Review of Rio Lobo (1970) by Joseph C — 08 Aug 2009

This is a good western but it has a few problems; the story has been done before even with a slight difference. However it is still a good story which is quite quick and just enough action scenes in it although the action scenes are short (except the final shootout). The possibility of a fantastic twist has been either edited out or not filmed at all. When the main villain is revealed as an ex Union soldier, all the audience has for that is John Wayne's dialogue and to let the audience see this character previously in the film is a missed opportunity. The dialogue itself has some great lines from all of the cast and there are some great manly/tough guy lines.

As for the acting; the film is very well cast. John Wayne plays the gently, well intended and slightly humorous Cord McNally quite well. Then that dramatically changes half way through and he turns, again quite convincingly into a brutal gunfighter. Jorge Rivero gives a good performance as a French Mexican mainly because he is Mexican and he does manage to get an equal balance of French and Mexican with the accent. Jack Elam also stands out a very stubborn, crazy old man who gets some of the best dialogue in the film! Mike Henry is quite good as the corrupt sheriff of Rio Lobo even though he doesn't have that much dialogue his persona and presence on scene is enough to say 'villain'.

Overall an entertaining western regardless of the story being done before. However the story is quite quick paced so it doesn't get boring. Opportunities to make the film and story much better have been missed. The acting is quite good with all actors playing their roles very well.