"Can you dig it?" Yes I can! Well, wait a minute, I'm pretty sure I can. That is, I think I really like this movie, or rather I remember digging it. Once. A long time ago. I remember the basics. The Warriors are one of many gangs in New York that get the summons to a big gang jamboree up in the Bronx. Once they get there, they are surrounded by other gangs with silly names in silly costumes, and a member of one of the other gangs shoots the gang leader supreme and blames the Warriors for the murder. The Warriors then have to fight their way through other gangs and cops back to their home turf in Brooklyn. I remember all of that, I just don't remember the finer points. Let's refresh our memories, shall we?

Oh, that's right, there are no finer points. This is simply a running movie. They get into a situation, fight their way out of it and run. They get into another situation, fight their way out of it and fun again. Repeat that with a few variations for 90 minutes. Looking at this movie with fresh eyes, it's actually a bit of a snore. It's the kind of movie that should be viewed at a drive-in, you know, where there are lots of distractions and you can just tune into the picture once in a while. That doesn't mean that there aren't a few really good bad movie moments in this film, it's just that they are few and far in-between.

I must point out that this was the Ultimate Director's Cut of the movie. What do you get for the extra expense? A whole lot of people who were involved in the film telling you what a great and original movie it is. And the director (Walter Hill who I admit to being a fairly big fan of) explaining how the movie would have been so much better if he had been able to follow his vision all the way through. He does so in this cut, but I can hardly say that the changes are revelatory. They mostly consist of two things; a brief intro as to the genesis of the story, and comic book-like transitions. Back in ancient Greece it appears that there was a tribe of mercenary soldiers, and after the war between Sparta and Athens they found themselves thousands of miles from safety and had to fight their way back. There now, makes everything better, doesn't it?

The Warrior's are the second third most pathetic New York gang I've ever witnessed in a movie coming in right behind the Jets and the Sharks. Who is buying this? And their baddest asses, James Remar, is just about as annoying an actor as you will ever find. "I'm going to be really intense in every part I ever play and I'm going to snarl all of my lines out through my ruined vocal chords! Don't try and stop me! I'll do it again! I'm intense!" Besides being pathetic, they're just plain stupid. I want them all to die. not just a couple of them, every single one of them and their stupid leather vests.

The only bright spot for me is the completely over the top acting of David Patrick Kelly who plays the leader of the Rogues. "Warriors, come out and play-yay. Warriors, come out and play-yay. Warriors, come out and play-yay!" You just can't teach a face like that. Nor can you teach a body like that. My god, look at the size of that kid's arms. Alfalfa had twenty pounds on the guy.

All I can say is that if these guys are running the neighborhood, thank god I don't live in Brooklyn. I might just giggle myself to death.

Hamlin Grade: 3

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