Joe Kidd

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall, John Saxon
Directed by: John Sturges
Rating: PG
Genre: Western
1972

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Joe Kidd (Clint Eastwood) helps a rich land owner (Robert Duvall) track down a Mexican (John Saxon) trying to work for land reform. When his employer shows violent disregard for everyone around him, Joe begins to reconsider his allegiance.

Review:

Tim: Joe Kidd is an interesting movie. When I finished watching it, I thought to myself, "That was a pretty good movie." I was entertained, and I liked it. However, as time went on, I began to have some nagging thoughts. The story didn't quite make as much sense. There seemed to be some pretty big logic gaps. And, several moments seemed lazy and weak. In the end, I realized that this movie, though not as good as I first thought, is still pretty decent.

The biggest problem is probably the story. I never really loved it, although it made sense and I could follow it. It was hard to really care about anyone. We care about Clint Eastwood because we know we're supposed to. However, there isn't much about his character, Joe Kidd, that we can get excited about. We aren't supposed to root for Robert Duvall, because he quickly establishes himself as the villain. And, we can't really root for John Saxon, because his Luis Chama seems a bit selfish. So, we really don't have much of a rooting interest in any of the characters.

All of this didn't bother me too much. I knew I was supposed to root for Eastwood, so I did. And, there are a number of moments where he delivers a funny one-liner or an impressive act, where we are paid off for our loyalty. However, the movie started to fall apart near the end. It was almost as if the writers and producers ran out of ideas, and in a lazy fashion, just slapped something together in a sloppy manner. Robert Duvall hitches a ride with a train to make it back to the city before Clint Eastwood. This just seemed so ridiculous and convenient. I was troubled by this seemingly lazy bit of writing. And then, continuing the train problems, Eastwood uses the train in one of the most absurd, ridiculous plans imaginable. It just seemed like incredibly lazy writing. Plus, as the train approaches, we see two men seemingly ready to ambush it, who just never do. I simply did not understand what was happening here, because it was just so weak. This was the final straw that made me reconsider how I felt about this movie.

The cast is fine, I suppose. Clint Eastwood is such a fantastic actor, and he has done this so many times that he can pull it off almost effortlessly. He is enjoyable as Joe Kidd, and he does deliver some hilarious lines with terrific comedic timing. I mostly enjoyed his performance and couldn't find much fault with him. Robert Duvall was decent, although it was hard to get too excited about him. He never goes over-the-top, but I did wish he put some more energy into the role. It never seemed like he was very interested in the film. I liked John Saxon as Chama, but I didn't love him. He simply worked well enough- he did nothing to really make the role his own.

Joe Kidd is a movie that does many things right, but a few important things wrong. These flaws prevent the movie from achieving any kind of real success. I did not hate this movie- I enjoyed many aspects of it. The landscape shots were very often stunningly beautiful, Clint Eastwood in a Western is always enjoyable, and the story is a bit different than most Westerns. However, this isn't a good movie- although it does get very close.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: High Plains Drifter, Two Mules for Sister Sara, The Outlaw Josey Wales