MEAN JOHNNY BARROWS

Johnny Barrows, a winner of the Silver Star is set up by his captain O'Malley when he inadvertently steps on a landmine. When O'Malley mocks him, Johnny slaps him, leading him to be dishonorably discharged from the army. Shipped back home to Los Angeles, Johnny promptly gets mugged and arrested by some racist cops who believe him to be drunk.

Walking into an Italian restaurant hoping for a handout, he's offered a job as a killer by Mafiosi Mario Racconi and his girlfriend Nancy, but Johnny turns him down, not desperate enough to work for the mob. Eventually, Johnny lands a job at a gas station cleaning toilets and scrubbing floors for the mean penny-pinching Richard. When Johnny asks for his money, he only gets 21 dollars for the time he's worked there, and as a result, beats him up. The cops arrive, and eventually arrest him.

Meanwhile, a Mafia war starts brewing between the Racconi family and the Da Vinces, who want to bring in drugs and start selling it to black and Hispanic kids. The Racconis, being an upstanding mob family, doesn't want that to happen. The Racconis eventually confront the Da Vinces, who shoot everyone but Mario dead. Nancy picks up Johnny from the police station, and they visit him in the hospital the next day. Mario promises Johnny the money to wipe out the Da Vinces, which he reluctantly accepts.

Nancy is kidnapped by the Da Vincis and gets a message to Johnny claiming that she was made to do "terrible things". But in reality, she is secretly dating Tony Da Vince, who is planning to merge empires. Johnny goes to the flower shop owned by the Da Vinces and kills some of the family. Anticipating the shooting, Tony plans to leave to Mexico on his yacht, but Johnny sneaks on board, holds him at gunpoint, and makes him jump off the boat, causing him to drown.

Don Da Vince, hearing about Tony's death, sends out a hitman to kill Johnny with Nancy helping him. The hitman drives by and throws a shuriken at Johnny, nearly hitting him, before driving away. Johnny then goes to the flower shop and kills the rest of the family, but the hitman still pursues him, and the hitman is revealed to be captain O'Malley. They engage in a brief kung fu fight, with Johnny eventually killing him. He meets Nancy at his parcel of land in the hills, and kisses her. Nancy then shoots him in the stomach as retribution for killing Tony. As she walks away, she steps on a mine, killing her and leaving Johnny's fate uncertain.

After taking on the Da Vince mob, Johnny is betrayed by Nancy, who shoots him, only to die herself after stepping on a mine. Johnny’s fate is left uncertain.

The film closes on a note of tragic irony and betrayal, as Johnny’s survival skills and combat prowess can’t protect him from those closest to him. Nancy’s double cross and death underscore the nihilism of his world, leaving both the anti-hero’s fate and the morality of violence unresolved.