Lone Wolf McQuade
1983 Directed by Steve Carver
Synopsis
The 'Mad Dog' Criminal...The 'Lone Wolf' Lawman...The Ultimate Showdown.
The archetypical renegade Texas Ranger wages war against a drug kingpin with automatic weapons, his wits and martial arts after a gun battle leaves his partner dead. All of this inevitably culminates a martial arts showdown between the drug lord and the ranger, and involving the woman they both love.
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This is Chuck Norris in full on, pissed off, one man army mode.
And it fucking rocks.
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The opening scene has Norris scouting out some horse rustlers. On cue with the music swell, he gets up and into frame comes his Texas Ranger star. He then goes to the back of his truck to get his rifle and vest. The vest has another star on it. He is literally wearing two stars at this point. He then goes back to his position, but not before closing his truck door to reveal yet another Texas Ranger star.
This is obvious symbolism to show he is three times the lawman.
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Dr. Seuss once said, "Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." He obviously hadn't met Chuck Norris. Here is a man willing to risk his job, his ex-wife, his daughter, and even his hard-earned refrigerator of beer in the pursuit of criminals. Not just any criminals - they are cocaine-running, tank-smuggling, karate-wielding criminals - the sort of criminals that represent the most primordial part of our collective human psyche.
In this masterpiece, we are assaulted with the basest of emotions, and reminded of the experiences of infancy: learning to walk, learning to speak, and learning to kick butt. The lead character is a man of few words. His…
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Final film in the Chuck Norris retrospective, it's plot revolves around a Texas Ranger (Norris) taking on gun smugglers. Overall it's a cheesy (in a good way) fun movie which I enjoyed. David Carradine plays the sleazy main villian well. Some of the cheesy elements add entertainment to the movie, especially the sharp dressed, wheelchair-bound little person criminal boss. The supporting cast is pretty good. The western-tinged score is a plus. There is a little bit of humor peppered throughout adding to the fun. The biggest detriment is for an action movie, the action is just OK. If it had been more exciting or cool, it would raised the movie up a notch. Also, Carradine's demise at the end is…
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Eventhough the score heavily rips off Ennio Morricone's score for Once Upon a Time in the West, I still really dug it. There times when it goes from full on Western music to Shaft style funk, which was awesome.
As for the film itself, all the amazing hero shots in the first fifteen minutes promise a fantastic film, but what I got was a sub standard early 80s actioner. It was enjoyable enough to watch, but it is nothing to write home about.
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Not as good as the "Missing in Action" series, but still okay as a trash action movie.
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great spaghetti western opening with ass kicking chuck is really good, but than the rest of the movie is full of 80's action cliche (stupid boss, annoying partner, lone hero) that drags from time to time. the ending picks up the pace again (love the scene with buried car). shame that the main villain enters the scene in a ugly looking sweater (that's how you kill of a menacing caradinne character)!!!
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This is Chuck Norris in full on, pissed off, one man army mode.
And it fucking rocks.
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Imagine if Dirty Harry were a bearded, karate-kicking Texas Ranger instead of a clean-shaven, Smith & Wesson toting San Francisco Cop and you've got the groundwork for Lone Wolf McQuade. Chuck Norris plays Ranger J.J. McQuade. He gets the job done and creates a lot of havoc while doing it, inspiring his commander to first stick him with a straight-shooting young partner he doesn't want and later suspend him from active duty. Of course, like any good rogue cop, McQuade continues to reign terror upon the criminal underworld on his own, especially after gun-runner/All-European Karate Champion Rawley Wilkes (David "Kill Bill" Carradine), in cahoots with a motorized wheelchair-bound little person named Falcon with a golden gun and a penchant for video…
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Within 5 minutes the stupid chief calls Chuck a lone wolf and we see that he has a lone wolf as a pet, thus firmly establishing his lone wolf credentials. In the next 100 minutes he gives the most chaste screen kiss in film history to Barbara Carrera, squints a lot and wastes a bunch of Mexicans. Also, he fights David Carradine who is angry about something.
A watchable enough film with enough 80s action movie tropes (stupid chiefs, kidnapped daughters, Uzis, Pringle sweaters, FBI agents that look like the cast of Breakin') to keep it interesting.
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I am completely unfamiliar with the Chuck Norris oeuvre, but a friend insisted I check this out. Literally every '80s action movie cliche (he works alone, his boss wants him to do this one by the book, he's taken off the case, his daughter is in danger, etc.) shoehorned into a ludicrously thin plot line and packed with unintentional absurdity. But also, Chuck Norris fights Favid Carradine. So there's that. Basically, it's a bad action movie in the best possible way, and a great way to spend a Friday night riffing with friends.
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brilliantly horrible. hunting for more.
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An amazingly solid B-movie that is infinitely re-watchable due to the sheer absurdity that populates the film at times. Goofy fun, a rarity in Norris' often mean-spirited, but entertaining action canon.
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This is Chuck Norris in full on, pissed off, one man army mode.
And it fucking rocks.