THE GAUNTLET is a terrible film with ridiculous and unbelievable plot holes. It's also dated terribly. The jazz score is okay, if you like that kind of thang. The idea was actually improved upon with the Bruce Willis film 16 BLOCKS, but that film was hampered by an unintelligible performance from the co-star Mos Def.
THE GAUNTLET is a terrible film with ridiculous and unbelievable plot holes. It's also dated terribly. The jazz score is okay, if you like that kind of thang. The idea was actually improved upon with the Bruce Willis film 16 BLOCKS, but that film was hampered by an unintelligible performance from the co-star Mos Def.
Even this Eastwood manic can;t stand the film. I saw it in first run in 70mm and the thousands of rounds of ammunition were scattered throughout the surround speakers - pretty cool!
did `16 BLOCKS 'officially' acknowledge it was a remake? brm
Darn it, I have to disagree with my friends Bruce, Mike and Mitch.
I really like this film, despite its preposterousness throughout. Probably the best part is Jerry's Enforcerish score, but it's more fun than at least the last two Dirty Harrys. Where I differ from Mike is in thinking that it's not really a Dirty Harry type film - more like a grubbier Coogan's Bluff.
One part of the film is pretty intense, and in fact surprised me with its brutality when I saw it in the cinema - that particular bluray chapter could be entitled "Box Car Willy".
Overall, I'd happily spring for this at a budget price.
The great Frank Frazetta! I always wondered how Frazetta came to paint this poster. It made the film look like a bizarre post apocalyptic fantasy film, so much so that I was a little let down when I finally got around to seeing the film, which is a fairly run of the mill 70s tough guy action movie. It is scrappy fun, and I enjoyed the jazzy Jerry Fielding score.
I agree with El Bruco for once. And Dirty Harry films died with Magnum Force. Even Enforcer was starting to get silly.
I was a huge Eastwood and Dirty Harry fan back then - and went to see this at the cinema on release with enthusiasm - but I was so disappointed when I saw it. And it isnt a follow-on from Dirty Harry - if only - because the Eastwood character is a dumb, drunken bum until he wises up in about the last ten minutes.
Crap, silly film; pointless and crowbarred-in set-pieces to tick the Peckinpah boxes such as the shooting up of the shack and coach - and SPOILER the whole sequence at the end where the cops stand about while the action unfolds in front of them is plain daft. It was like they had a rough idea for a film but didnt know what to do with it when it started.
Steve McQueen and Barbra Streisand were originally cast as the film's stars. However, fighting between the two forced them to drop out of the project; Eastwood and Locke replaced them.
I agree with El Bruco for once. And Dirty Harry films died with Magnum Force. Even Enforcer was starting to get silly.
What's the world coming to?! Agreeing with Bruce and not appreciating The Enforcer...
I know this isn't the right thread for this discussion, but for me The Enforcer hit the right balance between the serious and the tension-relieving chortle. If the favourite film in a series is the one you could watch at any time without even thinking about it, then The Enforcer is my favourite Dirty Harry film.
I agree with El Bruco for once. And Dirty Harry films died with Magnum Force. Even Enforcer was starting to get silly.
I was a huge Eastwood and Dirty Harry fan back then - and went to see this at the cinema on release with enthusiasm - but I was so disappointed when I saw it. And it isnt a follow-on from Dirty Harry - if only - because the Eastwood character is a dumb, drunken bum until he wises up in about the last ten minutes.
Crap, silly film; pointless and crowbarred-in set-pieces to tick the Peckinpah boxes such as the shooting up of the shack and coach - and SPOILER the whole sequence at the end where the cops stand about while the action unfolds in front of them is plain daft. It was like they had a rough idea for a film but didnt know what to do with it when it started.
The Fielding score is it's redeeming feature.
Agreed. Except for a few Eastwood zingers, a very disappointing film. And the beginning of my personal "boycott" of his films until the Eastwood-Locke" series was over.
