Fred 'The Hammer' Williamson's 1976 directorial offering is set in New York where a notorious mobster is irate about having to go to court. Coincidently, anyone who can stand up in court and testify against him, however, has recently met with a rather suspicious ending. There's one man living outside of New York who can put this slimeball away, however, and that's an aging accountant named Finley (Bernard Kirby) who lives out in sunny California. If the prosecution wants to put their man away for good, they're going to have to get Finley to New York in one piece.

The district attorney, Virgil Riley (Art Maier), and his assistant, D.A. Jonas (Lou Bedford), know the right man for the job and so they hire Jessie Crowder (Fred Williamson) to head west to California and bring them Finley to them alive in forty-eight hours. While this might sound like a tough job for just one man, Crowder is more than just any guy - a former cop and current karate expert, Crowder isn't afraid to break some rules and bust some heads if he needs to. But the mob wants Finley dead, no matter the cost - will Crowder's martial arts skills and tough guy attitude be enough to get he and his cargo to New York City in one piece or will the killers lurking around turn outsmart and outnumber them?

Shot fast and cheap without permits or with any sort of name in the cast aside from his own, Death Journey really should have been more exciting than it really is. The film gets by almost solely on 'The Williamson Factor' and while for some of us that is enough, we really do have a fairly unoriginal film here. That said, it's not a film without merit. Williamson is as charismatic and enthralling as usual. The guy may not have been the greatest actor to ever walk the face of the planet but he's got a really enthusiastic and fun screen presence that ensures that when he's on screen, you'll be paying attention. It appears that Williamson succumbed to his own hype here, however, as none of the obstacles he comes up against over the duration of the film really seem to post much of a threat to him. He takes care of the bad guys with almost too much efficiency, and sometimes (possibly for reasons of a budgetary nature) the fight scenes feels very rushed and choppy.

But hey, if it's Williamson you want, it's Williamson you get. Anyone familiar with the follow up films that he made in which he resurrected the Jessie Crowder character (those being No Way Back, Blind Rage and The Last Fight) won't be surprised at all to see him beating his way through the thugs and screwing his way through the ladies. Crowder is pretty fly here, making it with any female he comes into contact with, the ladies seeming to have no free will of their own and succumbing to him with near powerless aplomb.

The story, such as it is, moves along at a very quick pace with plenty of fight scenes thrown in every few minutes to ensure that, while wholly predictable, the film is never dull. Sometimes less is more, however, and you can't help but wonder how the picture would have turned out had Williamson delivered a few really impressive set pieces rather than a whole lot of unimpressive ones. There are lots of chases and fist fights and some shoot outs that make the location shooting, which does take us from the west coast to the east coast, more interesting than they already are but the comic relief, which is a corny constant between Crowder and Finley, will likely illicit more groans than laughs.

Williamson made better movies before and after this one, but if nothing else Death Journey is a passable time killer that deserves a spot in blaxploitation movie history for introducing audiences to Williamson's longest running character. It's not a horrible film by any stretch, in fact it's fun if you keep your expectations in check, but its flaws are obvious even if you can still have a good time with it.

Video:
NOTE: THIS REVIEW IS BASED ON A TEST DISC THAT MAY OR MAY NOT REPRESENT FINISHED RETAIL PRODUCT.

Code Red presents Death Journey in a good 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Color reproduction looks pretty accurate and skin tones appear quite natural. Detail is fine for an older low budget feature and only mild print damage is noticeable. You can't really call it reference quality but given the age and obscurity of the picture there's really nothing to complain about here, the movie looks pretty good. The transfer is taken from the original negative and offers the film up in what is generally a clean, clear and well authored version that puts previous grey market/'public domain' versions to shame.