Vigilante is a B Grade action film. There's Just no getting around it. However, don't let that little fact make you think the film is total crap. There are failings- a lot of them, but there are also some genuine great moments of potential. The story is the typical revenge flick, Nothing different from Charles Bronson in the mid 70's and nearly every action film from the 80's. What Keeps Vigilante from reaching it's potential are two things: It's lead actor, and script. Robert Diaz, Who plays Luke, the titular Vigilante, Has all the screen presence, charisma and acting ability of a puddle of puke on a hot day. Now, were Diaz any other character, this'd be pretty bad, but as the lead? The guy we are supposed to empathize with and cheer in his righteous crusade to justice? This is unforgivable. He's flat, lifeless and Moves with all the grace of a spastic giraffe in the fight scenes. Robert: A little more emoting, a little less chest puffing, please. As far as the script, You can't help but feel that it's sort of a PG version of more hard edged film. The sort of violence you'd expect to see in a film of this sort is all but gone. The Rape and murder of Luke's girlfriend happens entirely off camera, as does the beating Luke suffers at the hands of the thugs. This gives the film two big problems.one, you just don't care enough about Luke, Not in the way you care for the hero in films like Death Wish, Death Sentence, The Punisher,Mad Max etc, and two, you don't really get a sense of how vile the Bad Guys are. Had we seen, even in flashes,the horror the couple had gone through, you might be cheering for Lukes character, despite Diaz's constant posturing. Other Stumbling blocks Vigilante faces on the story side are the almost Mr Miyagi meets fight club training Luke receives at the hands of the hospital attendant/ ninja master, The Kid who randomly pops up at the hospital as Luke recovers to tell him he should be Batman, The Burning 'V' at the start of the film (Very, very groan worthy). Also, Luke seems to have no purpose when he does hit the streets- rather than focusing on taking out the men who ruined his life, he seems content to randomly bash muggers and drug dealers until he gets his act together. If this was meant to be seen as Luke honing his skills before going up against the big dogs, Sorry, it just wasen't clear.The other issue facing Vigilante is that the whole film feels like it happens over a week. It's only at the end that Alex's dialogue reveals that it's been years since Luke was attacked. It feels like there's at least half an hour missing from the film that might give a sense of time passing.
BUT! As I said, it's not all bad. Acting as a brilliant counterweight to the Beige Glory that is Robert Diaz' bargin basement Bruce Wayne are the Villains: Otherwise known as the best thing about the whole film. Kazuya Wright brings more depth and likability to Alex Devero in a few minutes than Diaz gives us in an hour. Wright fills Alex full of a healthy dose of both Psychosis and Self Loathing, and owns the screen whenever he's on it, Without taking it over.Wright's breakdown scenes , both in the bathroom and after the murder of his father are the finest moments of acting in this film. The Comradarie Of the Three Main Villains is superb. Ozzie Devrish as Jack and Christian Radford as Mako are the perfect counter parts to Wrights psychotic Alex, Deverish as the older mentor struggling to keep Alex in line and Radford as the sadistic young upstart gleefully egging Alex's insanity on. Honestly, The Wealth of Material hinted at in the writing and performance of these three characters means you could easily lose Diaz' foppish Luke, focus the film on these three and have a genuinely brilliant Film.From Alex's father issues, to Deverish's weariness , to Radford's puppy like worship of Alex, these three make the film, And you sorely begin to wish all three were explored more. Here you have three clearly talented actors who command the screen and hold your interest. Not to mention the physicality they bring to the parts- you BELIEVE these guys are tough, which is something Diaz failed to convey. Of course, as great as these guys performances are- and they really are- it's yet another area in that painfully draws the spotlight on how god-awful Robert Diaz's portrayal of Luke is- Here you have , essentially, a revenge film where you cheer for the Villains more than the hero. The other nice moments are the fight scenes, in which Wright an Radford handle themselves with exceptional realism, to such a degree that it's not believable that Diaz's Luke could ever hope to get the better of either of them. All in All, despite the faults, Vigilante is an entertaining enough b-grade actioner that falls short of being a solid film and desperately aches for a better leading man, but is still worth a watch.
