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I was born in the Bronx. I live in the Bronx. I’ve been a part of the Bronx for 27 years and I love the Bronx. So, when I saw 1990: The Bronx Warriors about an apocalyptic society set in my borough in the year 1990, I had to buy the DVD and check it out for myself!
First, I just love the idea that in 1983, the creators of this film thought thought the Bronx would be a wasteland in 1990. Second, I love how they automatically thought of the Bronx when looking for the perfect wasteland to shoot in. As a fan of the Road Warrior and The Warriors, I thought combining the two ideas and creating an original, unique film from them, was a great idea. 1990-The Bronx Warriors may be cheesy cinema at its finest, but it works.
The film surrounds Trash, who was actually in a previous film, Escape from the Bronx. In this sequel, he and his gang protect the streets of the Bronx from other gangs with much more evil intentions. Though no saints themselves, they try to do the right thing and actually save a young girl from a vicious attack at the hands of a rollerblading gang that seemed to have come right out of the Warriors. Unfortunately for Trash, the woman is the heir of a major Manhattan company (Manhattan is still the place to be. The Bronx just sucks. Was this film created by Rudolph Giuliani?), and they want her back. They send in a man named Hammer, who controls an army, to bring back the girl.
Trash and the girl fall each other, so Trash has to the King of the Bronx, Fred Williamson, the guy from GI Bro, to get the resources he needs to fight this evil conglomerate for the girl’s freedom. They have an uneasy relationship and there is a lot of tension, but the two make a good team as they fight Hammer, his army, the rollerblading gang, a vicious group of undead creatures known as the Scavengers.
There is a lot of cheesy dialogue that sounds like they are being read off a teleprompter. The scenery is so stereotypical, but actually looks like they may have shot some scenes in the South Bronx during the 80’s heyday of burned out buildings and broken down neighborhoods. In that time, a wasteland of the 90’s could have actually been plausible. The selling point of the movie is the action. The battles between gangs are pretty damn cool. The guys really go at it and Trash has a cool spike on his elbow pad that he uses very well. There is a cool shoe knife whipped out in a fight scene and Hammer has a fantastic scene where he ruthlessly blows two gang members away and leads Trash on a wild goose chase through the dilapidated area. Oh, and who can forget the wicked use of a sword by Williamson?
It all culminates in one final battle that includes flamethrowers. If you think you know how it all ends, you don’t know a thing. There is nothing obvious about this film. There is nothing really honest about it either, but it’s fun; mindless fun and in a world of complicated plots, unbearably witty dialogue and over the top special effects, it’s great to go back in time and just enjoy the film in its simplest form. The Bronx rules and so do this film!
Send your comments and or questions about this article to JMinners@ybfree.com.