Directed by: Walter Hill
Starring: Michael Beck, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Lynne Thigpen, Roger Hill, Deborah Van Valkenburgh
The Warriors was directed with style by Walter Hill, but to what end? It's laughable. What are all of these gangs fighting over? Turf? You can have it, since the city is run down and vacant anyway, and the only thing anyone will be protecting is concrete. Since this is a New York City where almost nobody except for the gangs walks the streets, what do the gangs do all night? Who do they mess with? How do they make money if there is no one to terrorize or intimidate? How do the Warriors afford their custom-made leather vests which make them look like Village People rejects? And most importantly, why should we care about their plight?
When there are this many questions, and many more to follow, then it is impossible for The Warriors to work on any level. Seeing the Warriors prowl empty streets to jump on empty trains and wander mostly vacant parks at night is ludicrous. The only other people who seem to occupy New York are cops, who are dispatched to arrest gang members. But who pays the cops? Granted, their jobs are made considerably easier because few citizens appear to be around. I've heard of movie productions using limited extras to cut costs, but in this case it hampers how believable the story is. Some citizens are peppered in, but few and far between, including a group of promgoers wearing tuxes and dresses. Maybe everyone else in the city is at that prom.
Let's get to the plot, because yes there is one. An enigmatic gang leader named Cyrus calls for a truce between all of the New York City gangs at a gang rally. Cyrus reckons, with their newfound unity, the gangs will have control of the city, for whatever that's worth. Cyrus has the gangs' support, until he is fatally shot by a creep (Kelly). The Warriors are blamed for the assassination, and go on the lam to trek back to their home turf on Coney Island while being tracked by rival gangs, all of which are dispatched by Cyrus' second-in-command who is now in charge of everything . So what happens should they make it there? The other gangs would suddenly call off their manhunt because the Warriors made it to Coney Island? That reminds me of movies where the villains stop chasing the heroes because the heroes crossed a border into another county, state, country, etc.
Aside from some occasional battles between the Warriors, led by the mostly quiet, contemplative Swan (Beck) and the less quiet and contemplative Ajax (Remar), who can't stand the thought of retreat, and their counterparts, The Warriors is adrift. The characters are just waiting around for the next fight to happen, or anything to happen. Even the fight scenes are so heavily choreographed you could be forgiven if you thought they were outtakes from West Side Story. And we get frequent updates from a radio DJ with breaking news about the outcome of the Warriors' skirmishes with their rivals. Who is calling into the radio station with the plans and the latest news? There is also a love interest for Swan thrown in for good measure, which gives Swan something to do while waiting for the next gang to attack. The others split up, fend for themselves in the female companionship department, and somehow link up with their brethren at the exact moment they're needed.
James Remar and David Patrick Kelly would appear again in Hill's 48 Hrs. and they both have effective, genuinely off-kilter presences. The Warriors never tells us why we should be rooting for The Warriors to succeed in their quest. Because they are the most clean cut of the bunch? All of them are clean-shaven, have fresh haircuts, and dress kind of stylishly, so I suppose that qualifies them to wear the white hats. Maybe they are like a character in Easy Money described: "They're a good boys' gang. They help people." I've heard of suspension of disbelief, but there is only so much suspension I can muster for one film.
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