Shamus (1973)
** (out of 4)
Shamus McCoy (Burt Reynolds) is a rough and tough New York private detective who is hired to track down the people who set a couple on fire. It turns out this couple was behind a jewelry robbery so whoever killed them now has the jewels.
SHAMUS is a pretty disappointing film on many levels as it's so darn boring and has such a bland screenplay that it's easy to see why the movie has pretty much been forgotten. A lot of Reynolds' movies from this period are now considered classics but this one here has pretty much remained in the shadows for a good reason. It's certainly a shame that the movie didn't turn out a bit better because it has some elements that could have made for something much more memorable.
The biggest issue I had with the film was the fact that the screenplay just didn't feature a very interesting mystery. The film also suffers from not knowing exactly what it wants to do because at times it almost seems like a spoof of the film noir genre with some really lame comedy bits. Just look at the opening sequence with Reynolds getting out of bed with a woman and doing some sort of comic bit that just isn't funny. There's a lot of flirting done by Reynolds but none of it is overly charming or cute.
The film contains mostly forgettable performances and I'd include the lead in on this as well. Reynolds just really seems out of it here as if even he knows that the story isn't all that special. Dyan Cannon makes for a boring female co-star and none of the other supporting players pack much of a punch. The slow style doesn't help things and director Buzz Kulik just doesn't add any flair to the material.
** (out of 4)
Shamus McCoy (Burt Reynolds) is a rough and tough New York private detective who is hired to track down the people who set a couple on fire. It turns out this couple was behind a jewelry robbery so whoever killed them now has the jewels.
SHAMUS is a pretty disappointing film on many levels as it's so darn boring and has such a bland screenplay that it's easy to see why the movie has pretty much been forgotten. A lot of Reynolds' movies from this period are now considered classics but this one here has pretty much remained in the shadows for a good reason. It's certainly a shame that the movie didn't turn out a bit better because it has some elements that could have made for something much more memorable.
The biggest issue I had with the film was the fact that the screenplay just didn't feature a very interesting mystery. The film also suffers from not knowing exactly what it wants to do because at times it almost seems like a spoof of the film noir genre with some really lame comedy bits. Just look at the opening sequence with Reynolds getting out of bed with a woman and doing some sort of comic bit that just isn't funny. There's a lot of flirting done by Reynolds but none of it is overly charming or cute.
The film contains mostly forgettable performances and I'd include the lead in on this as well. Reynolds just really seems out of it here as if even he knows that the story isn't all that special. Dyan Cannon makes for a boring female co-star and none of the other supporting players pack much of a punch. The slow style doesn't help things and director Buzz Kulik just doesn't add any flair to the material.