If fighting fire with fire will get results, then government agent Billy Dee Williams is going use it, and what he wants is revenge, not against the pushers, but those who supply. He reasons that the pushers are victims top, and it's the top men in the mob who need to pay for overdose deaths from heroine. His daughter, Richard Pryor's wife, Sid Melton and Janet Brandt's son. Gwen Welles is an addict he has an affair with, supplying her with the stuff to get him to join their group to snuff out the men behind the iron gates who call the shots.
Superb performances by everyone but it does sag in the middle, exploding in a scene where Welles, going through withdrawals and nearly dies. Williams becomes shockingly cold with everyone as he seems willing to let her die, bringing back tearful flashbacks for the older Melton and Brandt. Even when playing it sinister, Williams (here in his best screen role) is extraordinarily charismatic.
Watching the hits take place becomes quite nail biting, as they're dealing with some pretty powerful men (and one woman), with Pryor showing once again how good a funny man can be in drama, first declaring his anger over his wife's death to Williams, and then attacking the person responsible. Melton, another comic (best known now as Estelle Getty's late husband in flashbacks on "Golden Girls"), also gets to show his dramatic skills. The direction of Sidney J. Furie outside of the middle drudge, is excellent. Great location footage also adds enjoyment, but as someone who has seen the results of drug abuse, the satisfaction is in watching a cartel be destroyed.
Superb performances by everyone but it does sag in the middle, exploding in a scene where Welles, going through withdrawals and nearly dies. Williams becomes shockingly cold with everyone as he seems willing to let her die, bringing back tearful flashbacks for the older Melton and Brandt. Even when playing it sinister, Williams (here in his best screen role) is extraordinarily charismatic.
Watching the hits take place becomes quite nail biting, as they're dealing with some pretty powerful men (and one woman), with Pryor showing once again how good a funny man can be in drama, first declaring his anger over his wife's death to Williams, and then attacking the person responsible. Melton, another comic (best known now as Estelle Getty's late husband in flashbacks on "Golden Girls"), also gets to show his dramatic skills. The direction of Sidney J. Furie outside of the middle drudge, is excellent. Great location footage also adds enjoyment, but as someone who has seen the results of drug abuse, the satisfaction is in watching a cartel be destroyed.