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The Gauntlet

The Gauntlet

List Price: $9.97
Your Price: $9.97
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a "nothing witness" for a "nothing trial"
Review: If you like Dirty Harry you should like this show. Lots of good one-liners, an Eastwood movie staple. Eastwood calls Blakelock after escaping two near death experiences and says, "Someone doesn't want your nothing witness to testify at your nothing trial". It's amazing how the bus they're in gets riddled with thousands of rounds of ammo but they never bother to shoot out the tires. But who needs realism in an Eastwood movie? The show is as much a comedy as action adventure. Realistic it isn't but entertaining it is.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Watch out for Side Winders and Bad Picture Quality
Review: Movie Summary: Ben Shockley is a cop and a loser. He once believed that a cop stood for something but has long since become disenchanted with life and has turned to alcohol as an alternative. The big case he had been waiting for his entire career finally comes along and is thrown into his lap. The only problem is that he was given the case because they thought he would fail. The case: Fly to Las Vegas and bring a witness back to Phoenix. Once there, Ben and Gus Mally, the feisty prostitute witness, find out that they are up against both the mob and the police and neither group wants to see them make it back to Phoenix alive. But what neither group counted on was that Ben Shockley is a man who gets the job done.

My Opinion: I remember this movie from TV as a kid when we all thought it was cool. The scene where the house collapses from all the bullets is very memorable. Being a big Eastwood fan, I am able to enjoy The Gauntlet and overlook some of the silliness in the plot. This is one of the weaker Eastwood cop movies, but it's still entertaining. The play between Locke and Eastwood is very good and makes the movie worth watching all by itself. For a higher quality cop drama, check out some of the other movies listed below.

DVD Quality: Widescreen Anamorphic, DD5.1, trailer, production notes. The picture quality of this DVD is nothing short of horrible. It is amazing that this made it out as a release. It is fuzzy and snowy for almost all of the movie.

What You Should Do: Rent it if you just have to see it. Otherwise wait for a better release. This one is a real disappointment.

Related Movies To Check Out: Dirty Harry; The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly; The Rookie; The Enforcer; Magnum Force

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: okay for an action movie
Review: Plenty of suspense, running, shooting, dodging, and betrayal. This movie is really not realistic in some parts, like when a bus gets shot up about 1,000 times and none of the bullets hits the fuel tank. Nor can I say the movie has much depth and the plot is relatively predictable. The only good part about it is portrayal of police corruption, although this is certainly not the only movie to do so, and a strong female character, which is usually terribly lacking in these types of films. Considering it was made in the 1970s, maybe some of the cliche scenes can be forgiven.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 25 Word Or Less Review
Review: Somewhat dumb but absolutely fun Eastwood/Locke vehicle. Slow, surly cop and clever hooker are double-crossed and on the run from authorities. Recommemded

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: On odd 'little' movie.
Review: The Gauntlet is a strange movie. On the surface it appears to be a wildly implausible chase thriller, but beneath that...

Ben Shockley, a drunk and burnt out Phoenix - note the name -PD detective, is sent to Las Vegas to deliver a witness to the testify in a highly important corruption trial. Turns out no one wants the woman delivered and Shockley goes through hell to get her to court, dodging hit men, bikers, and bullets all the way.

Like I said, note the name of the city Shockley works. Phoenix. The bird that arose from its own ashes. In fact the entire movie is stuffed with religious symbolism. Shockley is reborn many times (both spiritually and phsyically) throughout the course of the movie, and is literally crucified at one point. There are also countless lines of dialogue which feature characters beginning questions made to Shockley with "My God" or "Jesus", which furthers the religious subtextural reading on the film. End result, this is an excellent movie for both Eastwood buffs and film study. Highly recommended.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Weak crime drama
Review: There are a lot of good Clint Eastwood movies out there, but this is not one of them. Instead, this is one of the weakest of his seventies crime drama movies, an ineptly written and generally boring movie.

Eastwood plays Shockley, a Phoenix cop assigned to extradite a prostitute from Las Vegas. As a bit of silliness right off the bat, it turns out that there is even a wager at the sports books that he will not make it back to Phoenix alive. From that point on, the dumbness continues, with Shockley blindly going from one trap to another, hardly piecing anything together without being led by the hand. On the other hand, all the other cops are equally dumb, willing to shoot first and ask questions later.

There are lots of bullets flying in this movie, but interestingly, Eastwood does not fire a single one at a person. Instead, he shoots doorknobs and motorcycles. Actually, Eastwood doesn't get more than a few punches in; those expecting Eastwood kicking butt will be sorely disappointed.

This movie is strictly for Eastwood fans only; all others should go elsewhere for a good crime movie.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Weak crime drama
Review: There are a lot of good Clint Eastwood movies out there, but this is not one of them. Instead, this is one of the weakest of his seventies crime drama movies, an ineptly written and generally boring movie.

Eastwood plays Shockley, a Phoenix cop assigned to extradite a prostitute from Las Vegas. As a bit of silliness right off the bat, it turns out that there is even a wager at the sports books that he will not make it back to Phoenix alive. From that point on, the dumbness continues, with Shockley blindly going from one trap to another, hardly piecing anything together without being led by the hand. On the other hand, all the other cops are equally dumb, willing to shoot first and ask questions later.

There are lots of bullets flying in this movie, but interestingly, Eastwood does not fire a single one at a person. Instead, he shoots doorknobs and motorcycles. Actually, Eastwood doesn't get more than a few punches in; those expecting Eastwood kicking butt will be sorely disappointed.

This movie is strictly for Eastwood fans only; all others should go elsewhere for a good crime movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: My money's on the man with the broad and the bus
Review: They Don't Want Her To Testify...against some big shot, so they send burnt-out loner cop Eastwood, who's also on the expendable side, to go fetch her.
(do you ever wonder who "they" are? I suppose it doesn't really matter.)
Some people have pointed out the, er, implausible elements in the storyline, and I will grant you, they are there.(such as the House On The Outskirts of Town that gets blown to shreds by the bad guys' overwhelming firepower when they think they have Sondra and Clint cornered, and our heroes take off in one of their cars because,somehow, the bad guys always seem to leave their keys in the ignition...)

But I think those who object kinda miss the point: after all, what are they saying,that the entire "Dirty Harry" series, by contrast, was filled with plausibility? Please.

Still other have pointed out "symbolism" in the storyline.
(Like heading to Phoenix for redemption. Or, perhaps, how Eastwood doesn't need a huge gun here because he's got such a big bus with which to ram the bad guys.) Yeah, whatever. These are the kind of issues pseudo-intellectuals fight over at Denny's in the wee hours, while the exasperated waitress waits to clear the table, hoping the tip wont be as crummy as what the last bunch left. Come to think of it, how do I know this?
To be fair, I'll admit that it IS awfully tempting to try to find deeper significance in pulpy action pictures. For example I'm tempted to see this as Eastwood's populist apologia for the reactionary quality of the afore-mentioned **Dirty Harry** series, given how the "establishment" is the enemy here, and how the original **Harry** was made when Nixon was facing re-election(and before Watergate), whereas **The Gauntlet** was made shortly after Jimmy Carter was elected. Is this significant? Maybe. But I remind myself of what Clint himself might say, quoting Goldwyn: "If you want to send a message, call Western Union."

This is my favorite Eastwood action pic ever. I really like the chemistry between Locke and Eastwood. The only reason it doesn't get five stars is they didn't stop to help some nuns on the way.
(Then, they could've looked at each other, as if for the 1st Time. Then, in the next scene...)

It's very simple: Eastwood and Locke and a bus against the entire, apparently corrupt establishment. Gee, who do YOU think's gonna win?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: My money's on the man with the broad and the bus
Review: They Don't Want Her To Testify...against some big shot, so they send burnt-out loner cop Eastwood, who's also on the expendable side, to go fetch her.
(do you ever wonder who "they" are? I suppose it doesn't really matter.)
Some people have pointed out the, er, implausible elements in the storyline, and I will grant you, they are there.(such as the House On The Outskirts of Town that gets blown to shreds by the bad guys' overwhelming firepower when they think they have Sondra and Clint cornered, and our heroes take off in one of their cars because,somehow, the bad guys always seem to leave their keys in the ignition...)

But I think those who object kinda miss the point: after all, what are they saying,that the entire "Dirty Harry" series, by contrast, was filled with plausibility? Please.

Still other have pointed out "symbolism" in the storyline.
(Like heading to Phoenix for redemption. Or, perhaps, how Eastwood doesn't need a huge gun here because he's got such a big bus with which to ram the bad guys.) Yeah, whatever. These are the kind of issues pseudo-intellectuals fight over at Denny's in the wee hours, while the exasperated waitress waits to clear the table, hoping the tip wont be as crummy as what the last bunch left. Come to think of it, how do I know this?
To be fair, I'll admit that it IS awfully tempting to try to find deeper significance in pulpy action pictures. For example I'm tempted to see this as Eastwood's populist apologia for the reactionary quality of the afore-mentioned **Dirty Harry** series, given how the "establishment" is the enemy here, and how the original **Harry** was made when Nixon was facing re-election(and before Watergate), whereas **The Gauntlet** was made shortly after Jimmy Carter was elected. Is this significant? Maybe. But I remind myself of what Clint himself might say, quoting Goldwyn: "If you want to send a message, call Western Union."

This is my favorite Eastwood action pic ever. I really like the chemistry between Locke and Eastwood. The only reason it doesn't get five stars is they didn't stop to help some nuns on the way.
(Then, they could've looked at each other, as if for the 1st Time. Then, in the next scene...)

It's very simple: Eastwood and Locke and a bus against the entire, apparently corrupt establishment. Gee, who do YOU think's gonna win?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: oh go polish your badge Shockley
Review: This film gives a whole new meaning to the term "Treachery".
Clint Eastwood & Sondra Locke team in this cops against cops against the mob movie
Locke plays a supposedly "no nothing witness to a no nothing case"
Sure.until the bullets start to fly a little over 2 million dollars worth according to Malpaso, Eastwoods'production company if I have my fact straight about that.
Eastwood plays Ben Schokley a "drunken bum of a cop" for the Arizona PD who gets the dubious task of taking Gus (Locke) to trial.
The bets begin with 100-1 odds of them making alive to trial.
The two best scenes are when Gus's house gets about 11,349 bullet holes in it then collapses..almost on Eastwood's head. The other scene is the bus they hijack when Sondra Locke's character tells the passenger's on board to politely "HAUL [behind]"!!. This where they drive thru "The Gauntlet" heavily armed cops on both sides who promptly shoot about 17,209 bullets into the bus as it drives by them.
I won't go into the showdown on the steps but it's a cool ending
I'm giving this movie 5 stars because I'm a Clint eastwood fan


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