Joe Kidd (1972)
Not a classic
but an average western film

Set in the time when the American Southwest was a tug of war between Mexicans and U.S. prospectors, this is a story of bounty hunting (of course, the most lucrative and adventurous profession of the Wild West) of a rebel which goes wrong. I loved the movie in the first half and watched it diminishing till end.

On a beautiful sunny morning, with the opening of this western film, we see our hero Joe (Clint Eastwood) an old time veteran, hand-cuffed on lock-up cell bed in Sinola County. He is waiting to be presented in front of the judge for some wicked crime. Clint Eastwood wears a suave 'gambler-look' and displays famous taciturn 'cowboy' violence at the drop of the hat. I am sure you are gonna love his "You want some?" punchline (aren't all Clint Eastwood Westerns famous for their punchlines? ). Joe Kidd's character is well tailored for Clint.

"You Want Some?"

Villains are usually skillfully crafted in Clint Eastwood Westerns. It's true for Land shark Frank Harlan's character, which is played convincingly by Robert Duvall. Harlan arrives in the town with his beautiful mistress and his henchmen. He is under threat from a Mexican rebel leader Luis Chama who is revolutionizing the natives about their rights and trying to reform the land laws.

Having a claim of a few hundred acres in the area, Harlan has his own plans to bring Luis to the 'law'. He has hired a gang of killers to hunt down this wanted rebel leader before the law can arrest him and bring him into court.

A 'Cold' Kill

Although Harlan has the best mercenaries on his team, he asks Joe to help his gang tracking Luis Chama down. Why? Joe Kidd just has proved his mettle by plugging a Luis Chama gang member (while sipping a cold beer ). Here, if you loved 'Man with no name trilogy' of spaghetti westerns, then rejoice. You will continue to watch Clint-Eastwood-Westerns charm here too. Clint is as good as he can get but a little more urban this time as compared to his character in Spaghetti trilogy.

Back to the story..Initially Joe declines the offer but later, upon finding that Luis had raided his ranch, stolen his horses and beaten his friend to avenge whom Joe killed, he joins the hunting wagon to settle the score with Luis Chama. But on this journey he realizes that his revenge is personal but Harlan's is purely business.

Killing Spree Of Harlan

Will Joe Kidd choose being righteous or being vindictive? Will Joe end up just being a Harlan muscle?

And we see Harlan getting crueler and crueler with the natives on this hunt, restless with his kill-Luis-Chama itch. Although he displays some violence here but the whole sequence failed to generate that western-films-villain-fear in my mind. The plot goes very predictable and Joe Kidd seems to be capable of winning a town full of Harlan's armed men easily. This diffuses the fun of watching a final-decisive-fight which Clint Eastwood films are known for.

Fight At Luis Chama's hideout!

It could have been a tasty nugget from Clint Eastwood films but it ended up being a chewing-gum instead. It is tasty at first and then you are just chewing on a sugarless rubber. This is not usual experience when you remember watching others from Clint Eastwood Westerns. However being a hard core Clint Eastwood fan I am happy I watched it and I will recommend it to all fans of Clint Eastwood Westerns.

Watch this movie for Clint Eastwood, beautiful landscapes and nice camera work only. If you want to see a classic western movie instead, watch The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

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