The Annihilators

1985 "For them, the Vietnam War wasn't Hell...it was Practice."
5.1| 1h24m| R| en| More Info
Released: 01 January 1985 Released
Producted By: Balcor Film Investors
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Upon his return from Vietnam, an ex-soldier finds his neighborhood has deteriorated badly, and is being terrorized by a vicious street gang. He calls some of his GI buddies, and together they hatch a plan to get rid of the gang.

... View More
Stream Online

Stream with Prime Video

Director

Producted By

Balcor Film Investors

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial Watch Now

Trailers & Images

Reviews

Artivels Undescribable Perfection
Dotbankey A lot of fun.
Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
mengels-845-984419 Come on guys just 18 people reviewing this great funny movie ? This is a real great B Movie Gem from the 80ies. 1985 to be precise. The Actors are just the ones you expect... (not too bad) and the villains are sooooo bad :) you know what I mean. The movie is fun to watch and you always know what to expect... and that's why it is so funny. Great Dialogues and funny 80ie Action.You will have a great fun evening watching this mind numbing trash. Of course people with an artistic flavor please do NOT watch this stupid little flick. All others YEEEESSS :) Have fun
udar55 After their wheelchair bound brother in arms Joe is killed by a gang in Atlanta, Vietnam vets Bill (Christopher Stone), Ray (Gerrit Graham), Garrett (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs) and Woody (Andy Wood) come to the city to teach the citizens how to stand up for themselves. Their main adversary is Roy Boy (Paul Koslo), who is working on a big heroin deal and tries to keep the local kids on his payroll. Our four Vietnam vigilantes also have to contend with Lt. Hawkins (Jim Antonio), who wants things done by the book. This is a serviceable entry in the citizen vigilante sub-genre. The problem is that there are so many classics in that field that this could never really compare. Director Charles Sellier had just come off of SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT so it is surprising this isn't sleazier. The main characters are lazily outlined (we barely know each of their specialties a la THE A-TEAM) and we get a really amusing training montage for the citizens that lasts about a minute. There is also a really bungled mystery regarding a fifth member called "Holdout Harry." Still, I was never bored and the film did provide a few laughs (especially the random school bus hostage taking during the finale).
Hellraiserdisciple After a former brother-in-arms from Vietnam is killed by a gang of thugs his former platoon leader is recruited to clean up the streets. He summons the rest of the squad and the game is on.The story is simple and has been done several times before. There is a relatively short first part that takes place in Vietnam to establish the relationship between the soldiers. I really wish they had spent another ten minutes building on this to give the rest of the film a deeper emotional impact. Sure this is a 80s vigilante film, but that doesn't mean we can't have characters we really care about. Does it? The vigilante force also teaches the neighborhood how they can defend themselves in a montage. And who doesn't enjoy a good montage? This montage is mediocre, but that's okay. The Annihilators could easily have been mistaken for the A-Team. They aren't that professional and they are slightly more violent. Other than that they are just the same. In fact there is at least on A-Team episode exactly like this film. One of the highlights in this film is the gang leader. He looks like a shabby Kurt Russell and when he wears that wonderful pink t-shirt you won't exactly tremble with fear. The guy has balls though. At one point he walks around in the middle of the street with a flamethrower yelling that he wants his drugs back. NOW! It's hilarious stuff! How he became a gang leader is anyone's guess. He isn't a very good leader and his minions are even less capable of anything. They are crappy stereotypes, which I suppose is only what one can expect from a movie like this. On the positive side, this only adds to the overall cheese factor.Now the thing that really annoyed me about The Annihilators is the title. It's called THE ANNIHILATORS! The definition of annihilate in the Oxford dictionary is; to destroy completely. Our vigilante squad frequently just hurt the gang members. Only towards the end do we see a somewhat steady rise in bodies. However, they are still merely shot. At least director Charles E. Sellier Jr. could have had the decency to give us some Peckinpah or Woo style shootings. And even then I doubt they could have called themselves The Annihilators with pride. Now had they taken out the scumbags with rocket launchers, claymore mines or such, the whole affair would have looked a lot different! I could go on about all the things The Annihilators isn't, but that would be unfair to it. For all its faults The Annihilators provide some entertainment, mostly in the cheese department. Grab some recreational drugs, a pizza and watch with friends.
Milpool The Annihilators has got to be one of the most inept films I have ever seen. Filled to the brim with everything a bad action flick could ask for, this "film" seems to have the worst of everything going for it. From the dull, mindless plot surrounding a couple of Vietnam vets who decide to take up arms against a street gang (really original) to the "film's" ending, which comprises something like ten minutes of shooting where nobody gets shot, this flick will have you laughing out loud. Of all the films in my collection, this one shall never leave. Pricelessly stupid!