Lone Wolf McQuade

1983 "The 'Mad Dog' Criminal... The 'Lone Wolf' Lawman... The Ultimate Showdown."
6.3| 1h47m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 15 April 1983 Released
Producted By: Orion Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

The archetypical renegade Texas Ranger wages war against a drug kingpin with automatic weapons, his wits and martial arts after a gun battle leaves his partner dead. All of this inevitably culminates in a martial arts showdown between the drug lord and the ranger, and involving the woman they both love.

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Reviews

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever
Evengyny Thanks for the memories!
Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!
Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Enoch Sneed This was my first Chuck Norris film so I came to it with an open mind, although I knew pretty well what to expect: lots of macho action and don't worry about credibility (why don't the horse thieves just blow McQuade away five minutes in, instead of messing around spraying a cliff with a machine gun?).So how did it measure up? Well, the action is there with plenty of gun-play and some martial arts thrown in (which look far more realistic than Jackie Chan's gravity defying gymnastics - these guys really hurt each other, although they should kill each other in minutes). We have very satisfactory eye-candy from Barbara Carrera (pity she had to get killed but there has to be a way for Chuck to get back with his estranged wife and daughter). There is also the old mentor who gets killed and has to be avenged, the rookie who learns how to get down and dirty and do some *real* crime fighting, the by-the-book guy who finally joins McQuade's crusade (and he's black), and the exasperated superior. I could go on but you can fill the blanks in yourself. Just to remind us the film is *really* a Western, we have an Ennio Morricone-type score as well (and very good it is).We also have affirmation that the USA has the right to invade another country and impose its will on the inhabitants - and the Mexicans here really are a dirty, helpless bunch, a nasty bit of stereotyping.I found myself comparing this film, featuring a maverick Texas Ranger on the Mexican border, with Extreme Prejudice, the Walter Hill film from 1987 which is much better directed and acted, has just as good a level of action, and shares some plot elements (old mentor, unofficial invasion of Mexico) - perhaps because John Milius made an uncredited contribution to the McQuade screenplay. Lone Wolf McQuade pales in comparison to the later film It is a good enough time-passer but no classic.
Scarecrow-88 Chuck Norris. David Carradine. The battle. I could write you the largest synopsis imaginable, but it's still all about the two legends squaring off in a martial arts contest. Carradine does the honors of playing the stone cold heel who runs an operation smuggling stolen artillery from the military shipping guns and other American weapons to terrorists. Norris is an El Paso Texas Ranger who doesn't necessarily operate using the standard "code of ethics" often not "playing by the rules" in order to catch (or in most cases, kill) criminals. Barbara Carrera is Lola, the woman between them (although, she loves Norris) and Dana Kimmell (Friday the 13th III) is the cutesy daughter of Norris' JJ "Lone Wolf" McQuade. L Q Jones is the retired Texas Ranger and pal of McQuade, Dakota, who pays a heavy price for assisting in the "babysitting" of a drug dealer (character actor William Sanderson, scrawny, nervy, with these glasses which enlarge his eyes to make him more of a cartoonish criminal who squeals like a pig when Dakota uses an AK 47 to get his attention). Robert Beltran is McQuade's "new partner" (yes, quite a cliché, but if you're an action fan this comes with the territory), green as expected, but loyal and actually comes in handy during moments where the one man army act is impossible. R G Armstrong is the boss over the Texas Rangers, always on McQuade about his appearance and style, believing his men should represent their badge with a "squeaky clean" image. Sharon Farrell is McQuade's ex-wife, Molly. Interesting enough, McQuade and Molly get along cordially, even after she tells him of the acceptance of a job offer in another Texas city. Leon Isaac Kennedy is a Fed, Jackson, who offers to help, not hinder, McQuade in his pursuit of the ones responsible for killing his daughter's boyfriend (and another friend; another cliché, the murder of the best friend is here)and soldiers during the artillery heist. What really puts McQuade over the edge, besides being shot at in his own bedroom, is the damned murder of his pet wolf (what is it with action movies and killing canines?). Ultimately, it is about Norris and Carradine engaged in a fight for all the marbles, at the end—after a lengthly shoot out as McQuade, Jackson, & Beltran's Kayo raid the desert compound of Carradine's Rawley Wilkes—as Carrera and a kidnapped Kimmell look on in fear. The music score and opening credits (along with how the director shoots Norris and Carradine) present "Lone Wolf McQuade" in the grand tradition of Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns. My only wish would be that McQuade and Wilkes had fought longer or more than once, but seeing them going tooth and nail—before Wilkes sucker punching McQuade's daughter, a definite no-no which gets our hero all riled up—for even a few minutes was worthwhile. As you would expect, Norris encounters plenty of punks to pummel, including many half his size (these big, burly sorts often go down with one punch or kick which I always find amusing), sent to the ground for a nice, long nap after a smack or kick (I have nicknamed Norris' spinning kick the "velocity kick" because it always knocks the recipient unconscious on impact). Carradine seems to be having fun, gnawing on his cigarillo and oozing menace, channeling, it seems, Henry Fonda's cold-blooded killer in "Once Upon a Time in the West".
kargaan I can't comprehend how underrated LWM is. First I have to say that the opening seen is a heck of a way to open an action movie. At the opening scene J.J. McQuade seems invincible. He just stands there as bullets whiz past him not looking worried at all. This scene has to go down in the action books for one of the best openings to an action movie. The next part of the movie shows J.J. McQuade as a tough but fragile Ranger because he has his family and friends, whom he deeply cares about, to look out for. There's nothing much to the villain in LWM. He's played by David Carradine and only there when necessary but it doesn't take anything away from the experience. It focuses more on McQuade than the villain. McQuade is a slob and a beer guzzler but extremely good at what he does. A crack shot and an expert at martial arts despite his unhealthy lifestyle. The villain eventually pushes McQuade to his limit and McQuade must hunt down Carradine to save his daughter with the help of a few friends. The music in LWM sounds like something you would hear out of a spaghetti western which really sets the western mood for the movie. The Final fight scene is an epic mono e mono showdown between Chuck Norris and David Carradine. What an awesome way to end a movie! A great great edition to the Norris collection and I would recommend it to any fan of action movies period.
Paul Andrews Lone Wolf McQuade is set in Texas where renegade Ranger J.J. McQuade (Chuck Norris) lives & works by his own rules, McQuade has a problem with authority & his rough tactics means McQuade is unpopular with the media. His captain dumps rookie cop Kayo (Robert Beltram) on McQuade as a partner which McQuade is less than happy about. While with her boyfriend McQuade's daughter Sally (Dana Kimmell) witnesses the hijacking of an army convoy carrying a huge cache of weapons & ammunition, her boyfriend is murdered & Sally is left for dead & McQuade is now angry. The FED's are called in but McQuade decides to take the law into his own hands to protect the state of Texas & his own family as the weapons & ammunition are to be sold off to every terrorist & criminal organisation going...Produced & directed by Steve Carver this is a pretty bad early 80's action film, I am quite surprised by the amount of love for Lone Wolf McQuade although I suspect that a fair amount of it I detect a certain level of sarcasm involved. First of all at nearly 110 minutes long this is very slow going & is quite frankly dull, the build-up is slow & the whole film feels padded with lots of little bits which are unnecessary. The character's are all standard action clichés from the tough no-nonsense play by his own rules cop, he has a mismatched rookie partner forced upon him, his daughter & wife are there for the bad guy's to threaten & to turn things personal, there's a love interest, a craggy police captain who dislikes the hero, a bad guy who stands around & acts menacing but never actually does anything else & the typical army of bad guy's who can't shoot straight. The film plods along, we never find out anything about the bad guy's other then they want to sell weapons, McQuade himself has no real personality & isn't that likable, he never seems to do any sort of work apart from drive around in his truck & practice firing guns. There are lots of random moments here, the bad guy burying McQuade in his truck while still alive, why not just kill him? The bad guy's killing Sally's boyfriend but leaving her alive, again why? The way the bad guy's kill McQuade's mate but leave his partner alive, why? Why stage a daring rescue in broad daylight? A fairly tiresome, predictable & routine feeling mid range budget 80's action film that I thought was pretty poor & only saved by one or two half decent action scenes & some unintentionally funny randomness.The fights are alright, there's nothing amazing here but it's competent & watchable. There's not much else here apart from a brief scene as McQuade is dragged behind a truck & a couple of explosions. In fact it's a rather bland & forgettable film all round with far too many bland shoot-outs where the bad guy's can't shoot straight & just wait to be shot themselves & I am genuinely surprised that anyone would rate this. Originally rated 'R' in the states it was given a 'PG' on appeal & while there's a few swear words the action is bloodless & feels like the sort of stuff you would see in an A-Team episode. There's a lot of scenic views of the Texan desert which gives it an almost classic Western feel with open plain vistas & the like. The producers of Lone Wolf McQuade sued CBS after they made Walker, Texas Ranger (1993 - 2001) with Chuck Norris for copyright infringement, Orion Pictures eventually issued CBS with a retro active license.With a reasonable budget of about $5,000,000 this had some money spent on it & it's well made but it's just not very good, shot in El Paso in Texas. Headliners Chuck Norris & David Carradine do OK but are given little material to work with & Carradine is basically wasted while Norris has no on-screen presence. Ex-model Barbara Carrera plays the love interest & isn't very good.Lone Wolf McQuade is a poor 80's action film, having heard lots of positive things said about it I expected a half decent action film at least but it's a pretty dull, slow moving plot less advert for the Texan desert. Nowhere near the film many make out & nowhere near Norris's best.