The early 1970s was a prime time for police-themed movies, not just in America, but in other countries as well. However, "Badge 373", while probably not the worst of its kind, is for the most part a very forgettable example of the genre. For starters, while Robert Duvall has certainly played tough and ruthless characters well in other movies (see "The Outfit" for an example, which came out the same year), here his performance is kind of half hearted. I think the reason for that may be that the screenplay is really lacking. Certainly it makes Duvall's character kind of one note, but the story aspect is just as bad. While the mystery is easy to follow, it is a really slow investigation. There's quite a bit of padding here, such as a completely unnecessary nighttime chase involving a bus. That action sequence, by the way, is not particularly exciting, nor is any of the other (and limited) action that is in the movie. I'm sure even the few people who saw this movie when it played in theaters found it a dull experience, so I can only imagine what modern day viewers weaned on the hyper kinetic cop thrillers of modern times would think of it. It's hard to believe it received a Blu-ray release a few years ago.
