Review of The Gauntlet (1977) by Henrik S — 14 Jun 2014
I've always liked this cartoony action flick from Clint. Although it lacks the harder edge of the Dirty Harry films, this film features some wild action scenes with most bullets fired since the climax of "The Wild Bunch" (Sam Peckinpah was actually attached to direct this film at one point).
Clint plays a drunk and worthless detective who's charged with bringing a prisoners from Las Vegas back to Phoenix. What he's not told is that he was chosen for the job by his corrupt police commissioner boss because he's a drunk incompetent, and that the commissioner wants Clint and the prisoner, Sondra Locke, both dead before she can testify.
On their journey from Vegas to Phoenix, they encounter a hail of bullets that brings a house down to the ground, biker gangs, fights on moving trains, and the eventual gauntlet in an armored bus to get Locke to the Phoenix City Hall.
Clint is, as usual, terrific and he also took on directing duties, handling them quite well with Don Siegel-like efficiency. I've never been much of a fan of Locke, but she does give one of her more likable performances in this film.
It's lightweight fare, but it's pretty entertaining.
This review of The Gauntlet (1977) was written by Henrik S on 14 Jun 2014.
The Gauntlet has generally received positive reviews.
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