warning : anyone offended by blatant , leering machismo had better avoid this film .
or lots of blood & guts , men against men and mano-et-mano stuff .
in other words , it’s a walter hill film !
with a john milius script !
i always picture these guys getting together and producing a movie between arm-wrestling matches .
these films always contain male characters i have a very hard time identifying with , probably due to the likelihood that any meeting between them and me would result in my arm being ripped off and then my subsequent death by beating with said limb .
and we got tough guys galore , here ; drug-running banditos by the dozens , all dirty and sweaty and pretty ill-tempered , overall ; a secret task force of army commandos who are in the area to cover-up ( supposedly ) any connection between the government and the drug runners ; and lots of shit-kicking texas dirt farmers who’d as soon shoot you between the eyes as look at you .
in particular , we got nick nolte as one hard-ass texas ranger , powers boothe as the drug kingpin , michael ironsides as the leader of the secret army , and rip torn as the local sheriff .
torn is the sympathetic figure of the group ; he smiles before shooting anyone .
as to women . . .
well , i’ve never seen jane fonda or meryl streep in a walter hill film , and at this rate , i doubt i ever will .
women exist here to look good , comfort the man , and get argued over .
gosh !
just like the old days . . .
frankly , this is a pretty good movie , if you can accept the premise and can take the macho stuff .
the cinematography is excellent , the cast of characters is broad and has texture , the script is quite good , and the film lets you keep up with what’s happening yourself , without spelling it out to you .
i appreciate a film that makes me have to think to keep up .
finally , there’s lots of sam peckinpah slow-motion shoot-ups .