I have to admit, McQ is a guilty pleasure. Growing up I watched a lot of movies on weekends at my grandparents' house. I call them "10 O'Clock" movies because that's when everyone usually had to go to bed, even though the Movie of the Week was only half over. When McQ appeared we were just old enough to convince my Grandfather to let us stay up late. It helped that it was also John Wayne. That said, and I am not sure what age I was then and I do know I did not fully understand the plot (like Colleen Dewhurst's role!)
This is a controversial movie in a lot of ways, and I am not sure how popular it is with old school John Wayne fans. In this movie Big John breaks laws, he bribes pimps with cash, he bribes a prostitute with heroin, he gets beat up by a drug dealer, after breaking and entering! He even detects heroin by taste. This is not exactly tall in the saddle stuff.
Wayne made the film because the western was dying (he still made two more) and the popular movies were things like Bullitt, Dirty Harry, and the Seven-Ups. Wayne only made two real cop films (this and Brannigan in the same year). This one is much more dark and serious. As films of this era goes, there is not much new here (Wayne has a special edition TransAm, I love that car, that seems an awful lot like a certain Shelby GT.) You have police corruption, drugs, murder, and two (not one) great car chases, although only one involves his "Green Hornet." But just because it was not exactly original for the era does not mean it is not a great film?
What sets it apart, for me, are the great locations. Most films of this genre at the time were filmed in San Francisco for some reason. Or New York. This is one of the few films of that era filmed in Seattle. From the gritty Seattle waterfront (Skid Row, literally) to the state hospital to the Pacific Coast, the scenery and the setting is both original and gorgeous. The main chase is at least as good as Bullitt (and borrows its sound effects), and even shares its tendency to re-use chase footage from different angles to make it look bigger than it was. Also, unlike its peers, instead of good cops going cowboy to serve justice, McQ goes completely rogue and fights the system, something Harry and Bullitt never did. It deserves respect on its own merits and not just as an imitator. The violence and drugs are accordingly much more extreme in McQ.
One last note. Much is made of Wayne's age in these later films. I myself have commented on how unbelievable he was as a 60 year-old Green Beret (a film I rated much lower than this one.) But growing up around city detectives, I have seen plenty in their 40s and 50s who looked no better, or younger, that Big John did in this film. If you love the Duke in his true blue roles in westerns and war movies, this may not be the film for you. But if you love cop action fims of the 70s, this one is an underrated gem. I still love it!
This is a controversial movie in a lot of ways, and I am not sure how popular it is with old school John Wayne fans. In this movie Big John breaks laws, he bribes pimps with cash, he bribes a prostitute with heroin, he gets beat up by a drug dealer, after breaking and entering! He even detects heroin by taste. This is not exactly tall in the saddle stuff.
Wayne made the film because the western was dying (he still made two more) and the popular movies were things like Bullitt, Dirty Harry, and the Seven-Ups. Wayne only made two real cop films (this and Brannigan in the same year). This one is much more dark and serious. As films of this era goes, there is not much new here (Wayne has a special edition TransAm, I love that car, that seems an awful lot like a certain Shelby GT.) You have police corruption, drugs, murder, and two (not one) great car chases, although only one involves his "Green Hornet." But just because it was not exactly original for the era does not mean it is not a great film?
What sets it apart, for me, are the great locations. Most films of this genre at the time were filmed in San Francisco for some reason. Or New York. This is one of the few films of that era filmed in Seattle. From the gritty Seattle waterfront (Skid Row, literally) to the state hospital to the Pacific Coast, the scenery and the setting is both original and gorgeous. The main chase is at least as good as Bullitt (and borrows its sound effects), and even shares its tendency to re-use chase footage from different angles to make it look bigger than it was. Also, unlike its peers, instead of good cops going cowboy to serve justice, McQ goes completely rogue and fights the system, something Harry and Bullitt never did. It deserves respect on its own merits and not just as an imitator. The violence and drugs are accordingly much more extreme in McQ.
One last note. Much is made of Wayne's age in these later films. I myself have commented on how unbelievable he was as a 60 year-old Green Beret (a film I rated much lower than this one.) But growing up around city detectives, I have seen plenty in their 40s and 50s who looked no better, or younger, that Big John did in this film. If you love the Duke in his true blue roles in westerns and war movies, this may not be the film for you. But if you love cop action fims of the 70s, this one is an underrated gem. I still love it!