"Don't muck with an 18-wheel trucker!!!!!" Oh, sorry, good tag-line, but for the wrong movie.
Having seen it twice, I can tell you that this low-budget flick from the 80's is a fun one - provided you keep your expectations modest. Rolling Vengeance is a story about a young trucker, who after being spurned by the justice system, deals out his brand of vengeance upon those who murdered his entire family. This economically-shot revenge flick certainly has it's shinning moments, mostly in the form of sweet "mechanized" revenge; but before that can happen there's a little back story. Joey Rosso is a young trucker that's learning the ropes of the trade and he yearns and aspires to be just like his old man Big Joe Rosso and he is well on his way to attaining the status of Pro-Trucker - unfortunately for him, there's trouble up ahead - just around bend!
The Rosso boy's are employed by a certain smarmy, used-car salesman and bar owner by the name of Tiny Doyle, who along with his five low-down, bottom-of-the-gene-pool sons, run a prosperous strip-bar called "Tiny's Dance". It's the job of the Rosso's to truck in the liquor at Tiny's place and well it's simply a very contentious relationship between the two sides, that plus alcohol and a pick-up truck, all tragically serve to shape the plot and what's left of the Doyle clans future. Taken to court and found "not guilty" of vehicular manslaughter, the Rosso's naturally feel cheated by the justice system, shortly there after a bar brawl at Tiny's joint ignites a full fledged feud, one that pits the Rosso's vs the Doyle's and more murder and mayhem is primed and waiting.
Soon afterwards the Doyle's take out Big Joe with an aerial assault of cinder blocks and in light of this most recent outrage it pushes junior over-the-edge and swears vengeance, as Big Joe lay's comatose. It's through here that the movie briefly takes on a certain MacGyver-like quality, as junior Rosso gets down to business in enacting his quest for justice - vigilant justice. Scrounging around in the local junkyards, Joey finds the part's for his avenging "rig" of destruction and gets down to it - with wrench and blow-torch he literally builds a one-of-a-kind, flame-spewing, monstertruck. With his rig complete and the Doyle clan in his cross-hairs, Joey Rosso wastes no time in enacting - ROLLING VENGEANCE! And as it turns out, two-by-two, the Doyle's do fall.
At first Joey's MO is clearly set in the form of an avenging, fire-spewing, war-rig of destruction in the night and soon he begins to lay the hurt on the despicable Doyle's, loudly and very effectively. On the first night it's the destruction of Tiny's used-car business - and the Doyle's DO notice this, but then on the very next night Joey Rosso (Mr. Rolling Venegance himself) ups the ante big-time and as I said, the Doyles begin to fall, as murder ensues - out in the back-country. Murder it is, but more specifically, it's vehicular-homicide of the most inspired kind - who's victims could NOT be more guilty or more deserved of the fiery, hell-bent, brand of mechanized vigilante justice that Joey Rosso has in store for them. In other words - their in a world of trouble.
After the first batch of Doyle's are dispatched the stakes are raised, when a couple of drunken Doyle's are out at Joey's place, looking and listening for clues, in an effort to find the answers to who's been causing them all the bad luck lately. Turn's out Joey's not home - but his pretty girlfriend "Misty" unfortunately show's up looking for him, seeing an opportunity the Doyle boy's pounce like laughing hyena's and proceed to rape her. NOW JOEY'S REALLY PISSSED and his brazenness is increased ten-fold, as he unleashes his Rolling Vengeance in broad daylight! What starts as a chase in a corn field, ends in an inspired chase to the death in a large warehouse - and suddenly there's just two Doyle's left and more vengeance is bound to come rolling their way soon.
The sheriff is well aware of what's going on and has more than a hunch of who's behind all the killings, but since the Doyle's are such slime, he's intent on taking his time investigating the matter. Cut back to the hospital, where Big Joe linger's in a coma, the sheriff finds Joey and does some "light questioning", however other events interrupt this, as Big Joe dies and Misty walks in further complicating things. As night falls Joey once again gets back to his work, Rolling Vengeance ends in a spectacularly destructive finale at Tiny's Dance and with the help of the sheriff they slay the king rat, Tiny Doyle and his last remaining son. Misty shows up once again and predictably she wastes no time in getting in the way and she's very nearly gets drilled again, but in a VERY different sort of way.
Ned Beatty's performance is simply the best of the lot and with his combination of comb-over, black leather jacket and a missing tooth, he play's his character with style, as the loathsomely smarmy, Tiny Doyle - ruler and patriarch of the Doyle clan. I find his performance to be terrifically entertaining and wish he'd played a similar role in a movie with a much bigger budget, I think the results would have been even more inspired. Rolling Vengeance is very much a "taking-out-the-trash" type of movie, which were extremely popular in the 80's.
Anyway, once it all said and done the young trucker gets his revenge......
Having seen it twice, I can tell you that this low-budget flick from the 80's is a fun one - provided you keep your expectations modest. Rolling Vengeance is a story about a young trucker, who after being spurned by the justice system, deals out his brand of vengeance upon those who murdered his entire family. This economically-shot revenge flick certainly has it's shinning moments, mostly in the form of sweet "mechanized" revenge; but before that can happen there's a little back story. Joey Rosso is a young trucker that's learning the ropes of the trade and he yearns and aspires to be just like his old man Big Joe Rosso and he is well on his way to attaining the status of Pro-Trucker - unfortunately for him, there's trouble up ahead - just around bend!
The Rosso boy's are employed by a certain smarmy, used-car salesman and bar owner by the name of Tiny Doyle, who along with his five low-down, bottom-of-the-gene-pool sons, run a prosperous strip-bar called "Tiny's Dance". It's the job of the Rosso's to truck in the liquor at Tiny's place and well it's simply a very contentious relationship between the two sides, that plus alcohol and a pick-up truck, all tragically serve to shape the plot and what's left of the Doyle clans future. Taken to court and found "not guilty" of vehicular manslaughter, the Rosso's naturally feel cheated by the justice system, shortly there after a bar brawl at Tiny's joint ignites a full fledged feud, one that pits the Rosso's vs the Doyle's and more murder and mayhem is primed and waiting.
Soon afterwards the Doyle's take out Big Joe with an aerial assault of cinder blocks and in light of this most recent outrage it pushes junior over-the-edge and swears vengeance, as Big Joe lay's comatose. It's through here that the movie briefly takes on a certain MacGyver-like quality, as junior Rosso gets down to business in enacting his quest for justice - vigilant justice. Scrounging around in the local junkyards, Joey finds the part's for his avenging "rig" of destruction and gets down to it - with wrench and blow-torch he literally builds a one-of-a-kind, flame-spewing, monstertruck. With his rig complete and the Doyle clan in his cross-hairs, Joey Rosso wastes no time in enacting - ROLLING VENGEANCE! And as it turns out, two-by-two, the Doyle's do fall.
At first Joey's MO is clearly set in the form of an avenging, fire-spewing, war-rig of destruction in the night and soon he begins to lay the hurt on the despicable Doyle's, loudly and very effectively. On the first night it's the destruction of Tiny's used-car business - and the Doyle's DO notice this, but then on the very next night Joey Rosso (Mr. Rolling Venegance himself) ups the ante big-time and as I said, the Doyles begin to fall, as murder ensues - out in the back-country. Murder it is, but more specifically, it's vehicular-homicide of the most inspired kind - who's victims could NOT be more guilty or more deserved of the fiery, hell-bent, brand of mechanized vigilante justice that Joey Rosso has in store for them. In other words - their in a world of trouble.
After the first batch of Doyle's are dispatched the stakes are raised, when a couple of drunken Doyle's are out at Joey's place, looking and listening for clues, in an effort to find the answers to who's been causing them all the bad luck lately. Turn's out Joey's not home - but his pretty girlfriend "Misty" unfortunately show's up looking for him, seeing an opportunity the Doyle boy's pounce like laughing hyena's and proceed to rape her. NOW JOEY'S REALLY PISSSED and his brazenness is increased ten-fold, as he unleashes his Rolling Vengeance in broad daylight! What starts as a chase in a corn field, ends in an inspired chase to the death in a large warehouse - and suddenly there's just two Doyle's left and more vengeance is bound to come rolling their way soon.
The sheriff is well aware of what's going on and has more than a hunch of who's behind all the killings, but since the Doyle's are such slime, he's intent on taking his time investigating the matter. Cut back to the hospital, where Big Joe linger's in a coma, the sheriff finds Joey and does some "light questioning", however other events interrupt this, as Big Joe dies and Misty walks in further complicating things. As night falls Joey once again gets back to his work, Rolling Vengeance ends in a spectacularly destructive finale at Tiny's Dance and with the help of the sheriff they slay the king rat, Tiny Doyle and his last remaining son. Misty shows up once again and predictably she wastes no time in getting in the way and she's very nearly gets drilled again, but in a VERY different sort of way.
Ned Beatty's performance is simply the best of the lot and with his combination of comb-over, black leather jacket and a missing tooth, he play's his character with style, as the loathsomely smarmy, Tiny Doyle - ruler and patriarch of the Doyle clan. I find his performance to be terrifically entertaining and wish he'd played a similar role in a movie with a much bigger budget, I think the results would have been even more inspired. Rolling Vengeance is very much a "taking-out-the-trash" type of movie, which were extremely popular in the 80's.
Anyway, once it all said and done the young trucker gets his revenge......