recommended

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

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Gritty, pulpy but professionally handled 70s revenge exploitation that could have easily been a Western. It has a familiar selection of characters, plot themes and set-pieces that could easily have been set 100 years previously, substituting horses for cars.The performances are more than adequate for this sort of thing, the redneck hicks coming across as bug-eyed, one-dimensional and evil, whereas the more sympathetic characters are given more sensitive treatment. It does have a real comic book feel interspersed with some very nasty action, which may sit awkwardly with those unfamiliar with grindhouse cinema from this era. If you're used to films like 'Fight For Your Life' or 'Gator Bait', you will probably love this.The pacing is pretty good. It threatens to drag a little towards the end but redeems itself with some strong dialogue between Johnny and the sheriff character. One of the unexpected things about this film is the dialogue - it's hardboiled stuff but cleverly done. The cinematography and score are also effective, again with some clever touches that elevate this movie above many of its ilk. Recommended.

Johnny Firecloud borrows heavily from the other stand up and fight action/revenge flicks of it's day like Walking Tall and Billy Jack. Comparing it to the latter, it's less pretentious and overtly political, making it much more entertaining in my book, although it does have a slight problem with being overlong.I think Johnny's goal of working hard and trying to find a place to fit in his hometown and as an Indian in modern America, is quite admirable. It makes the eventual (very bloody) war on the town bully and his group of nasty rednecks very satisfying.The final scene isn't particularly exciting but still worthwhile.Another thing that struck me about this film is the number of complex characters (for a drive-in movie) and sympathetic whites among the population of Johnny's town. Most of the time in these type of movies the only good white person is the town's lone attractive female. It blunts some of the other over-the-top redneck stereotypes presented in the film.For the perverts out there, Marlon Brando's favorite fake Indian, Sacheen Littlefeather, shows off her breast implants in a gratuitous rape scene where we're "treated" to the sight of a greasy fat redneck reaching up her skirt and snatching off her panties, holding them up to the camera and grinning!One of the morals of this movie is that when you have the cops on your side, don't abuse it. The same policeman that's going to let you get away with murder is liable to look the other way while your own throat gets slit!

Johnny Firecloud is one of the more interesting features from David F. Friedman and company, mainly due to its cast... chances are, you're not going to find names like Ralph Meeker, David Canary, Frank DeKova, Sacheen Littlefeather, etc. in this kind of exploitation film, let alone one produced by the self-proclaimed "Mighty Monarch of the Exploitation Film World".This film is about the trials of the title character, a Native American who returns to his town, only to find it under siege by a controlling bigot portrayed by Mr. Meeker. Mr. Canary plays the sheriff sent by Meeker to capture Johnny, dead or alive (in Meeker's case, preferably dead. Johnny will have none of it, especially when his grandfather, played by Mr. DeKova, is a victim of the townspeople. Being the anti-hero, he takes the law in his own hands.Ms. Littlefeather. who plays a doomed friend of Johnny's, is best known as the young actress who Marlon Brando sent to the Oscars to refuse his Academy Award in protest of the treatment of Native Americans.The acting is adequate enough to keep this rather average "revenge film" from sinking. The conclusion is rather surprising given the weak script. I recommend it if you're into this kind of picture.

I always saw David F. Friedman as basically a low budget Roger Corman. Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed many of the David Friedman classics (such as Two Thousand Maniacs and She Freak), but those films paled in comparison next to the wraith of Johnny Firecloud.The movie plays out like Charles Bronson's Deathwish, only more violent. The bad guys, a group of country fried bigots lead by head bigot Mr. Colby, are truly wicked. This wickedness, which includes rape, murder, and torturing of the elderly, is truly disturbing, but in the long run makes the bad guy's deaths even more enjoyable to watch. The good guys (Johnny Firecloud, the Sheriff, and Chief White Eagle), have qualities that make them likable as heroes, but also flaws that make them seem more human (like White Eagle's drinking problem, and the inner turmoil faced by the Sheriff caused by his "sexual secrete"). But with any David Friedman film, the main draw is the gore, and this film has it....boy does it have it.Granted, there are flaws, mainly in the acting. Sacheen Littlefeather gives a rather stiff performance and, at the opposite end of the spectrum, some of the bad guys tend to put on the southern act a little too thick.So with that said, Robot Rancher's Final Score is a big 7 points. A solid film with enough eye gouging, scalp lifting, crotch socking violence to keep any David Friedman fan happy.