Here is the grit of real law enforcement (not the fake Hollywood imitation), run down police stations, broken down police cars, dirt, sweat, smelly low life's and all. But thankfully it's not like really life with the over the top excitement of shoot outs, brawls, and brawling shoot-outs!
Norris is at his best in this film, but the supporting cast is just as wonderful. L.Q. Jones (Dakota), is priceless as the old Ranger, and the film is at it's best in the scenes that he is in. Barbara Carrera (Lola Richardson), is fantastic as a hot vixen in over her head. David Carradine (Rawley Wilkes), is an argyle sweater wearing crime lord who kicks butt, somehow it works? Jefe, Falcon, and Snow are just so perfect as criminal slime, most Lawmen will swear that they have run into them some where!
The music score for this picture is perfect, the open piece is so good it sets the mood for the whole movie, and I still hum the thing 20 years later!
OVERALL SCORE: (A+)PLOT: (A-), CHARATERS: (A+), DIALOGUE: (A-), SETTING: (A+), ACTION/COMBAT: (A+), ANTAGONISTS: (A+), ROMANCE: (B-), SEX: (Light) AGE LEVEL: (PG13/R)
Perhaps more importantly, Norris actually gets a suitable foil in the form of "Kung Fu" legend David Carradine. Carradine fills the villain role very well as Rawley Wilkes (cool name), a smirking, smarmy, cigar-chewing gun-runner whose martial-arts expertise is matched by his fondness for argyle sweaters. Even if his first appearance in the movie didn't make it obvious, you'd be able to tell from one look at Rawley that he's pure evil. Even better, Carradine is joined in his crimes by an equally amoral partner who just happens to be a dwarf in an electric wheelchair. I'm not sure why, but that's just one of those inspired ideas that make a huge difference in movies.
The plot is rather minimal, but the makers of "Lone Wolf McQuade" were smart enough to give Norris fans what they want: action, action, and more action. After all, if we wanted substance, we could watch something else. Joined by a Mestizo partner and a renegade black FBI agent with a classic jheri curl, McQuade plows his way through a small army of inbred-looking thugs on his way to the inevitable showdown with Rawley at the end of the movie. Naturally, the bad guys have to make things personal by kidnapping McQuade's daughter, but all that does is raise the stakes when he finally does face Rawley. And while their fight scene may not quite match the legendary battle between Norris and Bruce Lee in "Way of the Dragon," there's still plenty of impressive brutality and technique for the martial-arts buff.
While the camp factor in "Lone Wolf McQuade" is still pretty high, that's certainly to be expected from a Norris movie. Yes, it's a bit dated, but those looking for some great pure action will not come away disappointed. If you're a fan of action movies in general or Norris movies in particular, you can do a lot worse. This is a prime entry in the "redneck action" subgenre.
Steve Carter's (Big Bad Mama) 1983 extremely modest spaghetti western, martial arts, and low budget action hybrid, Lone Wolf McQuade, is by itself a rather remotely intriguing early eighties lackadaisical B-grade prime specimen of energetic action sleepwalking at it's most soothingly appealing and inversely blankly catatonic. Consider an imaginary high school athlete with the entire facility and anatomical ability to become an All-American yet with the small time desire to only be the school's custodian part time after-school and you generally get the bleak situation. In it's most coolly aloof, melodramatically sincere, and yet reclusive callow telling, the film represents nothing more than a passionate circular shift of narrative under-reaching for apathetic self-contentment that often seems to find narrative momentum however never fully follows it anywhere. The spaghetti western contexts of insurmountably acute mysticism (especially in the opening sequence) do raise Mc Quade (virtually superior to all of Norris's filmed efforts to date) above mere action exploitation that unfortunately never sufficiently pursue the true ambition of the material leaving McQuade rather land-logged residing firmly on the peak of B-film incomplete what-ifs that never quite completely come to fruition.
Many attest ,along with Norris himself, that his sizable popular internationally acclaimed CBS 1990's hit television series Walker, Texas Ranger was the natural substantive continuation of the themes, spiritual issues, and ideologies first addressed here. That being the case the network television remake astronomically refined, unquestionably advanced, and palpably addressed quintessentially all of McQuade's questionable issues of detail inconsistency, dramatic impotency, and chronic characterized one-dimensionality that intensely haltered this particular effort from being nothing more than routine 1980's actual fodder.
The story (what ultimately remains) revolves around the title character, renown Texas Ranger J.J. McQuade (Chuck Norris), who with typical Sergio Leone flourishes remains an all-encompassing renegade loner who's reputation retains all matter of reverence from the community, ecstatic masculine camaraderie with his former superior/best friend (L.Q. Jones, or could we say comedy relief perhaps), typically bureaucratic reservations from his new superiors, fear by his side saddled novice junior partner Kayo (Robert Beltran, of Star Trek Voyager fame) that complicates his solitary angst, and begrudging admiration from his partially aloof ex-spouse and his flourishingly attractive young daughter. As you can already speculate, McQuade is your typical Harry Callahan Alpha male on the loose for any rambling treachery or illegitimate legal disrespect that might nonchalantly mosey on down to his little hamlet of the world for some criminal jollies. The illegal gun smuggler mastermind of this piece is an egomaniac martial arts guru Rawley Wilkes who habitually taunts and impedes upon McQuade's private and professional lives at every conceivable turn that is of course until the predetermined showdown of a lyrically Fistful of Dollars reminiscent magnitude at the film's conclusion. In this case the numero uno (number one in other words) of disrespect is none other than "Kung Fu" television series martial arts cult celebrity (heavily misused significant talent) David Carradine (Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2) who makes the grandiose most of this typically campy action kitsch film by brandishing his pathologically deep eccentricities that incredibly grandly unveil misogynistic resplendent sour dimensions of sadistic grandeur to the remainder of these conventionally predictable Texan action mantra proceedings. Essentially at it's kick punctuated heroically laced center, this silver screen neighborhood of repetitious action compromises of nonexistent sweep over anecdotal embellishment summarily leave the viewer dramatically windswept towards the invariable possibilities that laid in waiting that couldn't quite trespass beyond convention onto the screen itself.
As for the DVD edition of Lone Wolf McQuade, the DVD edition contains a competently serviceable 1.85 to 1 wide-screen anamorphic presentation, a flawlessly dynamic Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono audio track, the theatrical trailer, and typically no other film related options to speak of.
P.S. When a group of Mexican police officers attempt to squelch a ragtag group of horse rustlers, always bring the precursory Chuck Norris along just in case.
1)The hero must be in law enforcement (of some kind)insubordinate, but always right, extremely tough and be able to take unbelievable amounts of physical beatings.2)The villian must have inexhaustible resources, a private army the size of Mexico City, and nefarious and vindictive motives.3)Anyone close to the hero must be kidnapped, beaten, killed, maimed or otherwise visited upon by the bad guys goons. (This must also include pets, partners, dry cleaners etc)4)The final showdown must be hand to hand combat to attempt to disguise the predictable ending, despite the availability of an arsenal the size of Fort Bragg.
Having all of these characteristics (and more) in place, and like any good Norris/Seagal style movie, fans of this sort of stuff will find plenty to enjoy. This is NOT a bad movie by any means, and as long as can plant your sense of credibility on hold for a couple of hours, this will certainly liven up a rainy afternoon. Good supporting cast, and David Carradine gives an early glimpse of his more villainous qualities, he so well exuded in the more recent Kill Bill movies. Enjoy
