Three the Hard Way

R

1974

1h 33m

Action

List

33%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

49%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

A record producer (Jim Brown), a PR man (Fred Williamson) and a black belt (Jim Kelly) in karate foil a racist plot to poison part of a city.

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Audience Member

I remember going to see this movie when it first came out years ago. Now I find myself watching again. I laugh at the jive talking. But I love seeing Jim Kelly, Jim Brown and Fred Williamson in action. The Bad and the Doctor should have been in more together.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

wiley walt g

Great 1970's action film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Squandered potential with a great villain and mediocre justice.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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delysid d

this is one of my favorite black 70s movies. it has all the typical aspects of this sort of film; funky music, nudity, fist fights, gun fights, car chases, cars blowing up, and an overly complicated plot. it also has kung fu. i like how easily the cars blow up in this movie. like you could just go over a speed bump back in them days and your car would explode. i also love when three badass topless chicks show up to torture a guy

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/12/17

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Audience Member

The soundtrack is a classic, period.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

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Audience Member

An LA music producer (Jim Brown) runs afoul of a paramilitary organization that plans to kill every black person in America by introducing a disease to the water supply. They kill his buddy and kidnap his lady love (Sheila Frazier), but the bad guys didn't count on their quarry calling in a karate master (Jim Kelly) and a weapons expert (Fred WIlliamson) for backup. Three The Hard Way was directed by Gordon Parks Jr. after his success with Superfly and, while it didn't make as much impact, this blaxploitation effort is noteworthy for how its threadbare plot is strung up by frequent car chases, constant explosions, numerous gun fights, cheesy overacting, kung fu grappling, and a very bizarre pretext to feature topless women. Three The Hard Way is pulpy sleaze, but that's part of the fun.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

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Gordon Parks Jr.

Director

Jim Brown

Jimmy Lait

Fred Williamson

Jagger Daniels

Jim Kelly

Mister Keyes

Sheila Frazier

Wendy Kane

Jay Robinson

Monroe Feather

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Time Out

Dully predictable, thoroughly gratuitous after the first few minutes as the possibilities for genuine suspense are forsaken in favour of a three-figure body count and several automobile demolition clichs.

Mar 13, 2007

Full Review

New York Times

Badly written, staged and edited.

Rated: 1.5/5

Mar 13, 2007

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...unabashedly fun and silly...

Rated: 2.5/4

Jun 26, 2022

Full Review

Gregory Mims

New Pittsburgh Courier

Only Williamson, among the three male leads, manages to strike a human spark as an identifiable person.

Dec 14, 2021

Full Review

Chuck O'Leary

FulvueDrive-in.com

Rated: 1/5

May 7, 2007

Full Review

TV Guide

Far-fetched and a bit comic-bookish, but filled with all you'd want from the genre and then some.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 13, 2007

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Synopsis

A record producer (Jim Brown), a PR man (Fred Williamson) and a black belt (Jim Kelly) in karate foil a racist plot to poison part of a city.

Director: Gordon Parks Jr.
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Jan 12, 2010
Runtime: 1h 33m