Rolling Thunder

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Rolling Thunder

R

1977

1h 39m

Action

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

17 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

A Vietnam veteran who returns home after years in a POW camp, Maj. Charles Rane is treated as a hero, but his family proves to be distant. When thugs invade his home to steal silver coins that Rane received for his service, they mangle his hand and leave him, his wife and son for dead. Rane survives and becomes obsessed with getting revenge. Aided by his loyal friend Johnny Vohden, Rane, now wielding a hook for a hand, sets out on his mission of vengeance.

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Gary Arnold

Washington Post

12/21/2015

Flynn's crisp, laconic direction and evocative use of Southern Texas locations transorm Rolling Thunder, now at area theaters, into a more distinctive exploitation movie than it deserves to be.

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Nick Pinkerton

Village Voice

08/01/2012

Performances are made crystalline through a sixth sense for camera placement and curt cutting from director John Flynn, whose 2007 passing was little noted, though his no-BS way of laying down a story is a rare commodity in any era.

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Variety Staff

Variety

03/26/2009

In sum, it neither rolls nor thunders.

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

Jul 28

3/5

Devane holds your attention and convinces you of his strong intensity during every opportunity within "Rolling Thunder."

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

02/12/2025

3.5/5

The movie is just as much a character study as it is a revenge thriller. Its themes are straightforward but insightful, plowing deep into the post-Vietnam alienation felt by many veterans. At the same time, there’s no denying its exploitation inspiration.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

04/23/2024

2.5/4

Basically an inferior version of Death Wish, with a thudding simplicity that makes the Charles Bronson hit look as complex as All the President’s Men by comparison.

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Blobbo X

@Blobbo Apr 17

Nicely shot hokey revenge plot. Not real - start with 2555 silver dollars weigh 150 lbs. Here, maybe 2.

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James B

@Madstylesnz Dec 26

A decent revenge flick. I do find the revenge subgenre to be very hit or miss with me but this one is solid and satisfying.

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Iain M

@RT90302711 Oct 25

A profoundly unsettling film. The pulpy, B-movie exterior masks a truly bleak meditation on violence, the USA and masculinity. The performances and direction are crisp, unfussy and memorable. The washed out cinematography gives a real sense of entropy. If a cool director "discovers" this, it will be suddenly thought of as a masterpiece

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Sen S

@RT19956549 Sep 24

The violence- so shocking back then- seems pulpy now. But the film is just as dark and believable at its core as ever.

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Jonathan O

@RT41230270 01/04/2025

Rolling Thunder is an explosion violent revenge thriller ever with really great cast and good writing from the same writer who did Taxi Driver.

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Matt F

@RT90334609 09/28/2024

One of my favorite revenge movies. I saw it at an early age and was suprised to see James Best as a villain but he was really good as one as well as Luke Askew. Probably one of Tommy Lee Jones earliest movies. William Devane's character reliving the torture as a POW just added the fuel for the blowout ending.

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John Flynn

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Synopsis

A Vietnam veteran who returns home after years in a POW camp, Maj. Charles Rane is treated as a hero, but his family proves to be distant. When thugs invade his home to steal silver coins that Rane received for his service, they mangle his hand and leave him, his wife and son for dead. Rane survives and becomes obsessed with getting revenge. Aided by his loyal friend Johnny Vohden, Rane, now wielding a hook for a hand, sets out on his mission of vengeance.

Director: John Flynn
Producer: Norman T. Herman
Screenwriter: Paul Schrader, Heywood Gould
Production Co: Lawrence Gordon Productions, TBC Filmproduktion, American International Pictures (AIP)
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 39m