Best movie of this year hands down!

Fresh and Exciting

Awesome Movie

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Having spent more than six years in a POW camp, a Vietnam War veteran finds adjusting to life back home challenging in this dramatic thriller co-written by Paul Schrader and starring William Devane. The film gets off to a strong start with Devane remaining cold and near emotionless to the very worst of news, having learnt to bottle up his emotions as a way of surviving the POW camp. In a memorable scene, he even tries to get someone to torture him like the Viet Cong tortured him, confessing that he has come to love the pain and rely on it. There is also a touching angle with Devane feeling a stranger around his preteen son who does not even remember him. This dramatic crux soon takes a backseat though as thugs break into his house, intending to rob him. While this leads to an extremely intense scene in which Devane does not even cave into the worst possible torture since he has learnt not to, the subsequent movie is never quite as interesting as it focuses on Devane's attempts to track down the thugs after they kill his family and then leave him for dead. The Vietnam War parable that results is fairly decent, with the thugs representing the whole Viet Cong who likewise caused him great pain over the years, however, his war veteran history is soon forgotten with the film too often feeling a 'Death Wish' variant. The final shoot-out is also arguably too brief (lasting less than five minutes) to truly feel cathartic, and yet Devane is mesmerising enough that the film is enticing from start to finish. It is hard to think of a more substantial film role that he has had.

The nice thing about "Rolling Thunder" (besides that bitchin' title) is that it's a fairly unconventional revenge flick. Not the obvious kind, but the sort that really gets under your skin; where the thirst for justive plays out in a '70s returning POW melodrama. William Devane ably personifies that displaced brooding (Tommy Lee Jones even more so), moving through his shattered home life with detached stoicism. And once the robbers move in on him, take his hand and his family, is he frothing at the mouth and swearing vengeance toward the heavens? Nooo, he's far too (seemingly) docile, a tightly-coiled rage festering within. Payback will happen in due time, and that's a feeling of dread unto itself.This thing burns slow, discomfiting to say the least. Not just a b-movie actioner, but a pointed examination of the effects of war, torture and reintegration into society. Notable also for James Best as a thug ring-leader, but even more for the unbelievably tense garbage disposal scene (which I'm sure is the scene most people remember from this movie).7/10

Rolling Thunder is directed by John Flynn and written by Paul Schrader and Heywood Gould. It stars William Devane, Tommy Lee Jones, Linda Haynes, James Best, Dabney Coleman and Luke Askew. Music is scored by Barry de Vorzon and cinematography by Jordan Cronenweth.When Major Charles Rane (Devane) returns from being a POW in Vietnam, he finds the world is a different place. His wife has been unfaithful and wants a divorce, his son doesn't know him and not everybody appreciates his service in the war effort. When some sympathetic town citizens hold a ceremony and give him 2,555 silver dollars, it signals the start of violence that takes Rane into a new war......I'm just gonna sit here.When Quentin Tarantino proclaimed Rolling Thunder as one of his favourite movies of all time, it was both a blessing and a curse. It's great that this undervalued and under seen gem hit the press notices, even getting a new Blu-ray release in the process, but with Quentin's name comes the millstone of exploitation and cheap flea-pit cinemas showing grubby movies. Nothing wrong with that, many film fans, myself included, enjoy 70s exploitation films and spent time in the afore mentioned sticky carpeted and tobacco perfumed theatres. But Rolling Thunder deserves better than being part of this filmic cultured arc, to have interested new parties seek it out purely with expectation of a revenge driven bloodbath movie.You learn to love the pain.John Flynn's movie is one of the finest of all the revenge driven movies out there. It has rich characterisation and thoughtful insight into the pain and tragedy of post war adjustment. The performances of Devane (brilliantly understated) and Jones (haunted) really add a bite to the narrative, turning in sensitive portrayals of men who left their souls in the bowels of some Hanoi hell. Thus when the violence is unleashed in a whirl of shotgun blasts and hook handed carnage, it isn't for gratification, it's an extension of a tortured or guilty psyche. There's genuine realism in the characters during the build up, with director Flynn taking his time to let the plot unfold. From the Rane and Vohden family homes, to Linda Haynes' love interest, reactions ring true without histrionics.It's your time, boy.The violence is well orchestrated, especially for the finale played out suitably in a grubby brothel. Rest assured bloodhounds, you are well and truly catered for here as well. It's the perfect blend of exploitation and intelligence, with a good sense of time and place too. There's flaws for sure as some credibility is invariably stretched, there's a whiff of misogyny in the air (though I don't think it is intentional, just ignorance by the writers) and some may find the stereotypes afforded the Mexicans as being unappetising. But flaws be damned, this is a cracker-jack movie, a modern day Western just waiting to be discovered by a new generation of film fans. 8.5/10

Late Fillmaker John Flynn's 'Rolling Thunder' is a gruesome & slow-paced vendetta fare, that works primarily due to Flynn's Direction, that's so Well-Done.'Rolling Thunder' Synopsis: Major Charles Rane comes back from the war and is given a number of gifts from his hometown because he is a war hero. Some greedy thugs decide that they want to steal a number of silver dollars from him. In the process they also manage to kill his wife and son and destroy his hand. And Now, The Major wants revenge.'Rolling Thunder' is slow-paced & gruesome. The Action-Sequences are unforgiving & very effective, while the pacing is slow & moves lethargically. Paul Schrader & Heywood Gould's Screenplay could've been tighter, but works nonetheless. Flynn's Direction is the biggest merit here. He's done his job wonderfully, from start to end. Kudos Indeed!Performance-Wise: William Devane plays the protagonist well. The Ever-Fantastic Tommy Lee Jones, stands out, yet again. Linda Haynes is adequate. Others offer good support.On the whole, 'Rolling Thunder' isn't Spectacular, but Well-Directed nonetheless.