The Gauntlet
Phoenix cop Ben Shockley's dream of breaking "the big case" has faded through the years. His assignment to escort from Las Vegas "a nothing witness for nothing trial" seems like just another meaningless exercise. Until the fireworks star. Clint Eastwood runs "The Gauntlet" into an explosive movie embodying its title with a vengeance. The witness is a hardened hooker whom everyone - including Vegas oddsmakers - wants dead. Trapped between both sides of the law, the two must survive an obstacle course of raging gunfire, blazing cars, swooping helicopters, murderous ambushes, crazed bikers and crooked police. Building to a ferocious finale that shoots an armored bus to smithereens with more than 8,000 bullets, "The Gauntlet" is a trip you can’t miss. Leave the driving to Eastwood" sit back and enjoy the ride.
Member Reviews
Gunfire Galore! - hush20
The Gauntlet appears to be aimed directly at Eastwood fans, or action fans that are in the mood for a no-brain-in-it-just-for-fun good time. Eastwood who also directed, plays Ben Shockley, a Phoenix cop who is quite confident he gets the job done, despite being an alcoholic. Ben is hired to escort a tough, mouthy Vegas hooker “a nothing witness for a nothing trial” from her jail cell. Turns out Shockley is hired because he doesn’t really get much done at all, and suddenly at every turn, every stop, they are forced to rely on each other to escape gunfights, helicopter attacks, gang rape and endless storms of gunfire.
Highlights include a scene where rampant gunfire literally tears a house down with Eastwood trying to escape inside and another featuring a bus driving through a vacant downtown being sprayed with 8000 rounds. The Gauntlet is not an action film for all tastes, but if you are willing to take it for what it is, and just go along with it, it’s a pretty fun, sleazy, fast-paced, cop/buddy, road movie. There are tons of great action sequences and more bullets shot than perhaps any other film I can remember seeing.Bullets, Bullets, Bullets...Lots of Bullets - MovieProf
I can’t think of a non-war movie that has so many bullets whizzing around. But that’s the name of the game in “The Gauntlet,” one of the very best Clint Eastwood’s best action movies around.
Eastwood plays Detective Ben Shockley, a not-too-good, alcoholic cop who works for the Phoenix police force. He is sent to Las Vegas to pick up “a nothing witness for a nothing trial,” his chief tells him, or so he thinks. The witness happens to be a prostitute named Augustina "Gus" Mally (played by former girlfriend Sondra Locke). Gus is wanted by the mob, and her chances of survival are being placed by the mob at 100 to 1. Unfortunately for the mob, they’re dealing with Shockley.
As I mentioned earlier, the amount of bullets flying in this film is phenomenal. At one point, several cops surround Gus’ Vegas home and fill it with so much lead, the entire house collapses. Then there is the fantastic climactic scene, in which Shockley and Locke drive a bus into downtown Phoenix, while hundreds of officers pelt them with more lead.
A fantastic film, and it’s also interesting to watch Eastwood and Locke together on screen. The two appeared in several films together, before their relationship came to a very famous and public end, in which Locke sued Eastwood, and eventually Warner Brothers as well, for millions.Very Good - miss_Wesker
This movie is exellent, Clint Eastwood is cool as always, and Sondra Locke's acting is very good, as sometimes she bugs me, shes got something special, im not saying i dont like her as an actress, but shes got something. For those that didnt know, she was going out with Clint in real, so why not beeing together in movies ? yeah, she was lucky. This movie have everything : action, comedy, suspense, romance, and good filming locations. Its really a must see, i will buy the dvd soon.
Member Reviews
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Gunfire Galore! - hush20
The Gauntlet appears to be aimed directly at Eastwood fans, or action fans that are in the mood for a no-brain-in-it-just-for-fun good time. Eastwood who also directed, plays Ben Shockley, a Phoenix cop who is quite confident he gets the job done, despite ...Bullets, Bullets, Bullets...Lots of Bullets - MovieProf
I can’t think of a non-war movie that has so many bullets whizzing around. But that’s the name of the game in “The Gauntlet,” one of the very best Clint Eastwood’s best action movies around.
Eastwood plays Detective Ben Shockley, a not-too-good, alcoholic ...Very Good - miss_Wesker
This movie is exellent, Clint Eastwood is cool as always, and Sondra Locke's acting is very good, as sometimes she bugs me, shes got something special, im not saying i dont like her as an actress, but shes got something. For those that didnt know, she was ...