The Annihilators
THE STORY: I have searched high and low for this movie. I saw it in the mid-eighties with my college roommates and I thought it would be a fine addition to this page...imagine my delight when it magically appeared in the 99 cent rental bin at my local video store! Welcome to the inferno...
Okay, this movie is basic 80's crime fighting fare. Its not that bad really, for a film made at its time...a cheesey film that is. Remember, the 80's spawned many films about vietnam vets using their training to fight evil, chief among them First Blood, which begat Rambo. So if you look at this movie in the time frame of its heyday, it was pretty much the norm. You may also be shocked to know it was shown in theaters! (straight to video releases weren't really made then)
On with the story...Sergeant Bill Ecker leads a squad of "the best" fighting men in Vietnam...Joe Nace, Garrett, Ray, and Woody. Ecker gets his orders from an intelligence officer known only as "Popeye" and only he has met. During a mission Joe is injured. Flash forward to the present...I mean the 80's... and Joe is now working with his father in their convenience store in a bad part of Atlanta. Joe is confined to a wheelchair because of his injury in 'nam, but he tries to convince the other merchants in the neighborhood to stand up against Roy Boy and his gang of street toughs that extort money from them. Roy Boy hears about this and kills Joe. Sergeant Ecker gets the rest of the squad together after the funeral to avenge him. Everyone seems to have gotten on with life okay after 'nam except for Woody who is living on the street and drinking himself silly...but he pulls it together to help his former squad members. Ecker and his group train the locals in self defense and discover that Roy Boy's gang, the "Rollers", are protecting big drug shipments coming through Atlanta. During a gun battle in the street, Ray is killed saving a child from a hail of bullets. Woody also discovers from a bag lady that Roy Boy is the one who killed Joe. A local cop, Lt. Hawkins wants Ecker and his men behind bars,even though they seem good for the nieghborhood. Ecker and company set a trap for Roy Boy and his cronies and seize a big drug shipment. This causes a shootout in the streets which leaves Roy Boy and most of his gang dead. It is then revealed that Lt. Hawkins was "Popeye" back in 'nam and has been secretly helping Ecker. With roy boy and his gang finished Woody decides to clean himself up and stay in the nieghborhood. Ecker and Garrett...well, I guess they go home.
Most of the cheesiness in this film comes from the fact it was made in the 80's. Anyone who remembers the films and programs of those days will understand why I think its a long version of an "A-Team" plot! Also Garrett was played by actor Lawrence Hilton Jacobs, known for playing "Freddy Boom-Boom Washington" on the 70's sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter"and the character "Cochise" in the movie "Coolie High". Star Trek fans will note that Ray is played by Gerritt Graham, who was Q (a Q rather) that committed suicide on Star Trek: Voyager.
BEST LINE: "I don't believe this! you guys ride into town like a bunch of cowboys about to shoot up Main Street and you wonder why it all fell apart?" -Sergeant Ecker to Garrett, Woody and Ray after they botch an ill-thought attempt to get Roy Boy.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?:
1.) How can Roy Boy and his flunkies get away with any crimes at all? They don't seem particularly bright and they live in some kind of abandoned building. Gosh, the cops in Atlanta must suck!
2.) Since Lt. Hawkins is "Popeye" he's on Ecker's side...but then why does he even pretend to shake Ecker and company down in the cafe? They haven't done anything wrong at this point in the movie. The only thing they've done is teach the locals self-defense! I say again, cops in Atlanta must really suck! (I don't mean that for real...only the movie makes it look that way.)
3.) If Roy Boy is such a master criminal why does he make regularly scheduled drug runs? thats the only way Ecker would have known about his "Big drug run" after tailing him for awhile.
4.) WHOA! Roy Boy has a flame thrower in the middle of the street!
5.) I just have to get this off of my chest....ROY BOY? ROY BOY? For the love of Pete, I know this was made in the 80's when people thought the Dukes of Hazzard were cool, but ROY BOY? They couldn't think of a better name for the gang leader than Roy Boy?
NUDITY AND SEX: Roy Boy's gang rips a dress of off a woman before they kill Joe. So, women in Atlanta wear nice sun dresses with nothing on underneath but panties.
HUH?: This happens a lot in most 80s movie...indeed, in movies in general...but during the shootouts, which last a fairly long time...NO COPS SHOW UP until the heroes have time to hide their weapons and/or get away! Do the cops in Atlanta suck that bad that a ten minute gun battle on the street doesn't attract their attention until its well over?
During a gun battle one of Roy Boy's chief thugs hides behind an abandoned couch. Give this man a Darwin Award! He didn't get killed just then, but come on...why would he even think that was going to protect his ass?
The police captain in this movie is why Atlanta cops must suck...he's not interested in conducting any kind of investigation! At the end of the movie he tells Hawkins to let Ecker and his men go...there are dead thugs all over the place. Roy Boy just fell to his death from the roof a building that Hawkins captured Ecker on! The captain takes the word of a few people on the street that Ecker had nothing to do with it! Geez, if I was an Atlanta police office I'd ban this movie from my home!
THE TALLY: As I said the cheesiness of this movie comes from its time of origin. the 80's are good for cheese...I like this movie because of that. Its like a 90n minute "A-team" episode with a little nudity.
