inspectors71 The man who brought you The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape, John Sturges, comes a cropper with Elmore Leonard writing and Clint Eastwood zombie-ing in Joe Kidd. You'd think a great director and a fine novelist would be able to get by Eastwood's leaden performance, but some thing's are not possible. It's all so very topical and typical of the late 60s and early 70s, with Clint playing an ex-bounty hunter who is hired by Robert Duvall (sporting a ridiculous cowboy hat and non-geographical Southern twang) to hunt down a sort-of Junior Varsity Mexican revolutionary (John Saxon, sporting a non- geographical Mexican accent) because he's "cutting fences and stirring up the Mescans about land reform."Duvall has a girl in tow for amusement, and his crew of sociopaths (James Wainright, Paul Koslo, and Don Stroud) all try to look menacing, but they only get to boredom.By the end of the movie, there's been a lot of shootin' and land-reformin' and double-crossin,' but mostly just yawning. I can't figure out why--other than the money--anyone would be part of this empty sandwich of a movie. Yet, since it is Eastwood, and I haven't seen Joe Kidd in several years, I sat down to watch it.When the carpet is vacuumed and the lawn doesn't need mowing, the litter is scooped and the unpleasant phone call to the insurance agent has been placed, when everything else is done . . . You sit down with Joe Kidd. What am I supposed to do? Turn on C-Span and watch the Democrat National Convention? I'd rather watch Eastwood sleep-walking for a 85 minutes.

PimpinAinttEasy Dear John Sturges,you had Elmore Leonard writing your movie. Lalo Schifrin scoring it. Clint, Duvall and Saxon facing off against each other. Yet you still managed to make an average film.I don't know what went on behind the scenes. Leonard did come up with some great dialogs especially at the beginning. The film was off to a great start with Eastwood running circles around the judge, mouthing some tongue in cheek responses to his questions. And then Duvall and his gang make a great entry at the train station, decked up in suits. But it sort of fell apart after that. Some of the plot resolutions were quite uninteresting. The ending was nonsensical.Lalo Schifrin's tense electronica tinged main theme was unlike anything composed for a Western. But its variations used over the rest of the film were quite tuneless. The title sequence was also quite unimaginative.Clint had some great scenes but his character was quite badly etched. I mean, he is introduced as a hard drinking ruffian. But he soon turns into an upholder of the law. I guess you selected John Saxon to play the Mexican revolutionary after watching him in The Appaloosa. He was damn good in that one.The film looks great on blu ray. And it does get over pretty soon. But so much more could have been done with it.Best Regards, Pimpin.(6/10)

gavin6942 An ex-bounty hunter (Clint Eastwood) reluctantly helps a wealthy landowner (Robert Duvall) and his henchmen track down a Mexican revolutionary leader (John Saxon).John Sturges is a capable director and had directed acclaimed westerns such as "The Magnificent Seven" (1960). He was a great choice to bring this story to life. We might question why Saxon was cast as a Mexican, but I have to admit he pulls it off fairly well.The New York Post praised the actors' performances while criticizing the film, calling the actors "diamonds set in dung". This is more than a little harsh and probably uncalled for, but it does have a pebble of truth -- the three core actors are more powerful than the story they were given to tell.

jussi-hakala It's almost never good to be critical of Clint, but seriously, this must be one of his most unmemorable movies, except you will remember it precisely because it was so unmemorable.A movie with class actors like Eastwood and Duvall and a rating of 6+ normally promises at least an interesting or amusing plot, if not always a modicum of reality and a decent script - Clint is THE man of few words, after all, and his presence does the talking. But this movie lacks even the basics, because the storyline is just too weak.Gun enthusiasts will note the German magazine-fed pistol, and rifles with telescopic sights. Regrettably, these will probably be the highlights for you. There are no highlights for anyone else