Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)

the audience applauded

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A hugely disappointing and dull action film from Chuck Norris. While it's certainly better-made than most of his and with a higher budget, this is still a highly clichéd film in which you can predict just what's going to happen, right down to the climatic fight between Norris and Carradine. It's also not nearly violent enough, actually receiving a PG rating in America! Why? I thought we could depend on Norris for plenty of high-kicking martial arts mayhem, broken bones and the like, but this just seems like a family-orientated sell-out for him.The film kicks off with a western theme, with Norris taking on a gang of cattle-rustlers in slow motion. Incidentally, this film's music score, by a noted Italian composer, Francesco de Mosi (whose roots go back to those Italian peplum adventures of the early '60s), is the biggest selling point, really old fashioned and highly reminiscent of Ennio Morricone's work. Soon we're treated to a string of scenes, involving Norris bonding with his ex-wife and daughter and falling in love with a woman on the other side. He also beats up a few hicks and gets a new partner. Blah, blah, it all predictably ends with lots of explosions and non-violent gun battles.Norris is as wooden as ever here, his bland face not displaying any emotion for one second. David Carradine is barely seen as the bad guy, but doesn't make much impression, aside from showing us his impressive KUNG FU tricks. Carrera is a boring love interest, and it's only up to the likes of L.Q. Jones, William Sanderson, and R.G. Armstrong to inject some life into their small roles. Oh yeah, and there's an evil dwarf in there too, for some reason or other.There are a handful of cool scenes in this movie which make it kind of fun at times; we get to see Norris buried underground inside his car, dowse himself with a beer and reverse straight out of the ground! He also gets shot in the stomach but the wound has healed enough in a couple of days that he can take the bandage off and have a fight with no ill effect. Or alternatively sit back and watch Norris try some target practice back at his ranch. The climatic fight between Norris and Carradine is well staged, as are the periodic martial arts that Norris uses, but there's not nearly enough. As this is a family-film, Norris also only beats Carradine up, and then lets him die in an explosion - disappointing or what? I would say this is an amusing film for Norris fans, but a real disappointment for somebody expecting some serious violence or action. There just isn't enough, just long scenes of sentimentalising and dialogue in an overlong film.

Texas Ranger J.J. McQuade (Chuck) is notorious around his precinct, and his El Paso stomping grounds, for being a loner, a rebel, and a man with the dignity of a quiet badass. Despite the typical protestations from his Captain, Tyler (Armstrong), McQuade, nicknamed "Lone Wolf" for obvious reasons, always gets the job done. And when there's trouble in Texas, he's the man everyone calls to sort it out. His buddy Dakota (Jones) certainly knows that, as do his ex-wife and daughter. But shortly after he reluctantly accepts a young new partner, Kayo (Beltran), Lone Wolf faces his biggest challenge to date in the form of one Rawley Wilkes (Carradine), a malevolent Martial Arts master who also just happens to be a gun runner. There's also a love triangle kind of thing involving a woman named Lola (Carrera) between the two alpha males. After Wilkes sends his goons after Lone Wolf's people, the stage is set for the ultimate showdown: McQuade vs. Wilkes! Also Leon Isaac Kennedy plays an FBI agent named Jackson and William Sanderson plays a underworld character named Snow. Who will triumph in this big, Texas-sized battle? Find out today! It's easy to see, in retrospect, how the TV show Walker: Texas Ranger got started. The pitch to Chuck was probably "let's turn Lone Wolf McQuade into a weekly show". But the awesome title LONE WOLF MCQUADE (why aren't there cool movie titles like that these days?) should be enough to signal to viewers what they're getting into. Chuck displays his usual deadpan likability, and there's something about the guy you just can't help but love. If previous year's movie Silent Rage (1982) is anything to go by, he was slowly becoming less wooden and was honing his acting skills, as well as his Martial Arts ability. As the laconic ex-Military man who only drinks Pearl brand beer (and has many other uses for it as well, including as balm for his wounds) - when he's not drinking Coke, of course, you truly root for him. It was naive and typical for Lola to think she could change Lone Wolf. Change him? Don't even try! The movie is filled with fun stunts and fights (thanks in part to John Barrett and Kane Hodder who, among others, did stunts) and has a nice modern-day Western feel to it. A lot of that is helped by the excellent score by Francesco De Masi. There's also some pleasant humor at just the right times. David Carradine is suitably evil as the Karate man who smokes, Armstrong is the WYC (White Yelling Chief), William Sanderson almost steals the movie as Snow, and Leon Isaac Kennedy and L.Q. Jones provide quality support. Director Steve Carver is known, at least to us, for later directing the movie that unleashed the word "Butthorn" on the world, Bulletproof (1988), as well as the lackluster Dudikoff vehicle River of Death (1989). H. Kaye Dyal got a writing credit here, and he would later go on to direct the Frank Zagarino opuses Trained to Kill (1989) and the great Project Eliminator (1991). And Aaron Norris plays "Punk". So there's plenty of talent to go around, much of which would continue to infiltrate the DTV and/or action movie world for years to come. Lone Wolf McQuade is an ideal starting point.Lone Wolf McQuade is an enjoyable movie with a lot of nice moments. It's competently directed and has a lot of great names in the cast. It's hard to ask for more than that. We liked it.

They sure don't make 'em like this anymore and you can be pretty sure you'll never see a Chuck Norris film rebooted in the future. But you should see why because it's not for all the jokes Norris has been subjected to his whole life because of his film career.Lone Wolf McQuade is a one of a kind film that takes the best elements of all kinds of classics but that's not to say it's unoriginal or derivative. When else have you seen a futuristic western with kung-fu fights, micro-machine-gun battles and a duel between an armoured personnel carrier and a bulldozer? With Chuck Norris ACTING!!! That's the misconception spread by those who have seen every single Walker Texas Ranger and then one of Norris' tackier film appearances. His best are in the 80's and I dare say that compared to many so-called talents that don't even know how to choreograph a fight scene or have never been in an action film, he can act the pants off a lot of people given the right opportunity.Norris plays the titular character McQuade, a renegade Texas Ranger who's out on the front line fighting dangerous crime while his fat old boss hates his guts from behind a desk. He lives alone, separated from his ex-wife and daughter and devotes his life to putting away the bad guys when he's not drinking beer or participating in backyard target practice. He has a wolf for company and drives a ranger with a nitrous system.McQuade picks up the scent of a major drugs operation after gaining the attention of powerful businessman Rawley Wilkes - played by David Carradine in one of his greater roles that wasn't from Kill Bill - also one of the best martial artists in and out of town. Immediately Wilkes' business and pleasure partner Lola Richardson begins to fall for McQuade and it isn't long before the lone wolf doesn't have to prove Wilkes guilty, as the secret head of the drug cartel falls foul of his own insecurities and takes the war to the Texas Ranger himself.The story is pretty tight, considering it reeks of 80's, and that's thanks to it's roots held firmly in the western genre and also a sensible script. But then there are some very colourful characters. One of which is right out of a 007 film, others right out of Dodge City. What could have been an absurd story is performed very well by Norris and Carradine and with a more than competent cast of support actors.L.Q. Jones (The Wild Bunch, Mask of Zorro, Casino) plays Dakota, McQuade's mentor and long time partner, a retired Ranger with a love of beer, poker, wise cracking and reminding us what Trip Taylor would have looked like had he been thin. The man oozes pure character and you can't put him wrong for anything in this movie.A young Robert Beltran (Star Trek Voyager's own Commander Chakotay) also stars as McQuade's new and very green partner Kayo, looking like he came straight from the set of C.H.I.P.S! Lone Wolf is not just an action film. It's got drama and love too, the kind of stuff that makes Chuck look like not just the god of kickass but just the ultimate man in every sense. You can laugh at it and you're welcome too. This is old-school hero making masculinity (beards, chauvinism and anger issues) something to be proud of.It carries it's weight in plot and story development very well and there's enough action and circumstance to get you from the opening battle to the climax but this film doesn't want to be a cheap gung-ho western. It wants to create a memorable main event and does it the hard way, and it pays off. And with Francesco Di Mesi's blistering legend theme tune, you might find it hard to turn off the end credits, let alone get the film out of your mind for the next day or two. When's the last time a film did that for you? Also try to remember the last time you saw Chuck Norris take damage from an opposition better experienced in martial arts than he was? Besides Bruce Lee? I'll say no more, treat this film like a Sunday afternoon post-roast event while you're digesting and can't move!

This was my first Chuck Norris film so I came to it with an open mind, although I knew pretty well what to expect: lots of macho action and don't worry about credibility (why don't the horse thieves just blow McQuade away five minutes in, instead of messing around spraying a cliff with a machine gun?).So how did it measure up? Well, the action is there with plenty of gun-play and some martial arts thrown in (which look far more realistic than Jackie Chan's gravity defying gymnastics - these guys really hurt each other, although they should kill each other in minutes). We have very satisfactory eye-candy from Barbara Carrera (pity she had to get killed but there has to be a way for Chuck to get back with his estranged wife and daughter). There is also the old mentor who gets killed and has to be avenged, the rookie who learns how to get down and dirty and do some *real* crime fighting, the by-the-book guy who finally joins McQuade's crusade (and he's black), and the exasperated superior. I could go on but you can fill the blanks in yourself. Just to remind us the film is *really* a Western, we have an Ennio Morricone-type score as well (and very good it is).We also have affirmation that the USA has the right to invade another country and impose its will on the inhabitants - and the Mexicans here really are a dirty, helpless bunch, a nasty bit of stereotyping.I found myself comparing this film, featuring a maverick Texas Ranger on the Mexican border, with Extreme Prejudice, the Walter Hill film from 1987 which is much better directed and acted, has just as good a level of action, and shares some plot elements (old mentor, unofficial invasion of Mexico) - perhaps because John Milius made an uncredited contribution to the McQuade screenplay. Lone Wolf McQuade pales in comparison to the later film It is a good enough time-passer but no classic.