They Call Me Renegade (1987) User Reviews

Loved it!!

[paulclaassen · 6/10 · 5 September 2019]

'Renegade' is such a delightful movie. This is a joyride of fun and adventure, centered around an unlikely friendship. Fate throws together a carefree traveler and a troubled youngster, and it was great to see how these two individuals realized they actually have more in common than they ever could have imagined.

I enjoyed the simplicity of the film and characters, without any forced love interests or complicated back stories. Terence Hill is awesome as Luke. He is a legend and a very likable actor who makes a likable hero. Ross Hill is also very good as Matt, the young son. Wanting to know more about him, I was distraught to learn that he died shortly after the film in a road accident, at the tender age of only 16.

The horse steals the show on several occasions! This is a wonderful coming of age, fun-filled adventure ride. I loved it!

Terence Hill vehicle , this time accompanied by his son Ross Hill , both of whom facing villain Robert Vaughn

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 4 June 2014]

Funny and agreeable Terence Hill film with action , humor , mirth and amusement . Renegade Luke is a small-time con who has been living an easy life by means of scams , frauds , swindles , so far . All this comes to an end when he finds Moose (Norman Bowler) , an ex-colleague , now in prison . Imprisoned convict Moose does Luke a surprising offer : move into his ownership and become the protector of his son (real son Ross Hill) . Meanwhile , Luke befriends Matt and both of them help components of a Quaker family and take on the nasty Lawson (Robert Vaughn). Along the way , our intimate duo is helped by a band of riders who drive spectacular Harley Davison motorcycles . With a renegade on your side , the other guys got problems ¡ .

This is an enjoyable entertaining juvenile for Terence Hill buffs , as he's delightful . It packs action , fist-play , slapdash , humor with tongue-and-cheek and is quite amusing . This entertaining , engaging movie is crammed of fist-fights , punches , car chases , kicks, slapstick , overwhelming stunt-work and lots of humor . Charming relationship between Renegade Jim and Matt , things don't go smoothly for the swindler and the teen at first , but gradually they come to settle into their new situation . Terence Hill is top-notch as a con taking on a group of bandits and as always he makes his own stunts with comic touches , as usual . This release has some cool and several hilarious moments , though the Terence Hill-Bud Spencer duo films are much better . The film isn't always good , sometimes is fresh and diverting and on a couple of memorable occasions , it's frankly delicious . The movie displays innumerable laughters , jokes and slapdash . Sympathetic acting by Terence Hill as a drifter travelling through the southwest with his horse Joe , making money by running little scams . Terence Hill is a likable player with a long career . In 1962 he appeared in Luchino Visconti's The Gatopardo . He then signed a contract for a series of adventure and western films in Germany in ¨Winnetou¨ saga and ¨The Nibelungen¨. In 1967 he returned to Italy to play the lead in ¨God forgives (1967) , the first of a trilogy co-starred by his pal Bud Spencer and directed by Giuseppe Colizzi . In 1976 Hollywood called and he appeared in ¨March or die¨(1977) with Gene Hackman and starred in ¨Mr Billion¨ (1977) with Valerie Perrine . Since then he has concentrated on action/adventure films starring himself and often working with long time partner Bud Spencer . Terence lives in Massachusetts and is a film producer, as well as talented and respected actor . While on location in Almeria, Spain, he married an American girl of Bavarian descent, Lori Zwicklbauer, who was the dialogue coach for the picture . Adopted son of Terence Hill and Lori Hill was Ross Hill who was born on April 11, 1973 in Munich, Germany . He was a young actor , known for ¨Renegado Jim¨ (1987) and ¨Don Camilo¨ (1984). He died on January 15, 1990 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, USA . Was supposed to play "Billy the Kid" side by side with Terence Hill as "Lucky Luke", but died by accident shortly before production began .

The picture packs commercial musical score by Mauro Paoluzzi , including catching songs fitting perfectly in the mood of the movie . Passable cinematography by Alfio Contini , though is necessary a perfect remastering , being shot in Flagstaff, Phoenix , Sedona, Arizona, USA . The motion picture was regularly directed by Enzo Barboni or E. B. Clucher. He was a notorious cameramen including classic Spaghetti Western (Django , Goobye Texas , Hellbenders), but with the hit of ¨Trinity is my name¨ left it and turned to film-making, and directed the following ¨Trinity is still my name¨ and the third outing ¨Trinity and Bambino, the legend lives on¨, plus others Hill and Spencer vehicles . The story was middling written by the same Terence Hill and Sergio Donati , Sergio Leone's ordinary screenwriter ; following the Hill-Spencer customary trademarks . If you love the Terence Hill's other movies, go for it, and if you've never seen one this is an acceptable start ; but only for Terence fans . Rating : Acceptable and amusing . This is an average entertaining juvenile that will appeal to Hill fans .

Observations & Potential Recommendation Or Not

[rndhyd · 6/10 · 18 January 2015]

Watch or pass?

(Brief & to the point, sometimes not grammatically correct)

Assuming synopsis was read --explains little -- so I won't

Not a typical Terence Hill film:

• Obviously not a Western -- hardly made by Italian studios post-1970s

• A little different without his pal actor, Bud Spencer.

• If you're not familiar w/their work, peculiar that you're here.

• Regardless, you might like their movies.

• Filmed in US, as since mid 1970s, prior to mostly Italy & Spain.

Not action-packed, & kinda slow, but does have a few fights (not in his regular style), & some vehicular things.

More plot/story in this, compared to his other flicks, albeit slight.

Audio can be off, as all his films, in any language. As far as I understand, all voices for any market were dubbed. Even though he's Italian & born there, his main language (maybe only) is German; he might not speak Italian (unsure).

In most of his films, actors spoke their native language & most were dubbed later, even for those whom spoke the language. For example, his last Western movie (or penultimate or close), "...Nobody" had Henry Fonda as the 2nd main character.

Cannot say yeah or nay to watch -- depends upon your interests. Hopefully, I provided info for you to decide.

How many will read this? 1-2 per year? Hahaha

Low-budget Ulysses

[sba71 · 21 August 2001]

Terence Hill is good in this "Spaghetti" version of the road trip film. Like John Ritter or Gene Wilder, he can make everyday physical gestures -- a roll of the shoulders, for instance -- very funny. Couple that with the ability to pull off stunts and believable fight scenes and you have a mellow -- and enjoyable -- alternative to Jackie Chan. The story, however, is a bit dumb; but this shouldn't surprise or disappoint anyone who appreciates Terence Hill and his movies, where slapstick and gags ALWAYS come before plot....

Thank goodness!

The young Hill's final movie

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 14 November 2022]

"They Call Me Renegade" or just "Renegade" is an Italian movie in the English language from 1987, so this one has its 35th anniversary this year. It runs for approximately 1.5 hours and the director is Enzo Barboni and he is of course a man who has worked on several films starring Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. Those days were pretty much a thing of the past though at that point already, but we still have Hill in here and he is also one of the three writers. He directed several of his movies, but not this one here. Another writer is Marco Barboni, the son of Enzo and he has also collaborated with both his dad and Hill on other occasions. He was in charge of penning the story for two Hill films back in 2009. The last writer from the trio is Sergio Donati. He is maybe not as much part of the circle, but he has so many credits and one is also a real classic of the western genre, namely "C'era una volta il West". He seems retired now, but pretty impressive body of work and as he is almost 90 and thus still another five years older than Hill, so he sure deserves a quiet retirement. This means that Hill was around the age of 50 in this film here. Completely unrelated, I read the other day that Hill finally officially became a German citizen and this is no surprise because I see he has a German mother and the woman he has been married to for many decades now also has a German(-sounding) name. At least before she took his name, so maybe I should say "had". Anyway, with this film here, there are also a few things to say about the cast. Third credit was Ross Hill, who was adopted by Terence Hill as a baby and he was a teenager in this film and pretty much a co-lead almost you could say. There is real tragedy to him as he died in a car accident in 1990 when he was still considerably under the age of 20 and it seemed as if Hill was moving forward with turning his son into an actor as well. But fate went in the way and he only appeared in two films. Ironically, London-born actor Norman Bowler, who plays Ross Hill's character's father in this film, is still alive at the age of 90 now. He is somewhat known for a different kind of Avengers release. So Terence Hill only has one son left now and he is the biological father of that one and also worked with him on a few projects, just not in front of the camera.

The second credit here is Robert Vaughn and for the large part of the film we do not even know there is a main antagonist in this film really. But it becomes obvious when these lawyers arrive to "convince" (the) Hill's character(s) to sell the house. It still takes a while though until we finally get to see Vaughn in person, even if the way he enters the picture then is kinda epic, almost a bit exaggerated in the sense of how we witness a big star (okay, he was an Oscar nominee already at that point, but was he really this much of an icon?) when he sits there on his chair and turns around and tells Hill's character something along the lines how it was the worst thing he could have done to come there right into the lion's den. Not long there until Hill's character jumps out of the closed window to get away before the bad guy's helpers can shoot him. Like some kind of Superman though, he has no injuries. The story there develops in a completely different direction. All the western elements from the almost 60 minutes before that are gone. I will get to those a little later. As for the plot inclusions I just mentioned I must still say that this was where I liked the film the least. It was not bad or anything, but just weaker compared to all the scenes before that. The scene when this gigantic amount of bikers comes to help Hill's character there in the desert was also not half as iconic as it could have been sadly. I still think American patriots will enjoy it. So yeah, there you also see why it is an English-language movie with where it is set and of course Hill's English was also flawless at that point. Anyway, now I really wanna talk about the scenes before all this. I think it was a pretty top-notch western and it was closer to being a great film than to being a weak film for the most part. "Good" would be a nice adjective to choose. You really get all you could ask for. Some bar brawling, a decent soundtrack (Lynyrd Skynyrd), the scene with the special card at the dartboard was quite something. We also get a few cute girls from a settler father or so, at least a man with a very long beard, and those were pretty indeed. Pretty pretty. Hill's character and his son's character would surely agree.

I mentioned the people that made this film and especially the inclusion of the Barbonis here and as they worked on Spencer/Hill films too, this movie here did have a touch of those others without a doubt. It became obvious for example when Hill was fighting the biker boss on one occasion and for once it was not a one-sided affair, but they both had their moments like when Spencer and Hill (or their respective characters) fought each other in the movies. The biker boss was also pretty big and strong. Actually, I found it fairly funny when we see the two fight there and the two teenage boys stand there and realize they knew and helped each other in the past and they chat like buddies while behind them the two grown-ups physically fight each other. One of the most hilarious moments for me there and also nice camera work, but as I stated earlier already, the bikers are not the bad guys either. They come to help in the end and Hill and the biker boss clearly respect each other for being equally strong. It was still a bit strange when the police arrived finally that all the bikers were applauding. Now this is nothing you are gonna see anytime soon in the 2020s. At least not here in Germany. Bikers and police are not friends at all. Looks like things were different back then in America. Good for them. Harmony is always appreciated. Oh yeah, I must also talk about this very big black truck. Now that was one hell of a vehicle and resulted in another western scene I liked, well more modern western scene as this did not take place centuries ago and we have motors in the truck and also in the Hills' characters' vehicle obviously. It was funny to watch though and I really liked the idea of bringing this scene back as some kind of closure in the end and that final scene was just as hilarious as the earlier one. You could really wonder with the way the film ended if there would be a sequel at some point. It seemed possible, but as I stated earlier fate got in the way.

Terence Hill planned on casting his son as a crucial character in the then upcoming Lucky Luke movie, but it was not meant to be. You can still find parallels. I mean Hill plays a character named Luke here and he has a horse. The shape of things to come perhaps. A bit of a look at the future then. The Lucky Luke film still got made despite Hill's son's untimely death. I kinda thought the horse would play a bigger role in this movie here, but after the scene at the very start, it is pretty much gone for the rest of the film. Well, it is still there, but does not really have any impact on the story anymore. Also it is not talking like Jolly Jumper. I kinda expected the horse to return to Hill's character quickly afterwards and boom that is what it did. Hill's character expected the same and knew the horse would return. You see I hesitate a bit with calling him Renegade here as I am not really sure about the meaning of this term, but I think it is also linked to the second half of the film and the revelation about Vaughn's character and his true identity in the past. This was also nothing that impressed me too much I have to admit. I remember a Bud Spencer film and I think Hill was a part of that movie too where they played police officers and there was a similar twist that the main antagonist had a new identity and kept hiding his past as a criminal. Well, here Vaughn's character was not a criminal in that sense, but from another perspective. Not gonna go into detail there. Watch the film if you wanna know.

In the end, it all unfolds nicely and good triumphs. Totally triumphs even as the child character's father is even released from jail and the bad guy is taken to jail instead of him. This was an even happier ending than I expected. I was nicely entertained pretty much from beginning to end if we ignore some slightly underwhelming twists in the second half and these were also made up for by the really hilarious aforementioned ending again when our heroes run a second time (or third if we count the bar fight) into the two minor antagonists that are driving the big black truck. I think there is no way you come across this film without knowing Hill (and Spencer) already from other movies as it is definitely not among his/their most seen films, so you should be able to decide yourself if this is your kind of genre or preferred entertainment. I liked it. I think it is underseen and I suggest you give it a go if it is on television again or if you find it somewhere else. It is admittedly not really much of a factor anymore and it surely deserves more and better exposure. Thumbs-up.

A directionless film that wandered from scene to scene

[steiner-sam · 2/10 · 22 June 2021]

This is a comedy set in Arizona in the 1980s. My only reason for watching it is a colony of Plain People with neighboring ranches to the main character's property.

Luke "Renegade" Mantee (Terence Hill) is a laid-back drifter with a Jeep who pulls his horse, Joe Brown, behind him in a trailer. When he's broke, he sells the horse to unsuspecting buyers, parks nearby, and waits for the horse to rejoin him. He learns that his buddy, Moose (Norman Bowler), from Vietnam War days, is in prison and wants to see him. Moose wants Luke to look after his son, Matt (Ross Hill), and look after his property in Arizona that Moose won in a poker game.

It then turns into a road movie with Luke, Matt, and Joe Brown traveling to Arizona with various adventures along the way. Luke is often "$2 short" and always finds clever ways to get out of trouble and avoid the consequences of violence.

When they get to the ranch, they meet Ely/Eli (Donald Hudson), the patriarch of the neighbors, who are plainly dressed. Most film critics have assumed they were Amish. Ely has some lovely daughters, Tallulah, Petula, and Melody. The "Amish" seem to bathe in the water with white clothing. The men have beards and mustaches; some of the women wear white veils, others do not. They are religious but don't follow Amish customs.

We learn that Lawson Enterprises in the nearby city wants to buy Moose's property for a big development project. The company makes an offer that Luke refuses. Then he heads into town to meet Mr. Lawson (Robert Vaughn), who heads the firm. Luke recognizes Lawson as his former captain in Vietnam under a different name--Lenny Kovacs. Kovacs made his fortune in drugs and now is trying a new life under a new name. There's then a long chase with Luke and Matt surviving and the bad guys getting caught.

Many of the cast members in the film were Italian. The version of the film I saw was very badly dubbed into English. The subtitles often did not match the dubbed dialogue. It seemed like a directionless film that wandered from scene to scene with little holding it together. Mildly amusing, but poorly done.

A fun low key movie with good laughs

[AriSquad · 9/10 · 30 September 2003]

Fans of Terence Hill are going to get what they expect from this movie. It has that same great humor Hill is known for. This features Terence Hill & his son Ross Hill in a road adventure of chases, fights, & of course, always lending a hand to the needy. Hills movies are always light-hearted, They do have a consistent theme to them but the formula is always a pleasure to watch. If you can find this one, give it a try.

Awesome Terence Hill movie

[dodo_fleet · 8/10 · 23 September 2005]

Never having seen the previous Spencer and Hill movies, I am unaware of the duo's insignificance here, but I must say that for a low budget movie, this is one great action-packed comedy adventure, lead by Hill (and his son) alone, with Robert Vaughn filling a minor role.

It can be slow in parts, yet is still enjoyable 99% of the way through. Terence Hill plays "Renegade" Luke who unwantingly looks after the son of a good friend, Moose, who is in prison. Moose wants his son Matt to tag along with Luke and his horse "Joe Brown" encouraging the two of them to settle down in a place called Green Haven Valley. At first Luke is reluctant but soon realises Matt isn't such a bad kid.

Along the way there are some decent car chase scenes and trucker action, however when the two reach Green Haven Valley, there comes a completely irrelevant subplot. It turns out that Luke and Matt have Pagan neighbours, and the character development of Ely and his daughters is almost unnecessary, as the movie loses its exciting pace. However, they do play a minor role later in the storyline and if you hang in there long enough, there comes some more slapstick car chases and action between Luke and a previous enemy.

It's sad to read that Terence Hill's adopted son, Ross, was killed in a car accident in 1991. So this was his first, and last, big screen appearance.

Despite being low budget, this movie is very enjoyable and worth watching if you can get your hands on a copy!

Character: 'Chickadee"

[ishotuat · 10/10 · 10 January 2005]

Not only did I see it, I acted in it too. I was the character called "Bad Biker Chickadee", the biker gang leader.( the one leading the pack, on my Trike ) Terence was a real sport to act with. During the shoot of our fight scene, I was told by the 'fight' coach, to go easy on him, due to the fact, that it was 118' out, and we were all sweating like pigs. As we went thru several takes of the fight scene, Terence took me to task, and said to me." Look....I won't break, and you won't hurt me........heck, I'm insured by Loydds of London" We finished the take, the rest is history. Good cast of extras too.If your a Trinity fan, you'll love this one.

Joe Krieg......Phoenix, Az.

One of my favorite movies...

[MarKus-371 · 9/10 · 3 February 2001]

This is my personal favorite of Terence Hill's solo movies. I know "MY NAME IS NOBODY" is first rate movie making, and it's probably the best movie i've ever seen, but's its not my favorite. "THEY CALL ME RENEGADE" is about Luke Mantie (played by Terence Hill) who is a loner, who just lives on the road, driving his jeep with a trailer attached that his horse, Joe Brown, resides. One day, a 15 year old punk named Matt, played by Terence Hill's son, Ross, tells him that his father, Moose, is in jail and he need to speak to "Renegade" Luke. Luke and Matt drive to the pennitentary and Luke finds out that Moose is in Jail for a crime he didnt commit, and Moose needs Luke to settle down and move in to a house on a big piece of property and become Matt's legal guardian. Luke says NO, so Moose threatens to get his cell mate to forge the papers...child abandonment is a serious offence. Luke and Matt don't get along at first but they start to develop a brother type relationship. They both get in a few ordeals with 2 truckers, screw a whole bar full of drunks out of 500 dollars with a butterfly knife throwing contest and they have to get revenge from an evil Lawyer with the help of a rough Biker Gang. This movie is full of action & comedy, its a classic to me because i've been watching it for years. Where they screw the money out of the drunks is hillarious and the fight between Terence Hill and the lead biker is a grand scene. I recomend this movie to ALL fans of Terence Hill and Bud Spencer movies, action movie goers, or people who are looking for a good "road/buddy" movie. I have seen it for sale in places like WALMART and ZELLERZ for $5, it's definatley worth that much! Rent it, buy it, just see it, you may like it as much as I do!

Great music

[abergas · 10 July 2001]

Terence is Luke Mantie, a drugstore cowboy whose only belongings are a pair of boots and a horse called "Joe Brown". His friend Moose - who's in in prison at that time - asks Luke to take care of his son Matt (Ross Hill) and his piece of land and house (which he won in a poker-game).

Luke Mantie is a smart guy, who sells his horse in every little town. Smart horse he is, "Joe Brown" comes trotting back to Luke every time. Matt and Luke make their way through Arizona.

A crazy trucker keeps on their track, a helicopter chases them, even the sheriff doesn't want to help. A gang of real-estate-sharks tries to lure their house and land away from them ....The chaos comes to a peak....until a bunch of "hell's angels" comes to their rescue...

One of the best Terence Hill's films ever

[eugy-2 · 10/10 · 11 January 2006]

The movie is a nice tale of simplicity, action, and good feelings. The narration is well supported by the main theme of the soundtrack: "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, a song which lyrics perfectly fit the story. Every actor do his job at very good level, interpreting his role in a very remarkable way, and direction is excellent. Some scenes are at Oscar level, like the one when bikers approached the final meeting between Luke and Lawson. A special notice about Ross Hill acting: unfortunately the adopted son of Terence has died in a road accident. I'm pretty sure that this guy could had became the natural heir of Terence Hill, due to his expressiveness and his capacities.

renegade... terence hill... great film

[gorytus-20672 · 9/10 · 15 April 2021]

Apr 2021

Only recently managed to get this on blu ray, after putting up with generally poor quality version dvds.

Probably the best Terence Hill film that doesn't feature Bud Spencer.

Great mix of action and stunts with comedy.

Robert Vaughn also features.

9 out of 10.