Excellent, Without a doubt!!

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

A simple premise of "A corrupt prison guard becomes involved in a plot to murder a black revolutionary serving time in his prison" so right away you've got a premise of claustrophobic drama . Add "Starring James Wood" and the movie is instantly sold to me no questions asked. Two hours later I felt a feeling of disappointment As soon as the title sequence starts there's an element of the mis en scene is entirely different from what the premise demands and that is the look and the feel of the movie is something similar to a made for television movie. The rather twee musical score doesn't help either. As soon as Woods character enters the cellblock the unconvincing nature of the film continues. Considering it's a maximum security prison the average library is more noisy. In fact this is the most annoying thing about FAST-WALKING and that is considering there's supposed to be dozens of hard desperate men caged up like animals there's never anything involving background noise and you're aware you're watching a movie The story itself isn't told well with long segments revolving around Woods corrupt but ultimately stand up prison guard life outside of prison hours. Add to this a cast who never give the impression they're anything more than actors appearing in a film and you can understand why a few of the reviews here from people who have read the source novel were as disappointed as I was

I loved this movie, one of James Woods' best. I certainly agree with the other reviewer about Kay Lenz, the woman is ravishing. It has a gritty, sleazy feel to it that reminds me of "To Live and Die In L.A.".. .. it's realistic, in other words. Kay Lenz was striking in this movie, I thought she was about the sexiest woman alive for years after watching this. The guy that played WASCO was really good too, and lots of underground prison slang in the movie..it's got that real feel to it... It reminds me of the movie "Colors".. or "Miami Vice" .. and mirrors the drug scene in California, indeed, in America. It's a gray movie.. without any real heroes. Reminds me of real life!

I will freely admit that my initial interest in this movie came from not from reading the book (there was a book?) but from the prospect of seeing the unbelievably attractive Kay Lenz frequently nude. How has she developed since 1973 and "Breezy"? (Very very well!) Nevertheless, the movie offered much more than that.James Wood is a prison guard and a hustler looking for money where he can make it, and he isn't fussy about how. So when he finds a way to score 50K by springing a (nice guy) black activist, he wants in. But..there is also a plot to kill the black activist and he finds himself involved in that too. Meanwhile, he gets involved with Kay Lenz,the gorgeous wife of his cousin, the con who is the brains behind the plot to kill the activist. This flick has twists,turns, and a surprising ending that you will NOT figure out 'till the last few minutes.Darn good movie. And Kay Lenz looks terrific! Why didn't Playboy grab her for a 10-page pictorial?

James Brawley's novel 'The Rap' was a long and beautifully written commentary on a great many things. It captured the atmosphere of its milieu (the 1960's) perfectly.Although the plot of the novel is held together by the glue of the conspiracy within the prison, the novel itself is filled with a rich cast of colorful, fully developed characters who force the reader think about all those things good novels do--life, death, love, hate, family bonds, freedom, bondage. James Woods is a fine actor, but this poor adaptation of a truly great novel was so thinly drawn that I didn't at first even recognize "Fast Walking" as having come from 'The Rap'. It's a decent little movie, but would have been better had the film makers tried to put more of Brawley's viewpoint, characters and keen observations into it. See the film first, then get a copy of 'The Rap'. If you do it the other way around as I did, you will be disappointed in the movie.