646f9e108c Tommy comes from a forced rest period due to injuries suffered in Harlem's gang warfare. With the help of his girl, he will reorganize his gang, and overcome his rival gang leaders, through extreme acts of violence and death. A gangster in Harlem must rescue his ex-wife, who has been kidnapped by the Mafia. Fred Williamson reprises his role in the sequel to one of the more well-known flicks of the blaxploitation genre. I found this to be a more entertaining film than it's predecessor because it could concentrate more on the action as the characters and their back stories were developed in Black Caesar. This time the focus is on both Tommy and his father (Julius Harris) and how they take their territory back after the events of the first movie. The beginning was a little awkward as it rewrote the final few minutes of Black Ceasar but from there, the film evolved into a revenge story as Tommy tracked down the people who did him wrong. There were a number of great action scenes including Tommy and his mini-army storming a mob hangout on an island and a cross-country chase scene that would make the contenders on "The Amazing Race" envious.<br/><br/>I found that director Larry Cohen was a lot more comfortable with the characters this time around and I enjoyed seeing Harris with an expanded role. Still, I think that it would have been extremely challenging being a white director such as Cohen or Jack Hill with a predominantly black cast in that particular era. The score was by Edwin Starr (who is most known for the song "War") and was pretty good even though I would have preferred another score from James Brown. Brown was initially involved but his score ended up being scrapped but thankfully was still released as one of my favorite albums from the Godfather of Soul entitled "The Payback". This film might not be as popular as its predecessor "Black Caesar," but "Hell Up in Harlem" is far more explosive. This movie was my introduction to Fred "the Hammer" Williamson, and it's one of his best movies. Not much of a story, but the action level is awesome. Plus, this movie is far less preachy and depressing than "Black Caesar." Great supporting roles played by Durville Martin and Julius Harris, and a cool theme song by Edwin "War" Starr. Action highlights include the opening chase scene (which pretty much disregards the first film's bleak conclusion), the island shootout and of course the hard to believe NYC to L.A. chase! If you're new to the Hammer, start with this movie. It's definitely his best.
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