Craig S. (InnerMacro) from WAUSAU, WI
Reviewed on 3/31/2024...
A nice selection of Mcqueen's work and the foundation of modern action cinema. McQueen movies created a mold that countless others would follow. Perhaps the most surprising part about watching these movies today is that the tropes of modern Hollywood don't exist with respect to the characters in these films, and so what is old seems 'new' and actually more true-to-life in some respects. McQueen himself is rarely a 'likeable' guy in any of these roles - the films don't try to convince the audience of his 'heart of gold' in the way subsequent generations of films would do. Cincinnati Kid follows a depression era stud player as he attempts to reach the big time. Papillon is a telling of a French convict sent to the prison colony of French Guiana (some very convincing acting at times from McQueen). Bullitt is a procedural police drama with a classic car chase scene that established the genre. The true gem of the four is the Getaway. Tarantino has probably admitted it, but nearly anything he has done would need to draw a line back to this film. Even being 50 years old, this movie stands up to the heist films of today as an entertainingly weird odyssey. Check these out if you've never seen McQueen, Ann-Margaret, Ali McGraw, Tuesday Weld, Karl Malden, and more. Sadly McQueen died of mesothelioma a scant few years after the last of these films, otherwise he certainly would have been better known in the 80s and 90s.
0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 1/8/2022...
Bullitt - A Steve McQueen classic!
Papillon - I just could not get into this. I'm sure it's a classic with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman but for me, it fell short.