I found this western to a cut above the run-of-the-mill for a few reasons. 1) The acting, particularly by William Holden and, in a lesser role, Karl Malden, is good. Even Ryan O'Neill is better than one might expect. 2) The dialogue - aside from a couple of rather worn "cowboy philosophy" cliches - is on the whole tersely realistic and often witty. 3) The western scenery, photographed with a sense that might have been David Lean's, is simply gorgeous (a good reason to catch it in letterbox). In the end the movie instills in the viewer a kind of sadness for the two central characters, who typify the rootless, lonely, live-for-today life of the cowboy. One mild criticism is that the first half of the movie seems to be played almost for local color and comedy, looking like a western version of 'The Sundowners.' The tone changes a bit abruptly as our two leads go into the bank robbing business. On the whole, though, the movie - though a tad long - is a good popcorn-burner.
Review of Wild Rovers
