East L.A. Warriors

My review was written in January 1990 after watching the movie on Raedon video cassette.

This direct-to-video feature ably co ves he territory of "Colors' from the inside point of view of Latino gang members, with a futuristic element added in the form of to-the-death gladiatorial contests.

Raymond Martino and helmer Addison Randall's script surprisingly looks for the psychology behind the current violence in Los Angeles. Muscular Tony Bravo toplines as a former gang member who reluctantly teaches Lobo gang inductee Kamar Reyes how to fight -martial arts style.

Theory is that the level of mayhem can be reduced if gangs go back to hand-to-hand rumbles in place of the current automatic weaponry. Fly in the ointment is manipulation and control by evil Caribbean gangster Lawrence Hilton Jacobs, who stages deadly games between rival gangs in the fashion of ancient Roman gladiators.

Cast, especially Bravo, is convincing in physically demanding roles, with just enough untranslated Spanish dialog injected to convey authenticity. Ending is a bit too upbeat and corny, but en route Randall makes some good points. Female cast members follow genre tradition by espousing the anti-violence message.