Welcome, one and all, to an all new Reaction & Review. Tonight, guys, I'm going to be covering a movie from 1968. That movie is "Coogan's Bluff".
Now, I saw a trailer for this movie earlier this year, and the only thing I got out of it was the narration repeating the title of the movie "Coogan's Bluff." And while the trailer didn't give me a whole lot to work with, the trailer was interesting enough for me to check this movie out.So, what do I know about this movie? Well, I know that it stars Clint Eastwood, and that he plays a cop by the name of Walt Coogan, who is sent to New York to extradite a dangerous murderer back to Arizona. Now, from that description, I'm already getting a ton of vibes from another film in which Clint Eastwood also plays cop by the name of "Dirty Harry". However, I can't entirely use that comparison for two reasons. One, just because he plays a cop in a different movie doesn't necessarily equal a ripoff. That would be like if I tried to compare every Western in which John Wayne plays a cowboy that he stars in. And two, this movie came out in 1968. And the first "Dirty Harry" movie didn't even exist until 1971. So that's why I'm not going to do that.
I am certainly hoping for this movie to stand out on it's own. Plus, I'm also a fan of Clint Eastwood, and he normally makes almost any movie worth watching. Granted, I haven't seen a lot of the movies he directed, with the one lone exception being "Sudden Impact", which was the fourth film in the "Dirty Harry" franchise. But I have seen most of his westerns and I have greatly enjoyed most of those.
But I'm not here to gush about his movies, I'm here to see if this movie will be any good. And the only way I will find out if it is any good, is if I shut up, and I push play, and I'm going to do that right now. So, without further ado, it's time to kick back, relax, and check out "Coogan's Bluff".
12 minutes later
You know, guys, I'd just like to say right now. I'm already digging Coogan's style here. Even though he has a fugitive handcuffed to a wooden pole and he only has an hour to report to the office, he still has enough time to make out with his girlfriend in the tub. At least, I'm going to assume that it's his girlfriend. So far, guys, the movie's been pretty good.
10 minutes later
Hold on a second here. So, this guy just groped this parole officer's breast. And Coogan, rightfully, slaps the shit out of him after he was told to stop it. And now the parole officer is telling Coogan to apologize to the douchebag that just groped her? Lady, the dude just committed sexual harassment on you. You should be, at least, a little grateful he didn't go any further. I'm sorry, guys, that just bothered me a little bit, you know?
10 minutes later
OK, I have a bit of a stupid question. Was it common practice in 1968 to charge somebody extra in New York for carrying around luggage? Because this is the second time that Coogan has been charged extra for staying at a hotel that is $5, and he was charged an extra $2 for his luggage. The first time is when he took a cab and it costed him $2.50 to pack his luggage in the cab. I understand that it has nothing to do with the movie, but I want to know. Was it just a thing to charge someone extra in 1968 for carrying around luggage? I'm really curious, guys, and I don't think this movie's going to attempt to explain that.
2 minutes later
...OK. Out of all the things I expected in this movie, calling Coogan a Texas faggot wasn't exactly what I had in mind. That was rather unexpected.
18 minutes later
You know, guys, you can almost feel the corruption reeking from the NYPD in this movie. It just feels...rather unpleasant, you know?
19 minutes later
Well, guys, it is now official. Coogan is the biggest man-whore in this movie. This is the third woman in this movie who he has had sex with. Now, mind you, all of the women he's made out with has been drop dead gorgeous, but it still doesn't stop the fact that he is a complete man-whore in this movie. Just thought I'd share that with you, guys.
The Review
Well, guys, that was "Coogan's Bluff". Let me shut that off...OK. The first thing I need to mention is that at the start of this, I said that the plot of this movie reminded me a lot of a "Dirty Harry" movie. And after watching it, it certainly does feel like a "Dirty Harry" movie. The only difference between Harry and Coogan is that Harry Callahan is a cop from San Francisco, while Coogan is a deputy sheriff from Arizona. What part of Arizona, I couldn't tell you, but that doesn't really matter. Now most people who've probably seen this movie, but have never seen any of the "Dirty Harry" movies, are probably not going to notice the differences, and it's most likely not going to bother any of them.
But now I probably should talk about the movie itself. Let's start with the writing. Writing in this movie is...a little bit weak. So, as I mentioned earlier, the plot is basically Coogan trying to extradite a dangerous killer back to Arizona. I want to touch upon our villain for this movie, Ringerman. Ringerman has almost no personality to speak of, because he's barely in the movie to begin with. We first see him being taken out of the prison hospital, because Coogan lied about getting permission from Detective McElroy to get him out of there. And as he's leaving, handcuffed with Ringerman, he gets a phone call from the hospital that he has to answer. And as soon as he picks up the phone, he gets ambushed by Ringerman's henchman and his girlfriend, as they free Ringerman from Coogan's custody. And after that, he disappears for the rest of the movie up until the last 15-20 minutes. The best that we get from our villain is that we see Coogan investigating his mother's apartment. And we see photos of him with his girlfriend, Linny, and a motorcycle that, according to his mother, he bought and paid for all by himself. But, you see, he doesn't really have any kind of character to speak of, because the movie didn't give him any time to flesh out his character. And when you leave him out for a majority of the movie, it makes him ultimately pointless, because the movie doesn't focus on himself at all. A majority of it goes to Coogan, who we spend most of the time on in the movie.
Now as for Coogan, he spends a majority of the time trying to get information on where Ringerman might've escaped to. But not at first. Because when he first gets denied by Detective McElroy about handing over Ringerman, he spends about half of the time getting settled into New York. Which leads me to ask; Is everyone in New York a douchebag? I ask this, because, we see him either getting asked if he's from Texas, because he wears a cowboy hat. Or he's getting charged extra because he's carrying a suitcase that is considered luggage. Hell, even Julie, the parole officer, who he shares a love interest with, comes off as a bit of a douche as well. Because when she was getting groped by this guy earlier in the movie, Coogan, who once again, is rightfully slapping him away after he was told twice to stop it, she tells him that there was no need for violence and tells Coogan to apologize to him. I don't know what kind of logic that is, but I guess in New York, whether it's in 1968 or today, people are just flat out dicks.
Speaking of Julie, that's where another portion of the story focuses on is the relationship between her and Coogan, and most of that is fine. It's just that the main conflict seems sort of an afterthought, especially when you consider that a dangerous criminal is somewhere in New York, and you don't know where he's going to be. And the same could be said about his girlfriend, Linny. She really doesn't have a personality to speak of other than she's a little weird and that she is on parole. By the way, I should mention that once Julie finds out she's broken parole and has to serve her full sentence, she gets angry at Coogan because of what happens in a bar fight with Ringerman's henchman. And their relationship kinda just ends, up until the very end of the movie where Julie, apparently, gets Stockholm syndrome and is in love with Coogan again. That part seemed to come out of nowhere, especially after the development they shared earlier.
Now I will say that the writing, barring some questionable moments, is still halfway decent. It's just that the main story seems, almost, sort of an afterthought. It is there, but it doesn't really seem to be the main focus as it either focuses on Coogan himself, or his relationship with Julie. Which leads me into the acting. Even though the script was a little bit shallow, the acting is fantastic. Everybody in this movie is able to turn in awesome showings. Clint Eastwood is able to shine as Coogan, but then again, Clint Eastwood is almost able to make anything work. And even though Ringerman was a shitty villain, Dan Shroud was still able to make his character work, for the really short time he's in the movie. And even the minor characters who were acting like douchebags towards Coogan, they were able to make that douchiness work so well. I'm trying to think of anybody who might've turned in a bad showing, but I can't. Because everyone was given a little bit of something to work with.
There really is almost nothing I can talk about in terms of special effects, except for blood. And the blood here is OK, though it really looks a lot like dried paint. Which, for today's standards, would be considered somewhat laughable. However, that's how most movie blood looked like back in the late 60's and early 70's. And if you don't have knowledge about how movies were made back then, then you might consider it to be rather fake.
One other thing I want to mention, and this isn't really a negative, but it's something I feel like was a little odd. There isn't really enough action in this movie. You see, one of the genres this movie falls under is "Action". And there isn't really much of that here. The most we get is a fight scene inside a pool hall and a motorcycle chase. And all of that happens in the last, say, half hour in the movie. It just feels really weird even mentioning because, if this movie was suppose to be advertised under "Action", then you would expect a little more of it in your movie. That may just be me, but I still feel like mentioning it.
Other than that, the camerawork is really good, the lighting is well lit, our sound-mix is competent. Our score and soundtrack is fairly decent as well, but it's not something that you're ultimately going to remember in the end.
So, with all that being said, can I recommend "Coogan's Bluff?" Yes. Even with the small amount of problems I had with the writing, I still would say check it out. Especially if you are a fan of the "Dirty Harry" franchise. I would even go so far as to call this a pre-"Dirty Harry" movie. Because it sets up the ground works for it and builds upon it with that awesome series. I would even recommend it to anyone who's into cop movies or action movies. Well, with what little action is here. But anyway, this is a decent movie, and it's fairly cheap, too. If you can find this movie for say $5 or below, then go ahead and pick it up. It's certainly worth the one hour and 34 minute runtime. And as for me, I think I'm going to go and rewatch the first "Dirty Harry" movie because I'm kinda in the mood for another Clint Eastwood movie.
And with that, we come to the close of another Reaction & Review. Until next time, ladies and gentlemen, take care, and I will see you all in the near future. Peace.
I am certainly hoping for this movie to stand out on it's own. Plus, I'm also a fan of Clint Eastwood, and he normally makes almost any movie worth watching. Granted, I haven't seen a lot of the movies he directed, with the one lone exception being "Sudden Impact", which was the fourth film in the "Dirty Harry" franchise. But I have seen most of his westerns and I have greatly enjoyed most of those.
But I'm not here to gush about his movies, I'm here to see if this movie will be any good. And the only way I will find out if it is any good, is if I shut up, and I push play, and I'm going to do that right now. So, without further ado, it's time to kick back, relax, and check out "Coogan's Bluff".
12 minutes later
You know, guys, I'd just like to say right now. I'm already digging Coogan's style here. Even though he has a fugitive handcuffed to a wooden pole and he only has an hour to report to the office, he still has enough time to make out with his girlfriend in the tub. At least, I'm going to assume that it's his girlfriend. So far, guys, the movie's been pretty good.
10 minutes later
Hold on a second here. So, this guy just groped this parole officer's breast. And Coogan, rightfully, slaps the shit out of him after he was told to stop it. And now the parole officer is telling Coogan to apologize to the douchebag that just groped her? Lady, the dude just committed sexual harassment on you. You should be, at least, a little grateful he didn't go any further. I'm sorry, guys, that just bothered me a little bit, you know?
10 minutes later
OK, I have a bit of a stupid question. Was it common practice in 1968 to charge somebody extra in New York for carrying around luggage? Because this is the second time that Coogan has been charged extra for staying at a hotel that is $5, and he was charged an extra $2 for his luggage. The first time is when he took a cab and it costed him $2.50 to pack his luggage in the cab. I understand that it has nothing to do with the movie, but I want to know. Was it just a thing to charge someone extra in 1968 for carrying around luggage? I'm really curious, guys, and I don't think this movie's going to attempt to explain that.
2 minutes later
...OK. Out of all the things I expected in this movie, calling Coogan a Texas faggot wasn't exactly what I had in mind. That was rather unexpected.
18 minutes later
You know, guys, you can almost feel the corruption reeking from the NYPD in this movie. It just feels...rather unpleasant, you know?
19 minutes later
Well, guys, it is now official. Coogan is the biggest man-whore in this movie. This is the third woman in this movie who he has had sex with. Now, mind you, all of the women he's made out with has been drop dead gorgeous, but it still doesn't stop the fact that he is a complete man-whore in this movie. Just thought I'd share that with you, guys.
The Review
Well, guys, that was "Coogan's Bluff". Let me shut that off...OK. The first thing I need to mention is that at the start of this, I said that the plot of this movie reminded me a lot of a "Dirty Harry" movie. And after watching it, it certainly does feel like a "Dirty Harry" movie. The only difference between Harry and Coogan is that Harry Callahan is a cop from San Francisco, while Coogan is a deputy sheriff from Arizona. What part of Arizona, I couldn't tell you, but that doesn't really matter. Now most people who've probably seen this movie, but have never seen any of the "Dirty Harry" movies, are probably not going to notice the differences, and it's most likely not going to bother any of them.
But now I probably should talk about the movie itself. Let's start with the writing. Writing in this movie is...a little bit weak. So, as I mentioned earlier, the plot is basically Coogan trying to extradite a dangerous killer back to Arizona. I want to touch upon our villain for this movie, Ringerman. Ringerman has almost no personality to speak of, because he's barely in the movie to begin with. We first see him being taken out of the prison hospital, because Coogan lied about getting permission from Detective McElroy to get him out of there. And as he's leaving, handcuffed with Ringerman, he gets a phone call from the hospital that he has to answer. And as soon as he picks up the phone, he gets ambushed by Ringerman's henchman and his girlfriend, as they free Ringerman from Coogan's custody. And after that, he disappears for the rest of the movie up until the last 15-20 minutes. The best that we get from our villain is that we see Coogan investigating his mother's apartment. And we see photos of him with his girlfriend, Linny, and a motorcycle that, according to his mother, he bought and paid for all by himself. But, you see, he doesn't really have any kind of character to speak of, because the movie didn't give him any time to flesh out his character. And when you leave him out for a majority of the movie, it makes him ultimately pointless, because the movie doesn't focus on himself at all. A majority of it goes to Coogan, who we spend most of the time on in the movie.
Now as for Coogan, he spends a majority of the time trying to get information on where Ringerman might've escaped to. But not at first. Because when he first gets denied by Detective McElroy about handing over Ringerman, he spends about half of the time getting settled into New York. Which leads me to ask; Is everyone in New York a douchebag? I ask this, because, we see him either getting asked if he's from Texas, because he wears a cowboy hat. Or he's getting charged extra because he's carrying a suitcase that is considered luggage. Hell, even Julie, the parole officer, who he shares a love interest with, comes off as a bit of a douche as well. Because when she was getting groped by this guy earlier in the movie, Coogan, who once again, is rightfully slapping him away after he was told twice to stop it, she tells him that there was no need for violence and tells Coogan to apologize to him. I don't know what kind of logic that is, but I guess in New York, whether it's in 1968 or today, people are just flat out dicks.
Speaking of Julie, that's where another portion of the story focuses on is the relationship between her and Coogan, and most of that is fine. It's just that the main conflict seems sort of an afterthought, especially when you consider that a dangerous criminal is somewhere in New York, and you don't know where he's going to be. And the same could be said about his girlfriend, Linny. She really doesn't have a personality to speak of other than she's a little weird and that she is on parole. By the way, I should mention that once Julie finds out she's broken parole and has to serve her full sentence, she gets angry at Coogan because of what happens in a bar fight with Ringerman's henchman. And their relationship kinda just ends, up until the very end of the movie where Julie, apparently, gets Stockholm syndrome and is in love with Coogan again. That part seemed to come out of nowhere, especially after the development they shared earlier.
Now I will say that the writing, barring some questionable moments, is still halfway decent. It's just that the main story seems, almost, sort of an afterthought. It is there, but it doesn't really seem to be the main focus as it either focuses on Coogan himself, or his relationship with Julie. Which leads me into the acting. Even though the script was a little bit shallow, the acting is fantastic. Everybody in this movie is able to turn in awesome showings. Clint Eastwood is able to shine as Coogan, but then again, Clint Eastwood is almost able to make anything work. And even though Ringerman was a shitty villain, Dan Shroud was still able to make his character work, for the really short time he's in the movie. And even the minor characters who were acting like douchebags towards Coogan, they were able to make that douchiness work so well. I'm trying to think of anybody who might've turned in a bad showing, but I can't. Because everyone was given a little bit of something to work with.
There really is almost nothing I can talk about in terms of special effects, except for blood. And the blood here is OK, though it really looks a lot like dried paint. Which, for today's standards, would be considered somewhat laughable. However, that's how most movie blood looked like back in the late 60's and early 70's. And if you don't have knowledge about how movies were made back then, then you might consider it to be rather fake.
One other thing I want to mention, and this isn't really a negative, but it's something I feel like was a little odd. There isn't really enough action in this movie. You see, one of the genres this movie falls under is "Action". And there isn't really much of that here. The most we get is a fight scene inside a pool hall and a motorcycle chase. And all of that happens in the last, say, half hour in the movie. It just feels really weird even mentioning because, if this movie was suppose to be advertised under "Action", then you would expect a little more of it in your movie. That may just be me, but I still feel like mentioning it.
Other than that, the camerawork is really good, the lighting is well lit, our sound-mix is competent. Our score and soundtrack is fairly decent as well, but it's not something that you're ultimately going to remember in the end.
So, with all that being said, can I recommend "Coogan's Bluff?" Yes. Even with the small amount of problems I had with the writing, I still would say check it out. Especially if you are a fan of the "Dirty Harry" franchise. I would even go so far as to call this a pre-"Dirty Harry" movie. Because it sets up the ground works for it and builds upon it with that awesome series. I would even recommend it to anyone who's into cop movies or action movies. Well, with what little action is here. But anyway, this is a decent movie, and it's fairly cheap, too. If you can find this movie for say $5 or below, then go ahead and pick it up. It's certainly worth the one hour and 34 minute runtime. And as for me, I think I'm going to go and rewatch the first "Dirty Harry" movie because I'm kinda in the mood for another Clint Eastwood movie.
And with that, we come to the close of another Reaction & Review. Until next time, ladies and gentlemen, take care, and I will see you all in the near future. Peace.
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