CHARLES BRONSON IN 'MR. MAJESTYK' FEATURING PAUL KOSLO

MAJESTYK YEAR: 1974 SCORE: ****

Charles Bronson's different in Richard Fleischer's MR. MAJESTYK than in the early-seventies' Michael Winner crime trilogy because, for one, unlike THE MECHANIC, THE STONE KILLER and DEATH WISH, Vince Majestyk, a hardworking watermelon farmer, is somewhat of a smart-ass, and, written by Elmore Leonard, there's a little more breathing-room for the character and his situation/predicament...

A lethal hit man, played by villain's villain Al Lettieri, wants Majestyk very dead as Paul Koslo's initially antagonistic Bobby Kopas is more of a talker than a doer. In fact, both Bronson and Lettieri point this out: The first before hitting the goading blond-haired punk in the balls with a shotgun (after having attempted to pawn off cheap labor to his farm), while the latter tries keeping him in line...

Paul Koslo alone in the middle as Bobby Kopas

As Majestyk goes from a prison cell to stealing a prison bus with Lettieri's Frank Renda on board. And after an offer he could and does refuse, and a "double-cross" involving Lee Purcell as a Bible-reading moll, the chase is on...

Making the third act a harbinger to the kind of FIRST BLOOD plot-line where the main character uses his own rough, rustic environment to snare more potentially dangerous, city-set criminals unfamiliar with his proverbial mountainous backyard: Not only does he have the higher ground, it's his ground...

With tight dialogue; a subtle romance with field worker Linda Cristal; and bloody action sequences that provide more of a foundational distraction than Leonard's sharper, character-driven stories, MR. MAJESTYK is one of the best 1970's Charles Bronson vehicles because he shares the film with others around him. 

Charles Bronson goes balls out against Paul Koslo

Charles Bronson in MR MAJESTYK

Charles Bronson and Paul Koslo in Mr Majestyk

RIP Paul Koslo: Here's a four picture montage from MR MAJESTYK with Charles Bronson

Al Lettieri, Lee Purcell and Charles Bronson ride to captured freedom in MR MAJESTYK

Al Lettieri and Paul Koslo in MR MAJESTYK

Lee Purcell in MR MAJESTYK

That's not real blood... Taylor Lacher and Al Letierri in MR MAJESTYK

Charles Bronson in MR MAJESTYK