The Gauntlet (1977)

Featured Audience Ratings

• xGary X

  
  Burnt out cop Clint Eastwood is sent to extradite a federal witness and finds himself targeted by both the mob and his own police force. After the success of Dirt Harry, Clint made the tough guy cop thriller his bread and butter and The Gauntlet is a Harry sequel in all but name only.… More
  Burnt out cop Clint Eastwood is sent to extradite a federal witness and finds himself targeted by both the mob and his own police force. After the success of Dirt Harry, Clint made the tough guy cop thriller his bread and butter and The Gauntlet is a Harry sequel in all but name only. He is the typical laconic booze hound and the witness is the usual mouthy, street savvy hooker with a heart as they brave a constant hail of bullets. The plot is a little thin, the story being essentially one long chase sequence and Sondra Locke (who was always kind of like Clint's own Yoko) is not the best actress and actually comes across as kind of annoying. You can always rely on Eastwood however and this is his show all the way. His direction is rather workman like but efficient enough and it all reaches a suitably lead riddled climax. Hardly Eastwood's best but still a solid 70s action thriller that will appeal to his fans.

• Anthony L

  
  I've read somewhere that this film is essentially an urban-domestic parable about the soldierly fallacy of the Vietnam War and a reaction to the police force highlighting the issues with their conformity, mechanised compliance and nihilistic indulgences. If that is the case… More
  I've read somewhere that this film is essentially an urban-domestic parable about the soldierly fallacy of the Vietnam War and a reaction to the police force highlighting the issues with their conformity, mechanised compliance and nihilistic indulgences. If that is the case though, why make it so light hearted when it really needed to be serious throughout. To be honest, I think this was a misguided idea that developed into a crap film. I was loving it for the first 5 minutes, the 70s being my favourite decade for film but everything that I hate about 70s film took over. The script is awful, the acting is dreadful and the story is stupid and doesn't work or make sense. You could probably think of many theories as to why a film made in that era is/was anti-Vietnam, many people have/do but I honestly think the majority of them are completely wrong. I do like Clint Eastwood but I find that the films he directs often lack the depth he desired, he is much more of a conformist than he thinks he is but like I said, I'm still a fan!

• jay n

  
  Utterly ridiculous but undemanding crime drama.

• Conner R

  
  If you are a Clint Eastwood fan, this is one of the coolest movies ever made. It's like Dirty Harry and Coogan's Bluff combined into one, with enough action and bloodshed to satisfy anyone's needs. Clint Eastwood churns out the classic one-liners and carries a hand… More
  If you are a Clint Eastwood fan, this is one of the coolest movies ever made. It's like Dirty Harry and Coogan's Bluff combined into one, with enough action and bloodshed to satisfy anyone's needs. Clint Eastwood churns out the classic one-liners and carries a hand cannon whilst riding a Chopper. The hooker love story only doubles the manliness of the movie, as does the set ups and double crossing. It's one of the many wonderful one man army scenarios and it never seems to get old. Pure 70s genius.

• danny d

  
  like dirty harry with slightly more personality, the gauntlet excels with entertainment and iconic eastwood action scenes, and suffers from audacious coincidences that are lazily forced in to further the story without requiring too much creativity. locke plays her typical one note… More
  like dirty harry with slightly more personality, the gauntlet excels with entertainment and iconic eastwood action scenes, and suffers from audacious coincidences that are lazily forced in to further the story without requiring too much creativity. locke plays her typical one note character, and the acting was mostly sub par, but the film was as fun as it was trying to be, lifting it slightly above the average.

• Coxxie M

  
  has some great one-liners like "hey asshole IM Roy!" and "oh yea, well this is my gun Roy." actually pretty stupid movie and i dont think Eastwood can direct. it also contains about 5 minutes of dialogue about Clint's 2-day beard.

• Jason O

  
  This may be the first Clint Eastwood movie I ever saw. My parents went to see it at the theater, but I wasn't born yet and saw it nearly 20 years later, and loved it from the first viewing. A definite must have for me, but then again, what Eastwood flick isn't? *Woman walks… More
  This may be the first Clint Eastwood movie I ever saw. My parents went to see it at the theater, but I wasn't born yet and saw it nearly 20 years later, and loved it from the first viewing. A definite must have for me, but then again, what Eastwood flick isn't? *Woman walks to the edge of a speeding train and sees she doesn't wanna jump, turns around and asks Clint, "You wouldn't hit a lady would you?"* *Clint punches her right in the face*

• Stephen M

  
  I hadn't seen this for a long time and was surprised to find it better than I'd remembered. Underneath the modish '70s frankness and vulgarity there's quite a sweet, old-fashioned romance. Though "The Outlaw Josey Wales" was the best film they made… More
  I hadn't seen this for a long time and was surprised to find it better than I'd remembered. Underneath the modish '70s frankness and vulgarity there's quite a sweet, old-fashioned romance. Though "The Outlaw Josey Wales" was the best film they made together, "The Gauntlet" represents Sondra Locke's best performance for Eastwood. The action scenes may be preposterous but they are exceptionally well-handled; the helicopter vs motorcycle chase is superb. The armour-plating of the bus and the endless bullets which never seem to hit anyone prefigure "The A-Team" by a half decade.

• Dean M

  
  An explosive movie embodying its title with a vengeance. Eastwood - fast, furious and funny.

• Christopher O

  
  One of my favorite older Eastwood films with Eastwood as Ben Shockey and down and out Arizona detective who is sent to transfer a prisoner named Gus O'Malley who turns out to be Sondra Locke. They hate each other and Schockey finds out she is key witness in a mom trial and people… More
  One of my favorite older Eastwood films with Eastwood as Ben Shockey and down and out Arizona detective who is sent to transfer a prisoner named Gus O'Malley who turns out to be Sondra Locke. They hate each other and Schockey finds out she is key witness in a mom trial and people are out to kill them left and right. Great action and Eastwood has some great lines as he gnarls his way to the end. Maybe mindless but definitely entertaining. Eastwood also does well directing the film.

• Lee K

  
  I finally own my own copy of my favorite of ole clint's movies! This is the apitomy of coolness. Clint plays Detective Ben Shockley a down and out cop with a drinking problem who gets called upon by the new police commisioner to fly into Vegas and pick up a "nothing… More
  I finally own my own copy of my favorite of ole clint's movies! This is the apitomy of coolness. Clint plays Detective Ben Shockley a down and out cop with a drinking problem who gets called upon by the new police commisioner to fly into Vegas and pick up a "nothing witness" to a "nothing trial" little does Shockley know that his witness is a high price prostitute that if brought to trial can bring down a huge mobster. We get to journey with Shockley and Au'gus'tina Malley as they dodge mob and police hits till Shockley wakes up and sees who exactly it is that wants this witness dead....the mob or the police? Maybe both??? Great action flick that was made in the mid 70's and definatly has that feel and jazzy soundtrack backing it up. Great shoot outs with the last 20 mins of this film being one of the most intense scenes that i can remember. A must see for any Clint fan.

• RJ M

  
  Clint Eastwood takes a break from Dirty Harry Callahan to play a booze hound Pheonix cop assigned to transport, what he is told, a nothing witness in a nothing trial from Las Vegas. In reality, the witness is a hooker (played by Eastwood's then real life girlfriend Sondra Locke)… More
  Clint Eastwood takes a break from Dirty Harry Callahan to play a booze hound Pheonix cop assigned to transport, what he is told, a nothing witness in a nothing trial from Las Vegas. In reality, the witness is a hooker (played by Eastwood's then real life girlfriend Sondra Locke) who has information that ties the mob to a host of dirty Pheonix cops. So obviously they meet with far more resistance on their journey than they expected. If the movie is guilty of one thing, it's overkill. In several confrontations, the bad guys hit their targets with such overkill, that it's almost laughable. A police car and city bus are turned to Swiss cheese, and a house is hit by gunfire so hard, that it literally collapses onto its foundation. Yet Eastwood and Locke are able to escape that house via a tunnel that leads from the basement. The movie also suffers from a horrible 70's soundtrack, obviously influenced by jazz fan Eastwood, who also served as director. But still, it's a solid piece of 70's action, with clear cut good guys and bad guys, plenty of gunfire, and we even see Eastwood cross the line, and punch a couple of women, including the witness he's protecting. Not up to Dirty Harry levels, but it still shows why there are fewer Hollywood icons that are tougher than Clint Eastwood.

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