Sunday, February 17, 2019

70's Month - Day17: The Gauntlet


Another day, another 70's movie.
Today's film is 1977's The Gauntlet starring Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke. This movie, which was also directed by Eastwood, is about a grizzled cop named Ben Shockley (played by Eastwood) who is tasked with traveling from Phoenix to Las Vegas to pick up and escort back a 'nothing witness' for what he is told is a 'nothing trial'. Not long after he gets to Vegas Ben learns that this witness, Gus Mally (played by Locke) may be more important than that he was originally told. As it turns out Mally is a prostitute with mob ties and some incriminating information regarding the Phoenix Police Commissioner. So now Shockley must get Mally to City Hall back in Phoenix while avoiding the two of them being killed by both the mob and the police. 

I like both Eastwood and Locke in the film, but the story felt a little underdeveloped and, even at only 109 minutes, it felt like a padded runtime. Also, not really a critique but just something that stood out; there is a comical amount of bullets fired in this film. I give this one a moderate recommendation, it's a good but not great movie. 
3 out of 5

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