3:15 the Moment of Truth (1986) User Reviews

Average for the genre.

[Hey_Sweden · 6/10 · 11 April 2021]

Adam Baldwin of "My Bodyguard" fame is front and centre as Jeff Hanna, a former teen gang member who goes straight, taking his studies more seriously and having some success as a player on the school basketball team. But his old associate Cinco (Danny De La Paz, "Miracle Mile") continues bearing a lethal grudge against him. When the scheming principal (an effectively weaselly Rene Auberjonois, 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine') and a sardonic, cynical cop (an amusing Ed Lauter of "Death Wish 3") orchestrate a massive drug bust, Cinco decides to lay all the blame at Jeffs' feet, and he and all of Jeffs' former buddies are determined to punish him. They intend to have a big fight at the title time of day.

"3:15 the Moment of Truth" has its moments, but in truth it might have had more with a better script and better direction. As it is, it's watchable enough, but mostly what it does is under-utilize a solid cast that's been seen to greater advantage in other things. There's violence aplenty without much gore, and overall this offers some fun for devotees of gang films and stories of crime & violence in schools. At least the pacing is sufficient enough to have this move along without any meandering; the film wraps up in a tidy 86 minutes. The characters don't have a lot of depth, but they're set up adequately; for one thing, you do dislike the antagonists enough that you wait for the inevitable moment of their comeuppance.

Baldwin does a decent job in the lead, while the luminous Deborah Foreman ("April Fool's Day") is once again irresistible as his concerned girlfriend. De La Paz is not a particularly menacing presence physically, but he gives a good performance nonetheless. A steady parade of familiar faces turn up in roles big and small: Scott McGinnis ("Joysticks"), Bradford Bancroft ("Bachelor Party"), Wayne Crawford (who'd co-written the popular 80s romance "Valley Girl" that co-starred Foreman), Lori Eastside ("Get Crazy"), Panchito Gomez ("Borderline"), Mario Van Peebles ("Exterminator 2"), future big time screenwriter / producer Dean Devlin ("Independence Day"), John Doe ("Road House"), Gina Gershon ("Bound"), and future director Rusty Cundieff ("Fear of a Black Hat").

Worth it for a decent finale where Jeff employs a "divide and conquer" strategy to defeat Cinco and pals, and for the very enjoyable soundtrack.

Six out of 10.

School's Out Gang War's On!

[Coventry · 7/10 · 24 February 2010]

People complain about the lack of politeness and respect of today's youth, but then what to say about those darned 80's kids? If you believe those early 80's exploitation movies, all American high schools were breeding grounds for bloody gang wars, drug-dealing, senseless violence, sleaze and mindless vandalism. Of course, they made cheap and grisly exploitation movies about pretty much everything during the early 80's, so I'm not quite sure if they qualify as socially relevant and accurate. These films are, however, guaranteed adrenalin-rushing entertainment! There are the modest cult classics like "Class of 1984" and "Savage Streets", but there definitely also are a couple of well-hidden gems like for example "The New Kids", "Massacre at Central High" and this "3:15". These movies can all be described as much cooler and darker variations on dull stuff like "Stand and Deliver" or "Dangerous Minds". So what if these kids have great intellectual potential? They're scum and only good to destroy each other, yeah!

"3:15" – that title alone I find tremendous – has a pretty solid plot and a downright fantastic opening half hour. The police (led by the marvelously skeptical Lt. Moran) and Principal Horner of the Lincoln High School team up for a large-scaled anti-drug operation, with as a main intention to arrest the members of the feared Cobra gang. The success of the bust is minimal, but the aggressive Cobra leader Cinco wants revenge nevertheless and picks out Jeff Hannah as a scapegoat. Jeff is a former Cobra member who turned his back on drugs and violence, but now Cinco spreads the word throughout the entire school that he turned into a police informant and that he has to pay for that. The ultimate confrontation between Jeff and the Cobras will take place at – you guessed it – 3:15.

The film can rely on good casting choices and an effectively sinister ambiance. The Cobra gang members are convincingly menacing and creepy. They're scum who harass everybody in school and beat up the weaklings. The school surrounding itself is a nicely grim and uncanny location as well. The walls are full of graffiti (a LOT of graffiti), the teachers are corrupt and there are rotten apples left, right and center. The set- up is truly atmospheric and plausible, but "3:15" inevitably also suffers from quite a bit of shortcomings. There are a couple of typically 80's and clichéd redundant interludes, like the romance elaboration and the song with the deeper meaning lyrics illustrating the tension between 3pm and 3:15pm. Some things in the screenplay also don't make 100% sense. For example, you would think that Jeff receives a little help from all his friends and school admirers, like the Afro- American guys in their GI Joe outfits, the Oriental dudes with their martial arts tricks, but in the end nobody moves a muscle. So, yes, admittedly the finale is a bit disappointing in case you are expecting a gigantic high school massacre as well. In spite of not really being known, "3:15" has quite a bit of good and familiar faces in the cast. Adam Baldwin is quite impressive in the lead role, but especially the smaller supportive roles are worth mentioning here in this case. Ed Lauter is terrific as the cynical police captain and Rene Auberjonois is even better as the sleazy school principal. Cult fanatics with a sharp eye will definitely recognize the ravishing Gina Gershon in one of her very first roles (as one of the docile Cobra members' girlfriends) and maybe even notice the small cameo appearance of Wings Hauser as the father of Jeff's goody-two-shoes girlfriend Sherry.

Violent, forgettable High Noon tale, held together by Baldwin.

[amesmonde · 7 March 2022]

Sick of fighting the most feared member of The Cobras, Jeff Hannah, leaves the gang for good. However, a year later the leader of The Cobras is due to be released from prison and threatens to kill Hanna and those around him for his disloyalty.

Opening with a fight on the street it begins as a gang film in the vein Savage Streets, The Warriors and Band of the Hand, however, it quickly becomes a typical 80's trend high school gang film reminiscent of Class of 1984, but without much teacher involvement.

Larry Gross' offering oozes 80s grime, with its real locations and Gary Chang's music and score; but Sam Bernard and Michael Jacobs' basic High Noon story is quite plodding to a well deserved climatic showdown. Also while it has a gritty inner-city look, in contrast it sometimes has a visual suburban John Hughes feel. Casting director Valorie Massalas deserves a nod, with the leads played by 20 somethings in truth 80s fashion, something I genuinely love about these films made at the time.

Adam Baldwin's performance stops it falling into forgettable obscurity as he tries to forget his gang past but learns he has to confront it put it behind him. Baldwin is a solid lead in what is a heavy handed violent teen film from Gross with rape, fights, knife slashing and a shooting as strict Rene Auberjonois and nonchalant Ed Lauter as Moran talk Baldwin's Jeff Hannah into cleaning up the school. The cast is chockfull of familiar faces including, Danny De La Paz whose Cinco character pushes the Highnoon-like narrative, Dean Devlin, Deborah Foreman, stunning Wendy Barry, Lori Eastside, Deborah Foreman, Mario Van Peebles and also Gina Gershon pops up.

Overall, it's interesting 80s nostalgia and at times hard hitting, but only held together by Baldwin.

Hitting below the belt. (minor spoilers)

[vertigo_14 · 2/10 · 8 August 2006]

As one viewer had already pointed out in their comments, there were a large number of the almost laughable teenage street gang-centered action and dramas, especially of the early and mid 1980s, probably following the successes of cult films like 'The Warriors.' They were low budget, b- and c-grade films that usually centered on some gang in a west coast town (and especially, a dilapidated school) in which school officials are inexplicably helpless to the violence and destruction and some brave student must often take charge to alleviate. There have been so many of these that they are a genre in and of themselves and quite often, they have not only been cheaply made or poorly produced (the gangs usually don't seem dangerous, but more like obnoxious fashion victims) and the stories just blend together as unmemorable narratives that continue to tell the same story. 'Class of 1984', 'Tuff Turff,' 'Savage Streets', 'Knights of the City', and even '3:15' are the more laughable ones. 'The New Kids' (mostly because of its familiar cast) and 'Children of the Night' are the better productions. And Troma's 'Class of Nuke 'Em High' series and the low-visibility Spielberg-produced project, 'Three O'Clock High' are the amusing parodies of an out-of-whack perception of urban teenagers gone wild.

With little feeling and little suspense, '3:15' offers the cookie cutter story of a young high school student (Adam Baldwin) who, although credited as a dangerous gang leader, suddenly drops the gang when one his fellow Cobras kills a young guy during a parking lot rumble. His sudden decision to ditch the gang not only contradicts his reputation, but is left unexplained and more so unconvincing. The guy seeking to be the new leader to fill this power vacuum vows revenge on the traitor. When the dumb principal orders a police raid to rid the school of the gang members and their bad behavior, the rival Cobra runs into our fearless leader, hoping he can help him hide some drugs (in the presence of cops of course...oh, this is one unshakable alibi) and when the guy refuses and the new Cobra leader is sent to jail, he promises to punish the dude severely. With the help of his minions, he plots to terrorize pretty much our hero, his friends, and his wimpy girlfriend. But, of course he won't go down without a fight, despite all the odds against him and the psychotic tendencies of his rivals. Of course, the tale ends just as swift and numbly as the rest of the film, making it one who's accolades by other IMDb reviews has puzzled me. Why, of so many in this genre, is this one to be remembered so fondly? I would guess the familiarity of its cast (especially Scott McGinnis and Deborah Foreman who are b-movie 80s regulars by this point).

A more suitable substitute for this film? 'Three O'Clock High.' I mean, if something as bad as '3:15' is going to make you laugh (unintentionally) anyways, then why not just go for straight up comedy with a better knack for storytelling?

A boring 80's high school gang movie

[pkzeewiz · 2/10 · 5 January 2010]

A guy (Baldwin) quits his gang, The Cobras after they get a bit too violent for him. Later when they get busted and he could've helped them and didn't, they want revenge..at high school at 3:15...ok there's the movie for you you don't need to watch it now, I have saved you the trouble.

OK so I have seen worse, but there was a lot of these movies in the 80's and some were realistic and some were just exploitation films and this was the latter.

Larry Gross directed his first film here and I have never seen more boom mics visible on screen in my life, horrible director, and nothing cool or outstanding to see here.

The acting was pretty good, and the characters were okay too. Adam Baldwin always was a terrific actor to me, he shouldve been bigger and more famous, but I don't make the rules.

The movie was cheesy. You spend the whole movie thinking that The Cobras are the biggest baddest gang ever and by the movies end you realize they are small in number and weak and pathetic.

What was the point of this movie...I would like to know. Its worth watching one time if you're one of those people who will give any thing a try, but if you are wanting a good movie stay away from this, if you like high school gang movies I recommend Class of Nuke Em High - completely different type of movie but its just bloody great.

Another 80's teenage gang movie.

[mm-39 · 3/10 · 6 October 2018]

Another 80's teenage gang movie. The formulated cliches are there. Eye candy women a stud of a guy with the Gary Cooper High Noon ending where the lone rugged individual stands up when on one else does. Lot's of teased hair, macho guys, with an 80's new wave track. The guy with a checkered past must face his old gangs members. There is a love story. Back ground characters with low character arches. Nothing much here but 80's memories. Fun to watch when I was 16. 3 stars.

Hollywood High Gangsters

[saint_brett · 1/10 · 22 May 2023]

So much for 3:15. I've come to the party 2 hours late, as it's five in the afternoon when watching this.

The movie starts out with a family-sized pizza assaulting an innocent bystander while a confused St. Vincent De Paul gang from the 50s meets what looks like a fun-loving family gang from The Happy Days, and the two eras fail to get along, resulting in conflict. Oh, wait, Happy Days was centered around the 1950s, too. My bad. So then Milwaukee didn't get along with LA then.

Lincoln High looks like Elmore Junior High.

Ron Weasley is bullied upon arriving at Elmore and robbed of his Harry Potter glasses.

It's what's-his-name from EYC again: Dave Loeffler. I only watched him not long ago in "To Be the Best."

Man, what's wrong with "3:15?" The school looks like it's been molded from Hollywood High but is trying to be Brandel; the graffiti was spray-painted by 8-year-olds; the students all look like actors waiting in the unemployment line; and why would these 4 preppy white kids be attending this dump in East LA when they live over in Bel Air? They all drive from Palm Springs to attend Brandel? Come on!

What's-her-name is still wearing the same red dress from "Tuff Turf."

Stitch Jones graduated from Elmore and jumped straight into "Heartbreak Ridge" right after this.

These people are all between 30 and 40 years old; why are they attending high school?

So, the St. Vincent De Paul thugs upgrade to a Carpet Snake tribe and operate some banking business where they invest the students money into a pharmaceutical scheme without the school's approval.

At the 14-minute mark, Taylor Swift is introduced, and it has to be asked again: why is Miss Palm Springs attending Brandel?

Holy hell, who should show up at the 15:38 minute mark but none other than Jeffrey Dahmer himself. He heads up a surprise raid to shake down the bankers who are corrupting the majority of Elmore High's students so the Green Tree Snake gang is all rounded up for unethical practices as a result.

I reviewed "3:15" on YouTube a long time ago. I should find the old USB chip and just repeat what I said back then, as I don't think I can make it through this atrocious movie.

The only thing I like about this movie is when Patch, and the hot one who skips, jump out of the van and bash up Frankie Croyden.

"I'm not going to die." What line delivery.

The actor from "Full Metal Jacket" is terrible. He's the reason why this movie fails.

Excuse me, miss? May I be excused? I'm getting an early mark out of this class, people. I'm checking out of "3:15" at the 54-minute mark. Count me out.

I've managed to find my old review from years ago, and here's what I said on YouTube in my now deleted review.

At first I talked about the Canadian movie "I Declare War" and Robert Forster's "Vigilante" and then did unboxing on the side where I assembled a VHS machine and zapped my hand with live audio cables.

"I just watched "3:15," and I'm a little disappointed. Two thumbs down. Do yourself a favor and just watch the far superior Linda Blair movie "Savage Streets" instead."

I'm paraphrasing here.

I mentioned the Taylor Swift and Jeffrey Dahmer parts back then as well.

"This sadly lacks atmosphere because of the main actor. Apparently, due to either daylight saving or GMT time, school is let out at 1pm and the dustup doesn't take place till 3:15 so they have to go home then return to school just for the donnybrook."

The guy from "Full Metal Jacket" was about as appealing as a jacket potato playing extreme sports.

Poor analogy, huh? He's about as appealing as a cold potato salad on a freezing Winter's day.

"Remember that movie "Combat Shock," aka "American Nightmare," where the soldier bakes his baby in the microwave, kills his wife, then blows his brains out? Remember that unemployment line scene in that movie? Is that where they got the cast for "3:15" from?

"In my conclusion, "3:15" is misleading. The fact that it failed to live up to high expectations means that I've betrayed my own judgment. I'm slipping. I had high hopes for this movie."

"Thievery, trickery, and deception - are these not traits of "3:15" with its misleading design?"

At Lincoln High, the first thing you learn is not to come to school. (What, so you can become a drug peddler instead, like Cinco and his boys?)

"3:15" should act as a prophylactic preventive measure. Heed the message and wear protection against this banal time waster, which infringes on the taste of decency."

"Nothing is more important than pride"

[lost-in-limbo · 8/10 · 4 September 2010]

Violence. Drugs. Crumbling turf. Vicious gangs; Charles Bronson ala in Paul Kersey mode would have a field day, but hey this isn't a "Death Wish" film. "3:15" easily ranks up there with the likes of "Class of 1984", "Savage Streets" and "The New Kids" of this 80s wave of violent school gang outings with no-bars hold revenge at its core. Bestowing an outstanding cast; Adam Baldwin (in a perfectly pitched performance) leads the way as Jeff Hanna who use to be in the ruthless street gang "The Cobras", but then he decides to go straight after a confrontation with the leader Cinco (a venomous Danny De La Paz). A year has past, but there's still ill-feeling there. This finally erupts when Cinco blames Hanna for a drug raid at the school which was orchestrated by the principal (a scheming Rene Auberjonois) and led by detective Moran (a neatly sardonic Ed Lauter). Despite the threats Hanna is happy to look the other way, until they threaten to assault his girlfriend (the delightful Deborah Foreman). Then he knows he must take up the offer to finally settle the score.

The plot plays out like a urban western as you have one man finding himself stuck in the middle of something there's no way out of, while without choice taking on the unbelievable odds by standing up, as everyone else just watches on. Standard mechanisms, but on this occasion its very well done, right down to its classic final showdown. Strangely is had me thinking of a very similar film that came out a year later "The Principal", which in the film's climatic showdown between the principal (an excellent James Belushi) and some punks drummed up some striking similarities in how things turn out.

You might call it b-grade, trashy exploitation with a decent looking budget… and you might be right. However its context it isn't trying to simply exploit despite its harsh, brutal details (although it might lie in the shadows to the previously mentioned films' mean-spirited vibe). The pulpy story is a little more thoughtful in its actions and depictions, where the characters have more weight which makes it all the more harrowing and gripping when it unfolds. These are characters trying to prove something (as image becomes an important factor) and just what lengths would they go to do so. Like the frightening expression on Foreman's character's face when she sees Hanna aggressively implode on one of the gang members. That's not saying it doesn't go over-the-top, but these dramatics only enhance the intensity. Director Larry Gross workably keeps the adrenaline levels high, even when it's not trying to be bitingly rough and gusty. It's gritty, edgy but competently staged with a pounding soundtrack to back it up. There are some other interesting faces showing up in the likes of Mario Van Peebles, Wayne Crawford, Scott McGinnis, Gina Gershon and Wings Hauser (who gets even less screen time than the visible boom mike).

Terrific Gang Picture

[Bosch · 8/10 · 3 January 2003]

This title was banned in Queensland, so it must be good! 3:15 (rated R in Australia) is a tense little pot-boiler set at a typical American high-school. The characters and acting help to pull the cliched story line together, which is also true of its cinematic cousin SAVAGE STREETS (cut heavily in this country). There are also some unintentionally funny 1980s dialogue, fashions and attitudes as well. The violence is not as brutal as I expected, but it fits with the tone of the piece. Try to spot Dean Devlin and Gina Gershon. Definitely worth a rental. I wish there was a DVD release.

Revenge of the 80's: "Teenage" school violence and street gangs films.

[Captain_Couth · 8/10 · 12 June 2004]

3:15 (1986) was one of the many 80's "teenage" gangster/ school violence films (the teenagers are usually in there mid to late 20's). Like most of them they're highly entertaining and are filled with the mandatory hardcore violence and the IL' T & A. This one promises an all out mano y mano, hand to hand combat film and guess what? It delivers. No lame cop out story or phony situations that would later destroy this genre. They promise and the filmmakers deliver. Fun stuff, not to be taken serious. Watch out for Adam Baldwin, Mario Van Peebles and Gina Gershon.

Highly recommended (if you can find a copy).

8 ( as a film)

10 (for it's genre)

A very cool and enjoyable 80's teen gang romp

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 18 June 2007]

"Class of 1984" meets "High Noon" and subsequently gets transposed to the blighted, crime-ridden East Los Angeles ghetto area in this really solid and effective teen gang opus. A vicious street gang called the Cobras holds a reign of terror over Lincoln High School. Stand-up, no-nonsense tough guy Jeff Hanna (a commanding and believable performance by "My Bodyguard" 's hulking Adam Baldwin) quits the Cobras and decides he wants to live a normal, peaceful life. Alas, Jeff incurs the formidable wrath of savage, vengeful Cobra leader Cinco (a perfectly vile Danny De La Paz) when he refuses to take a dive for Cinco during a surprise police drug bust. So Cinco vows that he's gonna clean Jeff's clock but good come 3:15 after school, clinching the odds that Jeff will definitely show up for this lethal rumble by beating up Jeff's sweet newfound girlfriend Sherry (an endearing turn by the lovely, cuddly Deborah Foreman).

Granted, the plot provided by Sam Bernard and Michael Jacobs' blunt, no-frills, just cover all the necessary bases and nothing more script doesn't offer any fresh insights or novel twists on a timeworn Western-style big showdown premise. However, Larry Gross' precise, straightforward direction, Gary Chang's neatly percolating score, Misha Suslov's slick, smoothly gliding cinematography, a refreshing lack of pretense, and a thrilling finale with Jeff opening up a king-sized dose of raw, bloody hurting on the Cobras more than compensates for the dearth of originality. Plus, the supporting cast is totally up to snuff: "Benson" 's Rene Auberjonois as the school's manipulative Machiavellian principal, Ed Lauter as a cynical, world-weary cop, Wings Hauser as Sherry's overprotective jerk dad, Mario Van Peebles as a black gang leader, 80's horny teen regular Scott McGinnis in one of his standard smart-mouthed wiseguy roles, Joseph Brutsman as Jeff's loyal nerdy pal Marvin, and future "Showgirls" hottie Gina Gershon as a snarly Cobra gang moll. All in all, this flick's certainly punchy and violent enough to make the grade as a satisfying item.

Nice piece of crime ridden school exploitation!

[epeteet · 9/10 · 26 June 2007]

This is a great school outta control flick from the glorious 80's that's right along the lines of SAVAGE STREETS and CLASS OF 1984. it's got all the necessary goods that those type of flicks require to kick ass: plenty of violence, criminal punks, and even some nudity. i'd much rather see a gang movie with the gangsters rockin studs and chains than todays b-rated fake ass rapper bling bling movies. being a punk rocker myself i was stoked to see one of the kids had the Misfits skull on the back of his jacket. one of the girlies has a Motorhead shirt too! Anyway it's got the typical plot (kinda like CLASS OF 1999 minus the killer cyborgs) where gangs and crime rule the streets and the schools and one of the gang members wants out causing a war with his gang. sure it's way cheesy but that's whats so fun about it. Highly recommended along with CLASS OF 1984, SAVAGE STREETS, CLASS OF 1999, and maybe even SUBURBIA(the one from 1983 of course)

Los Angeles During The 80's

[oldschoolbx · 10/10 · 8 April 2020]

I put this one right next to other take place in crime ridden LA 80's Grindhouse flicks such as Tuff Turf, The Principal, Savage Streets, Angel, Hollywood Vice Squad, Avenging Angel, Vice Squad, etc

Gangs rumble & audience snoozes

[lor_ · 4 March 2023]

My review was written in March 1986 after watching the film at a Times Square screening room.

"3:15" is a weak entry in the trickle of gang rumble films which made some box office noise back when Walter Hill's "The Warriors" was released. Debuting helmer Larry Gross, formerly a screenwriter for Hill, minimizes the action and comes up with a forgettable pic ill-suited to theatrical release. Filmed two years ago, it has been in regional distribution since January.

Adam Baldwin (title roler in "My Bodyguard") is too old to be the high school student here, a former member of the Cobras gang who is now at odds with the Cobras' leader, Danny De La Paz. Crisis comes when a drug bust, organized by cop Ed Lauter, nabs De La Paz and Baldwin refuses to help his former leader. Branded a traitor by most kids at school, Baldwin is also being pressured by principal Rene Auberjonois to fink on his former crony.

On a half-day of school (morning only), Baldwin sets u a final confrontation with De La Paz' gang at, surprise, 3:15 p.m. Showdown is an anticlimax, with only Baldwin's girlfriend Deborah Foreman and a nerd played by Joseph Brutsmancoming to his aid against five armed toughs. Pledges of support to Baldwin from a black gang and an Oriental one amount to nought.

Pic suffers from the absence of action, with fights mainly consisting of kids running down school hallways and stabbing each other. Low budget and weak production values are inferior to a typical telefilm.

Acting is also weak, with Baldwin generating little sympathy in the lead underdog role (he physically towers over the rest of the cast) and Foreman stuck with an inconsistent part, De La Paz is the most impressive performer, upsetting the script's balance since he wins sympathy by virtue of forceful thesping yet is supposed to be the hissable villain. Screenplay skirts over racist conflicts, though the good guys are all white and the bad guys are mainly Chicanos.