Bullet Points: Joe Kidd
Joe Kidd is a supremely badass movie made by an infinitely cooler guy than you named Clint Eastwood. In those days Clint was making kick-ass Westerns every other weekend and I’m not sure if he ever needed a script. I find most of his movies could fit under the same franchise if you just think of all of his movies as being about the same guy. If that were true, he would be the greatest action star of all time. While Kidd isn’t the most notable of his Westerns, it isn’t because it’s not cool. This shit is very cool! I request that you sit down with your girlfriend/wife/lover and immediately watch some Clint Eastwood. It’ll make a man out of you and remind her that drinking beer and shooting guns really do go hand in hand.
The Gist: An ex-bounty hunter named Joe Kidd (Clint Eastwood) helps a wealthy landowner and his henchmen track down a Mexican revolutionary leader who has land claims that are being ignored by the U.S. government.
The Cast: As always, Clint is awesome. He has played the same character for so long that I can only see him as that guy. He probably only has 15 lines in the entire movie and other than being badass all the time, he isn’t much of a character. The rest of the cast is a bunch of “non-Clint Eastwood” types and really didn’t interest me throughout the movie. I kept waiting for John Saxon to pop up but it appears that he was playing Luis Chamas…interesting.
Oh you’re coming to kill me; maybe I’ll just pour myself a beer while I wait.
The Villain: Robert Duvall plays Harlan, who is some rich land baron fella who has been screwing over the Mexicans; which makes him equivalent to pretty much every politician in current day New Mexico. Harlan is a pretty slimey guy though and I’m not sure if Duvall ever had hair. His minions are creepy and seemingly tough but when it comes down to it Kidd wipes the floor with them without breaking a sweat.
Duvall should be in every Western.
The Action: There are several shootouts and I’m not sure if Kidd ever really misses. At one point he blindly shoots at the bad guys as a distraction but he still hit a couple of them. Other than that moment he is insanely accurate. He takes a few minutes to mack on a couple of ladies but he is in kill mode throughout the rest of the movie. There was a great opportunity for Kidd to deliver an awesome one-liner when he turned around in the judge’s chair but he just silently blasts the guy. Bummer.
Kidd is so badass he even kicks a guy’s ass with a pot of beans.
Take it Home:
- Writer: Joe Kidd was written by Elmore Leonard, who also wrote the novelization for Jackie Brown, Out of Sight, and 3:10 to Yuma.
- History bitches: All of the guns and their accessories are period accurate.
- More of that history: The movie takes place in pre-statehood New Mexico (1912).
- Favorite quote: “Next time I’ll knock your damn head off.” Clint uses the Sheriff’s own line on himself.
- Bucket List item #31: Be a part of a posse.
- Innovator of violence: Kidd knocks a guy out with a pot on a rope …never seen that before.
- One more for the road: There’s nothing more badass than pouring yourself a beer while you wait for a shootout.
Rating: 3.5/5
Clint Eastwood riding a mini horse, that is all…
