The Mule is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars him as 90-year-old drug runner Earl Stone. After years of family neglect and being a workaholic, he begins to go through foreclosure. Fortunately, he gains a job to transport drugs worth a lot of money. At the same time however, he is being followed by a DEA team run by Bradley Cooper.
I was interested in seeing this movie since I don't have much experience with watching Eastwood movies and this may end up being his last movie. Either way, this movie is actually pretty good. It was well-acted, well-shot and had a mostly well-told story. Clint Eastwood is great in this. I just love his performance of this man with an attitude and yet he's still fairly likable. We want him to succeed despite his quirks; he felt believable in his need for survival. I also thought Bradley Cooper was great in this performance. He felt intimidating, for instance there is a scene with him and Earl before the third act which made me feel uncomfortable since they were both unaware that they were going against each other. This movie also has a good moral regarding work and families, which in this day and age feels especially needed.
The biggest problem that does bring this movie down for me however would have to be the pacing of the first half. It felt really slow in my eyes and in general had very little tension between Stone and Cooper's character. It felt really long and drawn-out and I was genuinely bored throughout it. It's at least nice that the second half really picks things up.
Despite a rough start, I did enjoy what this film has to offer. I feel like Clint Eastwood fans would enjoy it as well as those who are fans of crime thrillers. 7/10
I was interested in seeing this movie since I don't have much experience with watching Eastwood movies and this may end up being his last movie. Either way, this movie is actually pretty good. It was well-acted, well-shot and had a mostly well-told story. Clint Eastwood is great in this. I just love his performance of this man with an attitude and yet he's still fairly likable. We want him to succeed despite his quirks; he felt believable in his need for survival. I also thought Bradley Cooper was great in this performance. He felt intimidating, for instance there is a scene with him and Earl before the third act which made me feel uncomfortable since they were both unaware that they were going against each other. This movie also has a good moral regarding work and families, which in this day and age feels especially needed.
The biggest problem that does bring this movie down for me however would have to be the pacing of the first half. It felt really slow in my eyes and in general had very little tension between Stone and Cooper's character. It felt really long and drawn-out and I was genuinely bored throughout it. It's at least nice that the second half really picks things up.
Despite a rough start, I did enjoy what this film has to offer. I feel like Clint Eastwood fans would enjoy it as well as those who are fans of crime thrillers. 7/10