Review of The Cincinnati Kid (1965) by Laura F — 13 Aug 2008

Steve McQueen was undeniably the coolest actor of his time. I've recently become an admirer of his work and when this film came up on tv I had to take a look. While the basic premise (a high-stakes poker game) has been rolled out on more than one occasion by film-makers, the ending this time around left me feeling a little disappointed.

Not that it was bad writing, just not what I was expecting. That's a good thing! Sometimes I wanted to give McQueen's character, The Kid, a good slap (thanks mainly to Ann-Margret's stunning temptress), but I still found myself rooting for him big-time as he refused to take a proposed 'assist' from the dealer and how he was going to do things his way or not at all.

Although, to me, not one of McQueen's finest, it's still worth seeing. Very inspirational and an ideal "Sunday afternoon" movie.