Review of The Warriors (1979) by Jake G — 02 Feb 2010

THE WARRIORS is a quintissential American movie, a trip back to a seamier, more corrupt New York and an--at times-- heavy handed decrying of urban violence.

Shot low budget with a cast including hundreds of extras, THE WARRIORS is simultaneously a war movie, "behind enemy lines," and to lesser extent, a romance between the gang's leader and a recalcitrant prostitute.

It's the last hurrah for the gang from Coney Island, The Warriors, although none of them realize it at first. Decked out in their simple attire, sleveless leather jacket and jeans, they ride the subway to a mass meeting involving hundreds of once-hostile gangs. Led by Cyrus, "the one and only," the meeting is the end resulst of a massive ceasefire. As the hundreds of boy-men catcall and cheer on the meeting's impresario, Luther (David Patrick Kelly) draws a gun and shoots and kills Cyrus-- presumably, because he can. It's at this point that the rash decision involves our motley heroes: when one of the Warriors is noticed a witness, Luther aims for him-- but misses, thwarted by a bright stadium light, then screams "The Warriors did it! The Warriors did it!".

In the resulting chaos Cleon, the Warriors' leader, is beat up and left for dead by the formidable Gramercy Riffs, and abandoned by his desperately fleeing counterparts.

And so, about twenty minutes in, the boys are in deep shit. They'll have to fight their way back to their home turf, contested by gangs both half-assed (the Orphans) and downright menacing (the Baseball Furies). Along the way, they'll have to work with a nightmarish subway system and a girl, Mercy (Deborah Van Valkenberg), who becomes oddly attached to Swan (Michael Beck), the stand in leader of the Warriors.

We're led to believe that anything can happen, at this point, whether it be roller skating punks or ballcutting gangs like the Lizzies. And it does, backed by an iffy Joe Walsh song, "In the City," and an electronic tinged, almost jazzy score.

The acting is sometimes sophomoric, the plot predictable, but it has many of the hallmarks of cult classic films-- the clear cut and loathable villain, the offbeat romantic interest, and the head first dive into its subject matter.

It's a greased up choreographed fight movie-- sometimes dumb, sometimes surprisingly insightful, but always intriguing and worth your while, in the end.

Waaaarrrrrriiiorsss, come out to pla-ay!