Horrible. Simply one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I'm a big Walter Matthau fan, and I couldn't help feeling sorry for him as I watched him sleepwalking through this pointless, unengaging story. There is no better example of an actor being no better than his/her writing than Charley Varrick. The entire time he was on screen, he looked like he had just been beamed down from the Enterprise onto the planet of the cyclops. Matthau is not a Steve McQueen or Clint Eastwood type of actor that can carry a role with very little dialog. As a sarcastic New Yorker, Matthau seemed as out of place in the desert of New Mexico as Eastwood would in a Shakespearean play.
I really wanted to like the movie, especially after hearing a capsule summary on AMC. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the archetypal "bad 70s movie". Character development was non-existent; I couldn't have cared less what happened to any of the players. Also, Matthau, who was in his mid-fifties when this film was made, had all the grace and prowess of a three toed sloth. An action hero or anti-hero was simply beyond his means. The last straw was when he exchanged innuendoes with the secretary. I thought to myself, "If he gets in bed with her, I'll puke." Well, I did.
A bad story, with bad acting (by a good cast, overall) adds up to a bad movie. Avoid this one, and stick with Dirty Harry.
I really wanted to like the movie, especially after hearing a capsule summary on AMC. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the archetypal "bad 70s movie". Character development was non-existent; I couldn't have cared less what happened to any of the players. Also, Matthau, who was in his mid-fifties when this film was made, had all the grace and prowess of a three toed sloth. An action hero or anti-hero was simply beyond his means. The last straw was when he exchanged innuendoes with the secretary. I thought to myself, "If he gets in bed with her, I'll puke." Well, I did.
A bad story, with bad acting (by a good cast, overall) adds up to a bad movie. Avoid this one, and stick with Dirty Harry.