This is great stuff, if not perfect. Charles Bronson gives a great performance here as the wronged man out for justice, which is a standard Elmore Leonard set-piece. (See "Valdez is Coming" and "Hombre".) But I never get tired of these situations as he writes them, because the stories are all unique, thrilling, well told, and (if you stretch a little) believable. Majestyk is a simple guy who just wants to get his melon crop in, but he steps on some toes, winds up in the drunk tank, and then accidentally foils a ham handed attempt to break a big time criminal out of the same jail. Well, he's too much for any of them when the crap hits the fan, and of course he can't be bought off. He just wants to get his melons in, remember? One thing leads to another, the criminals come to get him, and you can fill in the blanks from there. But it isn't all cut and paste; there is some really good story telling here and bravura performances by the man who plays the main criminal. (His hame escapes me, but he was also the bad guy in "The Getaway".) When things get hot and heavy, he looks at Majestyk with grudging admiration and says "You know something? You move, melon picker. You don't say much...but you move!" True fact, and so does this movie, which is also the home of one of the two or three best car chases on film, along with "Bullitt", although this time it isn't a Mustang, but a good old Ford F-150. What could be more perfect? Also a nice job by the man who plays the worthless little weasel wannabe crook...you just want to slap him. Neither side likes him worth a flip. Great fun.
Review of Mr. Majestyk
