The Gauntlet

A simple, if not a little silly, action movie. It's still fun though.

Laughed my throat hoarse. I was already chuckling because of the painful acting and ‘character building’, but the helicopter chase opened the whole spectrum of laughs. I more and more value the existence of Hotshots, who had a far broader mock-range than I realized at the time. When Clint made the fortification in the bus was when I got hoarse. IS this a comedy? Am I delusional? Anyway I had a great time.

Although the leads have great chemistry & Locke's character's often a spiky, fun surprise, the copter/cycle chase is pretty dull & there are 2 giant implausibilities: Locke's hooker falls far too quickly (was it the roses?) & why doesn't Eastwood just call someone in the media and win that way? It would've worked way better if Eastwood's lameness & antagonism w/ the commish were much more developed. The movie tells us he wants to prove himself but you never feel that he actually needs to.

In a spectacularly crude 70s sort of way, a movie about true love and learning to march to the beat of your own drum. The set pieces are creative and enormous, and the central relationship between Eastwood and Sondra Locke is as sensitive as you can hope for from a late 70s Eastwood action movie - which is to say, it begins with him slapping her, but manages to make their eventual coupling logical and downright moving.

Such a weird me-against-the-world film and also an entertaining action flick at the same time, with bits of romcom. A Hawksian parade ended like an ultra-budgeted Precint 13, with a bus invading a deserted Phoenix -- just like a Western town -- protected by improvised iron shields. Pretty cool set-pieces -- including the bike-chased-by-chopper sequence -- really elevate this.

There's some good stuff but this is like, what, 3 hours too long? Jesus. Cut away from those driving off in the distance scenes. Somehow it still manages to end abruptly.

Clint Eastwood directs and stars as an imitation of his own Dirty Harry character in a middle-of-the-road, perfectly average action movie.

"The Gauntlet" continuously amplified its drama through an escalating series of exaggerated action sequences, each outdoing its predecessor in sheer absurdity, culminating in the climactic scene of the bus daringly navigating the gauntlet. It was too absurd for me, but I would understand if you liked the film, 70’s me did.

okay movie

Fitfully thrilling Eastwood movie cannot quite decide what it wants to be, a full-blooded and quite violent action movie or lighthearted buddy comedy. Clint is in his element as Dirty Harry with a few dozen brain cells wiped out; Locke is rather irritating at first but I did warm to her, a little, as the film progressed. I know some folks think very highly of this but I heavily prefer Clint and Sondra’s earlier teaming, The Outlaw Josey Wales.

(Viewed in 2016): At this point Eastwood was riding the wave of extreme popularity, churning out largely interchangeable action films with the occasional crowd pleasing comedy to satiate his loyal fanbase. The Gauntlet is one of the many examples of undistinguished genre fare that he specialised in during the 70's and 80's that emphasised his star persona and went through the motions. His no frills direction is passable but lacks excitement, and the semi-serious tone kills any potential fun.

Starts off absurd and it never stops increasing the ridiculousness right up to the nonsensical ending. Sadly this ridiculousness isn't over the top enough to be enjoyable in its own right, especially since Eastwood plays it all almost completely straight. Even so, it's a solid roadtrip movie and the chemistry between Locke and Eastwood carries it well.

I know I enjoyed watching this. But a day later, I had already forgotten what it was about.

Not bad at all. Not exactly among Eastwood's upper-echelon but definitely better than the monkey movie.

Entertaining bubble gum script is challenged by a rather terrible Sondra Locke and a finale too stupid for it's own good.

Maybe Clint felt compelled to perpetuate a certain iconic archetype he'd fashioned for himself. It certainly has the grace and confidence of a genre veteran, telling a readily, laughably ridiculous and predictable story with excellent liveliness.

A cop who's seen better days (Clint Eastwood) is assigned to escort a prostitute (Sondra Locke) from Vegas to Phoenix to testify in a Mob trial--but the odds are quite literally against them. Light on story, heavy on action, with a little time for character while we're at it. Eastwood is good as a sort of loser version of Dirty Harry, while Locke is immensely likable in what could've been a stock role. Violently entertaining a lot of the time, marred by an abrupt ending and some dated attitudes.

The Gauntlet is an undeniably fun film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. Although it's generic, daft and forgettable by Eastwood's standards, the set pieces are thoroughly enjoyable. Visually this is a well made and solid film. The finale however is what this film is remembered for and I'm almost certain the final scene features the most gun shots in a scene. I may be wrong but regardless it's awesome. However gernerically I can't help but associate this film with the Dirty Harry series.

72.500

72.500

There are a few parts that are a little silly in this action movie but overall I enjoyed it. Clint Eastwood is just playing another version of his typical character here but he is great at it.

started out kinda bad-ass but dropped that shit along the way...

another good movie with Clint as a cop

If I was actually in a greyhound bus being fired upon by 300 cops, I probably wouldn't be very concerned about breaking the speed limit. Not Clint though. The last twenty minutes takes place at a grueling 5 mph.

I was not impressed by the ending.

Watch if you like being chased, knowing that when life's on the road any two people can fall in love.

A simple and sometimes surprisingly dull action thriller from Eastwood. While the ending sequence is pretty stunning, you can't help but feel that the movie drags on a little too much. Many of the events don't really have much grounding and beyond the odd memorable scene it's pretty forgettable. Still, it's directed with the usual skills you'd expect from Eastwood and is pieced together well.

Score based on distant memory.

A decent cop movie made brilliant by the amazing ending.

Very cool ending!

Not bad.