Review – Billy Jack

This classic from the early 70s is a bizarre blend of peace-loving hippiedom and standard revenge-intensive action flick. The kids at a ranch school for flower children keep coming to town and getting into trouble with the squares. One solution to this problem might be for the two groups to concentrate on separating. Another might be for both to practice more tolerance of one another. But more often than not we end up going with what’s behind door number three: every time a townie does something mean, up pops Billy Jack, a half-white half-Indian Vietnam veteran Green Beret with one hell of a bad temper. So what could have been a movie about peaceful co-existence instead becomes an often-tedious parade of escalating violence. The weak script – frequently giving way to Altman-esque improv sequences – doesn’t help matters. Ultimately the moral here appears to be if you’re going to make a revenge movie, just make one. Don’t try to toss a lot of peaceful protest and fake Native American baggage on top of it. Mildly amusing