Rolling Vengeance (1987)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Instant Favorite.

How sad is this?

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Joey Rosso (Don Michael Paul) is a young independent trucker who works with his dad Big Joe (Lawrence Dane) hauling stuff for anybody and everybody. That includes even the wretched Doyle clan, because hey, work is work. But the Doyles feel compelled to show the world what sons of bitches they are. They cause an accident that claims three members of the Doyle family. Then Big Joe is badly injured in a traffic accident that they instigated. All of this, and the law seemingly cannot touch the Doyles. Well, Joey's not going to stand for this. He takes the super-duper monster truck on which he's been working, and metes out some brutal vehicular revenge.Written by Michael Thomas Montgomery, this routine but enjoyable vengeance saga fulfills its requirements more than adequately. It establishes the Doyles as so completely vile that you are just ACHING to see them get what they deserve. Presiding over these stereotypical redneck cretins is patriarch Tiny Doyle (Ned Beatty), giving us two father figures of differing stripes in the story. Just about everything in Montgomery's script plays out as you would expect it to, if you've ever seen other movies like this. It doesn't just push buttons, but takes a sledgehammer to them.Of course, the real "star" is the title monster truck, designed and operated by Michael Welch. When it first makes an appearance, it's a cheer-worthy moment. And the relentless onslaught of vehicular carnage is fun, although there's no gore to speak of, and thereby offend some potential viewers.Paul, who went on to an interesting career as screenwriter ("Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man") and director ("Half Past Dead", "Tremors 5"), is a perfectly serviceable protagonist. You definitely sympathize with this guy. Dane has a warm and wonderful presence, and Beatty (other than Paul, the only token American in the cast) is pretty good. Lisa Howard is appealing as Joey's sweet girlfriend; look for familiar Canadian actors such as Susan Hogan ("The Brood"), Michael J. Reynolds ("Visiting Hours"), and Leslie Carlson ("Videodrome") in supporting roles and bits.All in all, this is pretty damn good for this kind of action fare. Ideal viewing if you love trucks and just want to put your brain in neutral for just over 92 minutes.Seven out of 10.

What do you do when the law is not on your side? You build a monster truck and teach these bullies a lesson. That's just the case in "Rolling Vengeance". A father and son trucking team deliveries liquor to a bar owner name Tiny Doyle(Ned Beatty). He has 5 sons who run rampant through the town: Driving drunk, running people off the road. They killed the trucker's wife and daughters. He would go after the person responsible after a technicality in court. He too would end up losing his life. Joey Rosso (Don Michael Paul) would get extreme by building a monster truck consisting of parts from a junkyard. He takes it on its first test drive after the first two brothers when they attacked another trucker. The van was totaled on the encounter. Before that, Joey used the truck to turn Tiny's used car lot in a junkyard. Tiny's next two sons were next after they raped Joey's girlfriend Misty (Lisa Howard). This truck makes Bigfoot look like a normal vehicle. This movie is for truck lovers. It's not for everyone. I wouldn't put this movie down. It could use more scenes to make it fun. But it was fine for me. 2.5 out of 5 stars

TV movies were never a big deal to me. I always assumed since it's on TV it can't be that badass. There are no boobies and no gore so why bother, right? Well Rolling Vengeance has taught me a thing or two about TV movies. Apparently they can be brutal! Joey and Big Joe Rosso are an all American father son trucking team who happen to be unfortunate enough to deliver booze to the local strip club. The club is run by Tiny Doyle and his four sons who harass the public and cause a general disturbance to everyone in a half mile radius. One day while drunk driving they decided to play chicken with Big Joe Rosso's wife and two daughters. When chicken goes wrong the wife and kids are killed and the rednecks get off scot-free. Enraged, Little Joey decides to get his revenge one way or another.The sheer brutality of the mother and two daughters dying in the first half of the film is only the beginning. As we move on we see the father put in a coma and the girlfriend raped. For a made for TV movie this sure has some balls! The only thing that really holds back the film is how ridiculously mean Tiny Doyle and the Doyle brothers are. In the court case, after getting off free of killing a mans wife and two children, they stand outside the courthouse to make fun of him! Then they drop cinderblocks on his truck! Maybe I'm not from the country and don't realize what people are like out there but is anyone that mean? Ned Beatty doesn't really pull off the badass father figure either. The first time we see him he's wearing a 50's leather jacket and he looks like that old guy at the club no one talks to.As far as revenge films go Rolling Vengeance goes on the top of my list. The first half of the film would put it their alone. When you find out Little Joey Rosso has been building the biggest, meanest monster truck this side of Kentucky this movie will move right up to your favorites. Watching Joey roll over half the town in his 80's montage themed monster invention is to 80's what chicken is to waffles! You gotta love it.

After his family is murdered, a young man deals out vengeance the only way he knows how, with a home-made monster truck. A lot of good stuff start with Rolling. "Rolling Thunder" was a good film, Rolling Rock beer, the Rolling Stones... um have I mentioned Rolling Rock yet? Probably, I'm an alcoholic like any good Irish Boy. The point is this, sometimes Rolling thing arn't so good. Such is the case for "Rolling Vengeance". It wants to be a good revenge flick, really it does. But it just all seems silly and lame. Not even good when one's drunk off of say, a few 6 packs of Rolling Rock.My Grade: D Where I saw it: FLIX Eye Candy: a few strippers