The Duke Unsuccessfully Tries to Imitate Clint Eastwood

mrb1980

With the success of "Dirty Harry" in 1971, there were bound to be lots of imitators, and "McQ" is one of them. After his officer best friend is killed, McQ (Wayne) is told by his boss (Eddie Albert) to forget about the murder and let the police investigate. So…McQ resigns from the police force, drives around in a sports car, carries an automatic weapon, and destroys the bad guys in a climatic shootout on a beach. Sound familiar?

This ponderous, heavy-handed film tries to turn John Wayne into Dirty Harry, and it doesn't even come close. Wayne tries, but he's way too old for his role. Albert comes off much better as his boss Capt. Kosterman but he can't possibly save this turkey. You might want to watch the movie to see Wayne in his late 60s trying to act half his age, but it just doesn't work. This is one of Duke's late-career misfires.

score /10

mrb1980 26 September 2017

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3816039/