In 1978 when Good Guys Wear Black came out, Chuck Norris wasn’t the global superstar that he would later become, but this was one of the films that helped establish him as an actor and not just some martial arts guy on the big screen. This is definitely a movie that was a product of its time, and it can be argued how well it has actually aged over the years. Personally I have a hard time calling this an action film. When you compare it to most of the other films that Chuck Norris has in his filmography, this is very much one of the more tame ones and comes off more as a thriller, a fun little espionage film that actually leans heavier on Norris and his acting abilities than his ability to take down bad guys with spin-kicks, though the film does offer a few kicks to please the action-hungry audiences.
Chuck Norris plays John T. Booker, an ex-Vietnam soldier who left the military after a mission went wrong and most of the members of his team were killed during the ill-fated mission. Now Booker has gotten himself into auto racing and teaches political science at UCLA and is enjoying his new life, that is until he discovers that he is on a hit list created by the CIA. Booker must find out who made this list before he and the others who are on the list are taken out. Booker is approached by Margaret (Anne Archer), a reporter who seems to know too much about the top-secret mission that Booker was involved with, and as she’s chasing leads, ex-soldiers who happen to be on the hit list, the soldiers are winding up dead before she can get any answers.
A good portion of this film feels like a B-quality James Bond film, just a smaller budget and smaller-scale action scenes. This isn’t meant as a jab, but instead a compliment considering this film was shot on a relatively modest budget. The problem I had with the film, though, is that we all know who the bad guy is in the opening minutes of the film. This wouldn’t be so bad if the film didn’t try to play out as though it were some mystery as to who is behind the hit list. This isn’t a complicated film at all, and that’s fine, but simply removing the opening scene at least could have given the film a bit of an edge by not tipping off the audience who is the actual bad guy.
The fight scenes were choreographed by Chuck Norris and his brother Aaron. Sadly in this film the fight choreography is nothing to boast about. One of the main fight scenes at the airport is a bit sloppy, not so much because of the actual fighting, but with how it was shot. That’s not to say that the rest of the film’s action is bad; it just isn’t really all that remarkable, especially when you hold it up to films like The Octagon or Lone Wolf McQuade.
Getting back to how this film has a problem with its villain. There is a second villain, an assassin who is taking out the people on the hit list. What the film sets up with this assassin could have led to an awesome showdown, but instead the result is very underwhelming, and it shouldn’t have been. Heck, the most intense moment with Booker and the assassin is when Booker spots the possible assassin on an airplane and he fakes using the bathroom to try to ID him. There are so many possible directions this film could have taken, but the end result is just underwhelming, and it is shame, because there are moments where the film is fun and shows so much promise. Even the ending of the film where audiences are expecting a “final” fight of some sort, the film subverts the expectations, and while I do like how the film wraps itself up, it is definitely a far cry from the action-packed showdown you would expect from a Chuck Norris film.
