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McQ. John Wayne

Norman Macleod | Long Sault, Ontario Canada | 09/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Loved the movie, It's a little different to see the Duke in civilian atire as a investigator on the hunt for the people who took out not only cops but a good freind as well . One of the highlights for me was seeing the early 70's Trans Am that the Duke was driving ripping up the streets of Seattle, great looking car for the era. Another thing that I noticed was no profane language in the movie, quite refreshing and enjoyable for anyone to watch who likes action movies and the Duke."

THE DUKE MEETS DIRTY HARRY

Tim Janson | Michigan | 04/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I saw this picture at the theater with my brother when it first came out. I'll admit that on the surface John Wayne playing a tough, renegade, "Dirty Harry" style cop may be a bit far-fetched, but hey, it's John Wayne...few could ever match his screen presence so you just accept it as a pretty entertaining cop action film. There's certainly some "Bullitt" influence as well with the car chases and Wayne driving a Trans Am.

Wayne is Lon McQ whose partner turns out was involved in some dirty doings and is killed because of it. Wayne finds out a drug kingpin (Al Lettieri) was responsible for the murder and goes after him. When McQ's superior Captain Kosterman (Eddie Albert) suspends him, he quits the force and joins the PI firm of his friend "Pinky" (David Huddleston). Duke now can go after Santiago and his men and garners help from an aged junkie informer played by Colleen Dewhurst in a short but strong role. The supporting cast is rounded out with Diana Muldauer and Clu Gulager.

The film is punctuated by what is actually a number of good (for the era) action sequences climaxed by an auto chase and shootout with Duke wielding an automatic weapon on a beach in what really is an exciting scene. One can certainly argue that all of the main actors including Wayne, Albert, and Dewhurst were a bit too long in the tooth for the roles they are playing but so what. It's still an enjoyable film with Wayne, even at 67 years old displaying the macho toughness that had made in a huge star for over 40 years. Dated but fun!"

The Duke tries to attone for a lost opportunity.

Tim Janson | 02/08/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"John Wayne wasn't just considered for the role of Dirty Harry, he was the top choice. The role was his for the taking. He looked at the script and was intrigued, but he felt it was a little too hard edged for his fans to accept so he passed. Of course, Clint Eastwood took the role and the movie became a huge hit and a classic. When the Duke saw "Dirty Harry" he realized he had made a big mistake passing on it. It was too late to change the past so he did the next best thing which was to have his own Dirty Harry-like movie and call it "McQ."Unfortunately, "McQ" lacks the taunt script of "Dirty Harry" and it meanders along very slowly. The performances are good. The Duke, Eddie Albert, and Al Leiteri are all fine. Colleen Dewhurst is fantastic in her short amount of screen time. Yet they cannot cover up the weak script. The end result was "Dirty Harry Lite" and a rather forgettable film. An ok movie; but no "Dirty Harry.""

A pretty good 70's cop flick.

Jay Markle | 08/25/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"John Wayne tries to be Dirty Harry, even down to a "signature gun", in this case the Ingram MAC-10 machine pistol.For a Wayne movie, its very hard on "the System", showing corrupt cops and cops who just don't give a damn about justice. Good performance by Eddie Albert as a PO'd police captain, half the time you think his head is going to explode off his shoulders!Fantastic stuntwork at the end, making the slow spots worth the effort."