It made them feel like a real gang with a plan for getting out of unexpected predicaments, and not like a trigger-happy band of morons who use guns to solve every problem. One instance was when The Warriors were stopped by another gang called The Orphans. The Orphans allowed them to pass as long as they took of their "colors" . A young woman appears (Mercy, portrayed by Deborah Van Valkenburgh ) and criticizes The Orphans for not having more gusto in situations like gang confrontations. The Orphans disappear, and The Warriors kidnap the woman. They proceed into the city and are confronted by The Orphans who re-appear and are this time more aggressive towards The Warriors. In response the Warriors prepare a flame cocktail, when Swan (portrayed by Micheal Beck) rips a shred from Mercy's dress, and together with a bottle of liquor one of the other gang members was carrying light it ,and chuck it at a nearby car. They then use the smoke and the explosion to escape.

The fight sequences are also good. They are well choreographed and make for believable and exciting fights. Almost (if not,every) gang have no projectile weapons. Some lug baseball bats, some knifes, and others plain simple hand-to-hand. But all are coming for The Warriors.

The downside t this movie is pacing. Some times the movie can be a little too slow and it starts to lose your attention. A classic case of too much story not enough action.

Another downside is the over-emphasis on melee combat. It is good to use makeshift weapons every now and then, but all the time? Although using bats and fists helped this film more than hinder it, it would have been nice to see mindless gun play at least a few times to even itself out.

All-in-all The Warriors is an exciting and clever adventure of redemption and survival, that is not worthy of being missed.