What makes it different from others?

Such a frustrating disappointment

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Solid James Colburn, Charles Bronson movie I'd give a 6.7. Very, very good. Surrounded by a great supporting cast including the legendary Strother Martin.Worth the watch.

I saw "Hard Times" several times as a child, as an adult, each time with great pleasure. It can be seen any time, in "hard times" or in happier times, never gets old. Because it has four aces: Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Strother Martin and director Walter Hill. There's also Jill Ireland, true life's partner of Charles Bronson, they were together also in "Cold Sweat"(1970), "Someone Behind the Door"(1971), "The Valachi Papers"(1972), "The Mechanic"(1972), "Chino"(1973), "Breakout"(1975), "Breakheart Pass"(1975), "From Noon Till Three"(1976), "Love and Bullets"(1979), "Death Wish II"(1982), "Assassination"(1987). Plus two unique faces, Robert Tessier (who appeared with Bronson in "Breakheart Pass") and Nick Dimitri, another favorite of director Walter Hill. Good music and highest level picture signed by Philip H. Lathrop. Editing provided by Roger Spottiswoode, who would become a great director himself ("Under Fire"(1983), "Air America"(1990), "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot"(1992), "Tomorrow Never Dies"(1997).

Hard Times (1975) **** (out of 4)Criminally underrated gem set in Louisiana during the Depression. A hustler named Speed (James Coburn) strikes gold when he meets bare- fist fighter Chaney (Charles Bronson). The two strike up a business relationship as the loner Chaney tries to woo a lady (Jill Ireland) but it doesn't take long for Speed to run into some crime people that he owes money.HARD TIMES is a pretty unique gem that came out of nowhere and quickly became a modest hit, got some good reviews and remained a favorite to fans of the cast. With that said, Walter Hill's film has never really gotten the credit it deserved because it really is one of the best films of its type and features two terrific performances by the leads. Yes, both leads played this type of characters before and yes there were many films set during the Depression but everything here just rings so fresh and original with the cast really taking their familiar roles and making them seem fresh and new.There are so many things that make this film so memorable but one is the perfect setting and atmosphere created by Hill. You really do feel these characters and the setting that they are trapped in. The Louisiana settings are just perfect to look at and they really become a character themselves as they're so important to building up the other characters. The music score is extremely good, the cinematography perfectly captures everything and there's no question that Hill handles the screenplay without any problems.Then, there's Bronson and Coburn. Both actors were used to playing these type of roles but they go beyond anything they had previously done. Bronson can play quiet perfectly and I think this is something that gets overlooked. It's not easy being quiet and managing to still handle scenes but he does it without a problem. That quiet nature perfectly fits the character and everything you need to know the actor tells you with his eyes. Coburn is fiery, feisty and constantly talking and he does it with ease. The chemistry between the two is terrific. Ireland turns in what is probably her best performance and we get nice support from the likes of Strother Martin, Bruce Glover and Margaret Blye. Why has HARD TIMES been overlooked all these years? Perhaps it's due to Bronson's 80s movies where he became known as an exploitation star. I don't know but the film is certainly one of the best of its type of manages to be a true gem.

Bronson. Coburn. Guys getting the snot beat out them. Strother Martin at his Strothery best. What more do you need to know?A stoic, 50something drifter named Chaney (Charles Bronson) hooks up with a fast talking inveterate gambler named Speed (James Coburn). Speed sets up the streetfights, Chaney knocks 'em down and they split the winnings. Things seem to be about as good as they ever got for anybody in 1930s America, but Speed can't stop from getting in over his head with loan sharks and Chaney finds himself caught up with a woman (Jill Ireland) who's got about as much warmth as a cold stove on the Canadian prairie. Eventually, the biggest gambler in New Orleans forces Chaney into one last fight with Speed's life on the line as well as every dime Chaney has, and it's not always clear which he cares about the most.To be perfectly blunt, there's not a lot going on in this Walter Hill production. The story's about as simple as "See Chaney. See Chaney fight that guy. Now see Chaney fight this other guy" and Hill's not exactly known for his strikingly imaginative direction. But sometimes simple can be good, like a grilled cheese sandwich. This tale of human weakness and ambition squeezed in the vise of the Depression is like a grilled cheese with just a little ketchup on the side.Obviously, Bronson is awesome. If aspiring young actors want to know if they have what it takes to be movie stars, they should watch this film and imagine themselves playing Chaney. Bronson spends most of the movie in taciturn silence, saying barely more than 3 words at a time to anyone except Jill Ireland, yet commands the audience's attention every second he's on screen.Not far behind is Coburn, who is able to put aside his own considerable machismo and play the rake to Bronson's rock. You could have cast Coburn in the role of Chaney and no one would have blinked, yet he's able to slide seamlessly into a character who's as intemperate and grasping as Chaney is cool and indifferent.Backing up such a dynamic duo are a slew of talented supporting players. Strother Martin brings his subversive Southern charm to the role of Poe, a junkie medical school drop out hired to tend to Chaney's wounds. Michael McGuire as the rich man who wants to own Chaney or break him has just the right sense of a man who's above it all but doesn't want to be. Robert Tessier and Nick Dimitri as Chaney's two top opponents are both great as guys who've always been the toughest one in the room but have been shaped by that in two different ways. Tessier's guy simply revels in his physical power while Dimitri's is drained of joy and has only the need to prove his dominance. Even Maggie Blye as Speed's woman adds her own dash of local color to events.For his part, Hill's best work is during the fight scenes. He does repeat certain sequences over and over, but he manages to establish a sense of ragged rhythm and flow. These scenes don't feel like choreographed dance numbers. They are flesh and reflexes and will power smashing into each other.Hard Times isn't a masterpiece. It does hold up quite well as, essentially, a completely serious version of Clint Eastwood's Any Which Way But Loose and remains more than worth watching.