This movie has it all if you love raw b-movie action. Brolin plays an ex-cop turned trucker who's on a personal manhunt to catch the maniac that kidnapped his daughter on her birthday. This sets Brolin's character on a chase across NYC from the subways to strip clubs to dog pounds and beyond.

This movie was a legend back in the day for my friends and I. We caught it on late night cable, but never managed to grab the full name of the film or the stars. What we did catch was the INCREDIBLE chase scene that takes the characters from cars to buses to trains to on foot as they crisscross Manhattan. Yeah, Bullitt and The French Connection are good and all, but the Night of the Juggler chase scene makes the action in those films seem average, if not unambitious.

This movie is sort of like the pinnacle of 70s/80s street-style film making. It has the intense, raw camera work of Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris flicks, paired with a vision of New York City akin to Wild Style (and maybe even just a hint of the Warriors). The characters here are a bizarre amalgam of clichés that still excite despite being retreads in many ways.

The bottom line - score this movie if you can! Far as I know, VHS was the final destination for this film in terms of home video. I bought my copy off of the Internet years ago and the tape was so old that it was broken. But I was determined to watch this flick (because it's so good!), so I cracked the case opened and and spent hours repairing the tape myself. It's just that awesome.

My word what a ride! Bizarre and spiteful, but dynamically boundless. Now that they don't make urban action thrillers like this any more. They just wouldn't dare. But boy do I miss them. "Night of the Juggler" is a jaunty, outrageous and politically incorrect very late 70s chase thriller filled with a lot running, chaotic driving (stealing police cars), chewy dialogues and ballsy beat-ups. It's a relentlessly raw and intense barrage, as our protagonist violently bounces from here to there encountering cops, corrupt cops, an ex-wife, pimps, prostitutes, bouncers and street gangs along the authentically seedy strips of New York in his quest to find his kidnapped daughter. In what was a bungled napping attempt of mistaken identity… although the kidnapper still believes he has the right girl; that of a wealthy real-estate owner. Now just wait until James Brolin's ruggedly scruffy ex-cop character gets his hands on the madcap kidnapper. There'll be hell to pay! Everyone he comes across that stands in his way have felt it. The pulpy plot might be "heavily" contrived, unpleasant and fairly ridiculous, as it goes beyond and pushes reality many times. However this one-man riot machine provides on-going gritty, seedy and unapologetic excitement. No one is safe from this one man's devotion. "I've got to find my little girl." A chiselled Brolin is fitting in the central role, looking and acting the part. Cliff Gorman is particularly edgy as the scummy kidnapper. Then you have Richard S. Castellano bringing some solidity and Dan Hedaya is memorable as a psychotic cop. Director Robert Butler provides great location staging for its action and keeps a frenetic pace keeping things rough and ready. It might not be high-art, but this grungy, slam-bang action fodder is smashing entertainment.

This is an amazing movie if you enjoy hoards of that classic New York ghettoness which we all remember from the 70'sand 80's.

Highlights include abandoned housing, crackers, strippers, guys firing shotguns in the middle of the street, a vicious dog mauling and other crazy antics. Other interesting incidents include the Puerto Rican gang fights , car part stripping in what looks like the Bronx, and to top it off the main plot involves the kidnapping of a child

But ladies and gentlemen, this one ain't about the plot, so bust out your favorite beer and sit down for a wild ride down crack street deep in the jungle of the Big Apple!