Breaker! Breaker! (1977)

Chuck's "first" movie, 26 September 2017

IMDb's plot summary for Breaker! Breaker! Is short and sweet – "Truck driver searches for his brother, who has disappeared in a town run by a corrupt judge." There's really not much more that needs to be said about the plot. Chuck Norris goes looking for his brother, discovers he disappeared in a backwoods town, kicks everyone in sight, calls his trucker buddies to bust up the buildings, rescues his bother. That's it. There are no twists or turns or other surprises. Breaker! Breaker! moves from point A to point B in the straightest line imaginable. If the writers spent more than 30 minutes on the script, they were wasting their time. For me, Breaker! Breaker! is predictable, silly, and not a lot of fun.

Watching Breaker! Breaker!, it's difficult to believe that Norris would go on to have the film career he did. Other than kicking a few dudes, Norris doesn't offer much. He was never an award quality actor, but some of his films are at least entertaining. Even some of his early films are fun – I especially enjoy Silent Rage. I say this to point out that I'm not a hater – I just don't enjoy this movie.

Two things that I did, however, enjoy were the performances of George Murdock and Jack Nance. Murdock's over-the-top portrayal of Judge Joshua Trimmings is one of the few highlights. And Jack Nance is always a lot of fun. It's a shame these guys are wasted in this turkey of a film.

3/10