McQ (1974)

Review by All Movie Guide
This cop-movie programmer represents an intriguing but not entirely successful attempt to place John Wayne's persona into a modern filmmaking context. McQ benefits from a strong script by Lawrence Roman, which applies an amusingly cynical edge to the plotline and offers plenty of decent twists along the way. John Sturges' direction is bit too stately, causing the pace to lag in spots, but he handles the action sequences with a craftsman's skill. His work is further enhanced by a fantastic musical score by Elmer Bernstein that mixes 1970s style funk elements into its driving, orchestral approach. Unfortunately, John Wayne feels a bit out of place in this scenario -- he handles the tough-guy stuff with aplomb but doesn't seem to connect (or feel comfortable) with the moral ambiguity underpinning the storyline. Thankfully, he is backed up with an excellent supporting cast that helps him carry the weight; Eddie Albert supplies a believably stuffy authoritarian presence for Wayne to butt heads with, Al Lettieri is appropriately menacing as the movie's resident mobster, and Roger Mosley is quite witty as the pimp informant who trades verbal barbs with Wayne while passing along information. Ultimately, McQ might be too uneven and languid in its pace for some viewers, but Wayne fans and action buffs are likely to consider it a reasonably entertaining oddity. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide