The Complete Billy Jack Collection Blu-ray Review

I picked up the Billy Jack Collection on Blu-ray months ago, so while I was recently ill I was finally been able to sit back and watch all four films. So, let’s take a look and see how they hold up.

The Born Losers (1967)

Plot: A biker gang incites a reign of terror in a California coastal town that culminates in four teenage girls being raped. Vietnam veteran Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin) has had enough, however, and takes on the depraved bikers single-handedly. He rescues young Vicki Barrington (Elizabeth James) from their clutches, but then has to contend with not only the thugs, but also the ineffectual and racist local lawmen, who have it out for the half-Native American Billy.

Review: When most people talk about the Billy Jack movies they’re usually referring to the sequel, imaginatively titled Billy Jack, but the first movie called The Born Losers is actually a much better film. It wastes no time getting going showing us a small town that is overrun by a biker gang as they attack a driver who bumped into one of the bikers by accident. To be honest the guy totally deserved to get his ass kicked as he kept giving them attitude and saying stupid things, so maybe shut up next time, smart guy! Anyway, This film is much better paced than Billy Jack with a better story and the bikers are memorably nasty and yet still human.

The leader Danny (Jeremy Slate) is charismatic and genuinely cares about his younger brother which makes him feel like a real person; he’s still a villain though and you’re never thinking he’s a nice guy. He and his gang rape and assault their way around the town and Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin) can only sit on the sidelines for so long. He certainly takes his sweet time and it is occasionally infuriating how restrained he is when you just want him to kill all the bikers with no survivors. He’s not that type of guy and is a genuine hero who only wants to do the right thing. He befriends one of the rape victims called Vicki (a wonderfully sympathetic Elizabeth James) and protects her from further attacks.

There is a constant underlying tension as we wonder what awful things the bikers will do next which keeps things moving, so it’s never boring.

In terms of action we get a few fight scenes and the finale is satisfying. There aren’t any huge set-pieces but it’s more grounded and realistic, so there isn’t anything that feels too far fetched aside from maybe how utterly worthless the local police department is…

Overall, The Born Losers is arguably my favourite of the Billy Jack movies with memorable villains, an engaging story and Ton Laughlin at his heroic best as Billy.

Billy Jack (1971)

Plot: A half-breed war hero protects a Native American reservation, the woman he loves, her school, and wild horses all from a violent, racist town boss, and his henchmen.

Review: I’d only ever seen Billy Jack once before several years ago and found it rather plodding in terms of pacing and it still is at times but I do think the second half of the film is stronger.

Tom Laughlin returns as the hero of the tale Billy Jack and in this sequel he’s a more elusive yet interesting character as he’s almost like a guardian angel who only appears whenever people need him. Like in The Born Losers he’s a true hero who always tries to do what’s best for the kids and the reservation; he struggles to hold back whenever he sees intolerance or abuse towards his friends.

The ice cream shop sequence is still hard to watch but I do love when Billy faces off against Posner stating “I’m gonna take this right foot, and I’m gonna whop you on that side of your face… and you wanna know something? There’s not a damn thing you’re gonna be able to do about it.” It’s easily the most badass and iconic scene in the movie and still the highlight of the entire franchise.

Although released in 1971 Billy Jack still has a 60’s vibe especially with all the hippy school children and teachers at the school on a reservation. The local townsfolk don’t like it when the kids come into the town mostly because they are racist assholes which guarantees we are on the kid’s side for majority of the movie.

Some scenes very much feel improvised especially the scene with the school kids having a debate with local council members. It seems to go on forever and just kills the pacing; in fact I usually fast forward that scene. What the film needs is actually more Billy Jack who disappears for long periods throughout the film and when he’s not on screen it is decidedly less interesting. It still has its moments with some funny scenes like the performance art street robbery where even the Sheriff takes part in it. It almost feels like something you’d see in a Tarantino film.

David Roya is despicable as the villain Bernard who has no redeeming features whatsoever and at one point even rapes Billy’s woman Jean which seems to be a common occurrence in these movies.

Overall, Billy Jack feels very much a product of the time period but it has a few entertaining fight scenes and the second half is better paced; I think modern audiences would struggle with it in places and I stand by that The Born Losers is the better film.

The Trial of Billy Jack (1974)

Plot: While vigilante Billy Jack is on trial for manslaughter, students at the Freedom School clash with violent townspeople and the Arizona National Guard.

Review: The Trial of Billy Jack is regarded in some circles as one of the worst films of all time. It’s certainly not a great film but I’ve seen worse. It’s hilariously overlong at nearly 3 hours where the first two entries in the franchise were around an hour and 50 minutes (which still felt too long).

It’s preachy and outright boring at times and the first half is coma inducing; whenever any of the students at the school picks up a guitar and starts to sing I die a little inside. The pacing is just ponderous and you can’t help but think this film could have used some serious editing to make it more palatable.

I do think it picks up in the final hour however, when Billy Jack finishes his various vision quests and starts beating people up which is what we’re all here for anyway.

This is a direct sequel to Billy Jack continuing on events at the tedious school with the hippies versus the racist townspeople. Posner once again returns to cause trouble and is angry after Billy Jack killed his son in the last movie… which is understandable. The good news is Posner finally gets his comeuppance in this move as Billy kicks him in the throat killing him.

There are a few fight scenes this time and the massacre at the end is still every bit as shocking now with unarmed kids being gunned down by the military; it isn’t exactly a fun time, but it is bringing attention to various shootings that happened around that period.

Overall, The Trial of Billy Jack is incredibly dull for the first hour and a half and feels more like an endurance test than a movie, but the final hour has a few fight scenes and the showdown at the school is hard to look away from.

Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977)

Plot: Freedom fighter Billy Jack takes his cause to the nation’s capital where he confronts political corruption.

Review: Billy Jack Goes to Washington is the fourth and final movie in the franchise; there was almost a fifth entry called The Return of Billy Jack which had around 15 minutes filmed but Tom Laughlin who played Billy Jack got a head injury during filming and by the time he had recovered they had run out of finances, so it was never completed. As it stands Billy Jack Goes to Washington is the final film and is essentially a remake of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

This entry has the least action of the series with only one fight scene in the entire runtime; it’s more of a political drama as Billy Jack becomes a Senator and takes on the corruption of Washington. This is arguably Tom Laughlin’s best acting performance from the franchise and I liked seeing the character seem so vulnerable as he’s usually quietly cool yet confident. He is out of his league in Washington and the story is at least engaging with hateful antagonists; it doesn’t show the US Senate in a particularly positive light with corruption around every corner.

The pacing certainly drags at times but it is at least shorter than The Trial of Billy Jack and I feel like this is a better film. I like how Jean (Delores Taylor) is essentially the love of Billy’s life and she has been there for him since the second movie and acts as his conscience trying to convince him that using his fists and feet is not always the answer to make change (but it makes movies more entertaining).

Overall, Billy Jack Goes to Washington is another rather dull entry in the franchise proving that it’s really just the first two that are worth watching. The one fight scene we get is cool but this is more of a political drama than an action picture and you’re better just watching Mr. Smith Goes to Washington again instead.

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Despite the age of all four films Shout Select have done a great job remastering them to look arguably the best they possibly could. All four movies have subtitles which for me is always a bonus.