People are voting emotionally.

Absolutely Fantastic

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

I liked this film, despite being a bit thrown by the jumpy, confused directing of (I presume) Michael Winner. Bronson is good, as are all the actors playing the major characters. But I think I got most pleasure from the mob-style Fedora hats that almost everyone seemed to be obliged to wear perched high on their heads. Surely by 1973, this style of headgear was way out of date? It looked vaguely ridiculous but at least it kept me amused. There was a 'Dirty Harry' vibe about the film and some of Roy Budd's music was quite close in style to that of Lalo Schifrin. Overall, an enjoyable film but maybe not because of the story.

First the film has a great poster. The beginning is good, and the end is interesting. But in the middle the film is very uninvolving. The film also does not seem to know what it wants to be. Does it want to be Dirty Harry, does it want to be The French Connection, or does it want to be The Godfather. The one character actor who really I think is the most interesting of all is the Mafia boss played by Martin Balsam. Watching him, one has to think that he would have been interesting Playing Don Corleone in the Godfather, or even the Fernando Rey character in French Connection I and II.As the poster says, ;This cop plays dirty', but sadly, for the rest of the movie, Torrey is a bore. I wonder how the character of Torrey in the John Gardner stories, was, their were apparently two of them, and who knows, maybe if this film had been both a critical and financial success, the character. like Dirty Harry would have continued. Dirty Harry success lies in not only that we had a great villain, a different kind of law enforcement officer than previous films had shown, but we got to know Harry throughout the movie. We really don't get to know who Torrey is, why he is the way he is. I am a big Bronson fan, but here in Stone Killer, I think we get to see the indifference that Bronson would show in some of his later efforts. Previously Winner and Bronson had teamed to make one of his most interesting characters, that of Bishop in the Mechanic, which is I think their best collaboration.I think the people involved in this film missed a great opportunity in making a movie that could have focused on the idea of using Viet Nam Vets to be used as a hit squad, which was original. With the unpopular war winding down, it could have asked, what next, as thousands would return, and to what opportunities for them.I'm sure that Winner and De Laurentis realized that this film wasn't very good, but went on to release it realizing that in Europe the film would do well as Bronson was a huge star their, though not yet in the US.Burt Reynolds once said that they should remake films that were not very good when first released. Watching the Stone Killer, I think would be interesting to remake, with the same time period and local. With the Viet Nam angle, it would possibly make people wonder about what will happen when our veterans return from Iraq and Aphganistan and Iraq.

Screenwriter Gerald Wilson, actor Charles Bronson, and producer / director Michael Winner re-teamed for this action movie the year after making the Western "Chato's Land". Legendary tough guy Bronson is police detective Lou Torrey who uncovers a plot concocted by a mafia boss, Al Vescari (Martin Balsam), to assassinate (for vengeance sake) various other mobsters utilizing Vietnam veterans. Helped by some of his associates and hindered by others, Lou follows the chain of leads as the story progresses.What's pleasing about "The Stone Killer" is what a snappy and fast moving bit of entertainment it is. Now, this will require the viewer to pay attention all the time, which may be a bit of a tall order given how quickly events unfold and exposition is divulged, but the rewards are substantial. The action scenes are particularly invigorating, especially the climactic shootouts and one major chase sequence. Bronson also warms up for some of his future roles here playing a man fiercely dedicated to his job and who will also do pretty much anything to make sure it gets done.Another thing that really helps "The Stone Killer" is the fact that it does have a sense of humour - granted, not all the laughs are intentional, as the moment involving a body plummeting out a window towards the pavement will attest. But the sequence that features Torrey interrogating a lead (Kelley Miles) in a hippie commune really has to be seen to be believed; it's a total hoot. The violence is effectively brutal and bloody, with many characters pumped full of bullets by the time the story is over. The music score by Roy Budd is an eclectic one and thus highly enjoyable.In addition to the excellent Balsam, who joined Bronson again for "Death Wish 3" a dozen years later, the supporting cast is just FULL of familiar faces, some of them from TV: Jack Colvin ('The Incredible Hulk'), Paul Koslo ("The Omega Man"), Norman Fell AND John Ritter from 'Three's Company', Stuart Margolin ('The Rockford Files'), Charles Tyner ("Harold and Maude"), Frank Campanella, Robert Emhardt, Barry Cahill, Hoke Howell, and Hunter von Leer.With its twists, turns, laughs, and violent action, this is a reasonably fun movie worth watching for any fan of Bronson and cop movies in general. It gets down to business pretty quickly and there's hardly a letup until its ending.Seven out of 10.

Has everything a Man needs to see - politically uncorrect saxophone player, wild real life car chase, cops who want to protect the people, bad vermin, mafia, revenge given years later, violence. (Hey, real guy movies have to have bad stuff happen and people getting hurt who need it), corruption, etc. It's a damn good movie. Bullet car chase was gay in comparison. Music is good, shots are clean and show what they want, no artsy-faggy shots. Bronson gets to blow away people who need killing. I've watched this movie a few times and the date of the old crimes (I wont say) keeps popping up in my head. Some people never forget. I like that. We seem to be sissified - real Men need to watch films like this.