Movie Review: Hammer (1972)
Synopsis: Dockworker B. J. Hammer is fired from his job after getting into a fight and soon after, is recruited by a local crime boss who wants to sponsor him as a professional boxer. Hammer quickly rises through the ranks but then learns he is expected to throw a fight. If he refuses, his girlfriend, Lois, will pay with her life.
Who's in it? The movie stars Fred Williamson, Bernie Hamilton, Vonetta McGee, Charles Lampkin and Elizabeth Harding.
Review: I came across Hammer on ScreenPix this morning and, while I'm not usually into blaxploitation films, the plot sounded intriguing enough to give it a try. After watching it, I can say it was a good choice but fell short of being a great one.
I'll start out with the positives. For one, Hammer (Williamson) is an intriguing character and I'm a little surprised this didn't become a film franchise as a result. He had a good mix of toughness and intelligence, making it clear he didn't trust the crime boss, Big Sid (Lampkin), but believing he could face any challenge that was thrown his way. At the same time, the movie went out of its way to show his integrity, both when it came to taking a dive in a fight and by showing him as a one-woman man.
I also thought the main conflict of the movie was a solid one, putting Hammer up against a powerful enemy and in a seemingly impossible situation. The ending wasn't as predictable as it could have been as a result of that.
As far as the negatives are concerned, one of the first ones that comes to mind is this might have been one of the most 1970s movies that have ever 1970'd. This was a combination of the clothing choices, the dialog, the gratuitous nudity/sex and the background music. It probably shouldn't have mattered all that much, but I was finding it hard to take the movie seriously at times, especially when the music didn't seem to fit the scene.
My bigger problem with the film though is it is, at best, a 45-minute short film that has another 47 minutes of filler to make it feature-length. I think you could easily cut out 20 minutes of the first half hour and still set up the main story and, even then, you need to navigate through a drawn-out sex scene, way too many scenes establishing Big Sid as a bad guy (as though killing a former boxer early on wasn't enough) and various scenes showing Hammer training for a fight before getting to the main conflict.
Even the film's ending seemed a bit dragged out. Though, to be fair, at least the final fight scene was fun to watch.
Final Opinion: It's a good movie despite its flaws. However, with a bit more boxing and a whole lot less filler, I think it would have been a much more memorable film.
My Grade: B-
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Here are some reviews of other movies from the early 1970s:
Movie Review: The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
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