Linkshoch Wonderful Movie

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

gab-14712 If you like preposterous, over-the-top action movies, Clint Eastwood's The Gauntlet may just be for you. Eastwood knows how to direct action, perhaps maybe too well. While the movie is often entertaining, some of the action sequences are so unrealistic that it brings me out of the movie at points. Even though the movie doesn't take the action too seriously, it can be jarring to watch. There are two such sequences that come to mind. The first sequence is when the characters of Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke are at a house. They are on the run from law enforcement, but it seems like the entire police force comes out to shoot the entire house down. The second sequence is perhaps the final twenty minutes of the film. Essentially, these two characters enter town in a bus with seems like the entire police force on the West Coast gunning them down. What makes everything crazy is that these characters are not even fighting back! While all of this was fun to watch, it was very hard to suspend my disbelief. That being said, the action scenes are well-staged and there is enough action to last a lifetime. As I said before, Clint Eastwood knows how to direct an action film.In the desert city of Phoenix, Arizona, Clint Eastwood portrays an alcoholic detective named Ben Shockley. He is given the task by police commissioner Blakelock (William Prince) to escort a witness named Gus Malley (Sondra Locke) from Las Vegas for a trial. Shockley travels to Vegas to promptly discover Gus as a college-educated hooker. She warns him that the odds are against him of bringing her to trial because she is going to testify against a very powerful mobster. As they start to travel, the mafia starts to chase them down. When Shockley calls for police help, he realizes that he was betrayed by someone in the police force.One thing that Eastwood does very well in his movies is his portrayal of female characters. He does not seem them as decorations, unlike many directors of the time period. Despite all the mayhem in the movie, there is enough time for characterization of her character. She is a prostitute, but she is intelligent, ferocious, and has a college degree. That is very uncommon for a movie hooker. Sondra Locke performs her role very, very well. No wonder why Eastwood used her in many of his early movies. As for Eastwood himself, he does his normal character portrayal. Grumpy, has his famous scowl, and good at the action. So with all the action and mayhem in the movie, the performances manage to be perhaps the most realistic thing of the movie.So if you are a fan of action movies, The Gauntlet is a good movie. It seems like it was a fun movie for all those involved with making it. I may not like the action being too crazy and over-the-top, I can appreciate the characterization and the story Eastwood and writers Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack created. Eastwood does have a sense of humor, so he applies that to the action and the story to a somewhat successful degree. Look, Clint Eastwood has made far better movies. I wouldn't call this a blip on the radar, but I think it's more of his less interesting movies. It was a kind of entertaining though watching the entire police force shoot down the bus as they made their way back into Phoenix. I guess if you go over-the-top, you must embrace it. That is what Eastwood did.My Grade: B-

MartinHafer "The Gauntlet" is an action film that works best if you don't expect very much from it. It's not a Dirty Harry film nor does the film make a lot of sense...especially at the very end. Nevertheless, for Clint Eastwood fans it probably packs enough in it to make them happy...all others consider twice before watching.Eastwood had just finished making his third Dirty Harry film when he then made "The Gauntlet". I am sure many expected to see the self- confident and murderous officer Callahan once again, but his Ben Shockley in "The Gauntlet" is in many ways very much unlike Callahan. He's a drunk, a lousy cop and someone no one would expect much from...hence this is why he was chosen for a special assignment. The Police Commissioner (William Prince) wants Shockley to go to Vegas to bring in a prisoner who is expected to testify in a mob case. However, it soon becomes obvious no one wants him to bring the girl (Sondra Locke) back alive...and the Vegas and Phoenix police forces are itching to kill them both.So why do I only give this one a 5? Well, the film is pretty much mindless action much of the time, but the reason for this relatively low score for a Clint Eastwood film is the ending...an ending which seems incredibly fake and silly. All semblance to reality seems to vanish and the ending is basically intended to satisfy the primal, not the intellectual. Pretty silly ending...as is the bizarro romance.

marcusbrainard What would happen if Hanna-Barbera's people decided to do their version of The Gauntlet? Don't worry there will be the house & The Constable's car scene & The Bus Ride scene will be intact. Also Scrappy Doo will be there & taking lessons from Hadji from "Jonny Quest". Ruff & Reddy was a cat & dog team that put H-B on the map. Now for the story. Commissioner Blakelock appoints Ruff & Reddy as cops and go to Vegas to get a witness for a trial & if you saw a Ruff & Reddy adventure in the 1950s & 1960s there at home in the story. However Gus Mally, will be portrayed by a cool, black girl who resembles "Edsel" in Matt Wagner's series and dress up like her. The dialogue with The Constable & Gus will be toned down. The ambush at the State Border line will be performed by 10 black women in "Sailor Girl" attire from Anime stories and have high-tech weapons & drive 5 unmarked, 1957 Chevrolet 150 Series, 4-Dr. Sedans which are all black. Also the motorcycle club become fans of Ruff & Reddy & also in the boxcar is some of the relatives of Ruff & Reddy enemies & when Gus comes in the fight she fights like a Japanese warrior and most of the bad guys off the boxcar and the hijacking of the bus goes thru & stopping at a compound where "Professor Butch" a professor resembles a WWE Wrestler and has a animal compound & Scrappy Doo a toned down version rides on the bus & has a clear plastic dome covering the bus during the cross firing & also a father & son police partners are there. The police shows respect when they see Ruff & Reddy, Scrappy Doo, Professor Butch & Gus. Josephson, will be shown as a black character named Charlie Brown who got serious from The Coasters' song "Charlie Brown". When Blakelock tried to fire at Professor Butch & Feyderspiel, the gun has no bullets because Scrappy Doo did a "Hadji" trick which Hadji did in "Double Danger" episode from Jonny Quest. Gus off screen beats the hell out of Blakelock & Scrappy is allowed to use his "Puppy Power" on Blakelock & Feyderspiel. A Sheriff Joe stand-in takes the villains to jail & the group goes to The Courtroom place. That's how The Hanna-Barbera people would have done it & I would have the role of the LVPD Captain that shoots down the house & uses candy instead of a cigarette for himself and a cool rookie cop. That's how H-B would have done Clint Eastwood's Gauntlet story. Ruff & Reddy were used because they never seen action when their series were over & now there back & this time made not come out on top. Ruff & Reddy never loses.

Maziun "The Gauntlet" is an enjoyable thriller/action movie about a cop that must deliver a witness to the court . The story is mostly quite predictable , yet there are some nice twists and ideas along the way . Eastwood as the director nicely switches the mood of the movie from very serious to ironic. The shootouts and the fights have some raw energy that is impressive. Some of the dialogue here are very quotable . My favorite is " I give her 2 , because I haven't yet met a woman I could give 1".Clint Eastwood is , well , Eastwood . You know he will be badass . He's a cop that not only follows order , but also thinks. Sondra Locke is great as the prisoner and ex-prostitute . She's feisty and tough . She and Eastwood has a great chemistry together.The helicopter chase is really nice . I must admit that Sondra Locke talking by the phone in the hotel is one of the sweetest movie scenes I have ever seen. The image of all those cops standing on the street and the destroyed bus is quite powerful one . Only the ending seems a little clumsy and rushed.All in all it's a not bad one from Clint. Watch out for Pat Hingle ("Batman") as the loyal friend of Eastwood . I give it 5/10.